The appointment of a senior official to coordinate United Nations efforts to end rape in war is an important step.

Governments participating in a high-level meeting on Yemen in London on January 27, 2010, should press the Yemeni authorities to  address the country's serious human rights problems.

Lebanon has missed a December 22, 2009, deadline for setting up a national institution to prevent torture, a group of Lebanese and international human rights organizations said today. The government should move quickly to consider a proposal commissioned by the Justice Ministry that would address the issue.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon should ensure that the UN peacekeeping force in Congo focuses on protecting civilians and avoids supporting Congolese army operations that implicate peacekeepers in violations of the laws of war.

United Nations Security Council members should express strong support for an African Union panel’s call for justice for victims in Darfur given the consistent failure by the Sudanese government to hold perpetrators of serious crimes accountable.

A United Nations General Assembly panel that met this week broke new ground and helped build new momentum for ending human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

We, the undersigned independent human rights and civil society organizations from diverse regions and societies around the world, respectfully urge your support for a United Nations General Assembly Resolution condemning the serious human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and advising the IRI of steps it should take to respect the rights of the Iranian people in accordance with international law.

Two months ago in this column I raised the issue of accountability for war crimes committed in the Gaza conflict. I wrote that the findings and recommendations of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, and its reception by Israel, Hamas, the United States, and others, would be the key to achieving justice.