In 2008, the United Nations and the international community continued to work towards protecting the environment through legally binding instruments and the activities of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). ...

The five regional commissions continued in 2008 to provide technical cooperation, including advisory services, to their member States to promote programmes and projects and provide training to enhance national capacity-building ...

The conservation, development and use of energy and natural resources continued to be the focus of several UN bodies in 2008, including the Commission on Sustainable Development, which commenced its first two-year ...

Efforts to promote human rights were boosted in 2008 by several notable developments. The new machinery of the Human Rights Council, created in 2006, began working in earnest with the launch of the Universal Periodic Review ...

The World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round of trade negotiations stood at a critical juncture as negotiations entered the seventh year in 2008, when they were scheduled to conclude. The focus was on establishing full ...

In 2008, the global economy was on the brink of recession, due to the fallout from the financial crisis in the United States, the bursting of the housing bubbles there and in other large economies, soaring commodity prices, ...

In 2008, the United Nations, through the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), continued to mobilize and coordinate humanitarian assistance to respond to international emergencies. During the year, ...

Efforts to promote human rights were boosted in 2008 by several notable developments. The new machinery of the Human Rights Council, created in 2006, began working in earnest with the launch of the Universal Periodic Review ...

In 2008, the United Nations continued to address political and security questions relating to its support for democratization worldwide, the promotion of decolonization, and the peaceful uses of outer space, as well as the ...

In 2008, human rights situations of concern in Member States, particularly regarding alleged violations and how best to assist and guide Governments and national institutions in combating them, were addressed by the General ...