Writing in The Christian Science Monitor, former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, reflected on the work of the UN Human Rights Council and urges further action.

Extracts reproduced below, see here for full article.

"More consequential to the Council’s effectiveness than its composition has been the fact that many Council members – from all regions of the world – have begun to break free from the regional straightjackets of the past and worked together to advance human rights."

"The regional bloc voting practices of the past are giving way to more considered discussion and collective action. This engagement on the part of countries has helped to make the Council more effective and progressive than other human rights institutions."

"Council action in response to the human rights situations in Iran, Libya, and Syria has, in each case, been possible due to the support of countries from Africa and Latin America, and even from within the Middle East."

"It is true that conducting effective diplomacy and changing political dynamics is hard, but working to find agreement with countries that have disparate worldviews has always been a difficult endeavor. Nevertheless, it is important and worthwhile."

United Russia, the nationalist party backing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin saw its representation slashed from 315 to 238 seats out of 450 in Sunday’s polls.

A new development program in the restive Indonesian province of Papua may be allowed to be scrutinised by international observers.

Indonesian Vice-President Boediono told journalists that the Papuan conflict can be managed by the government.

The new programme has been established to improve welfare, security and justice.

The prosecutor for the UN tribunal on the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Hassan Jallow, asserted that remaining fugitives will face justice.

Addressing the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Jallow asserted that arresting the remaining nine fugitives would serve the "interests of international justice and regional peace and security".

The UN Security Council today toughened its sanctions against Eritrea after the East African country was accused of supporting militants in neighbouring Somalia.

Foreign companies involved in Eritrea’s mining operations must now ensure funds from the sector do not end up in the hands of militants.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, condemned the killing of unarmed civilians by the Yemeni government and asserted the government's obligation to protect the economic, social and cultural rights of all Yemenis.

Syria has been warned they will face fresh sanctions unless they agree to the Arab League proposal to let observers into the country.

League members said Syria had until Sunday to allow Arab League officials to observe the current situation in Syria.

Former Ivory Coast President, Laurent Gbagbo, became the first ex-head of state to appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday, as Chief ICC Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, vowed that justice would not stop there and all those responsible for atrocities would be held to account.

In a statement, Moreno-Ocampo said,

"In the past, if you were a head of state you could commit massive atrocities and nothing would happen."

"This era is gone."

“Ivorian victims will see justice for massive crimes,”

"We have evidence that the violence did not happen by chance: widespread and systematic attacks against civilians perceived as supporting the other candidate were the result of a deliberate policy,”

He added that investigations into the violence will continue and Gbagbo was "only the first" to face justice.

Meanwhile, Gbagbo has claimed he was "deceived" into being transferred to The Hague.

Gbagbo told the court he had been told he was going to meet a judge in the north-eastern town of Korhogo when an arrest warrant was produced.

"My lawyers were not prepared for that," he said, adding that the he was only made aware of his journey to The Hague upon arrival at the airport.

Syria has agreed to an Arab League demand to allow in observers to monitor its crackdown on anti-government protests.

The Assad regime however placed conditions on the Arab League's protocol, namely the suspension of all sanctions placed by the Arab League last week.

Syria is also demanding the annulment of its suspension from the body.

The European Union has mediated a deal between Kosovo and Serbia to jointly manage their border crossings.

"The parties reached an agreement on the EU-developed concept of integrated management for crossing points," the EU said in a statement late on Friday.

The International Criminal Court is compiling evidence of war crimes allegedly committed by the Sudanese Defence Minister, Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussain, along the border between South and North Sudan.