Crown Prince Haakon of Norway will continue his roll as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), it has been announced. Read the full story

Iceland, Sweden and Denmark were among the 41 countries which chose to abstain in a United Nations vote to enshrine access to fresh drinking water as a fundamental human right for all. Read the full story

The head of the United Nations Human Rights Council is likely to request that former Icelandic foreign minister Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir head up an investigation into the Israeli attack on Gaza-bound aid ships. Read the full story

Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg will assume the role of co-chair of a United Nations climate change focus group. Stoltenberg takes over the position after the departure of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Read the full story

Moldova and Burkina Faso have become the latest countries to submit their instruments of ratification for the Norwegian-led Convention on Cluster Munitions during a United Nations meeting last week. Read the full story

Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide, the UN envoy to Afghanistan, will step down from his post at the end of his term in March. Eide has been widely criticised for his overseeing of the highly controversial elections that took place in August that were mired by fraud and alleged corruption. Last week, he was accused of disrespecting the country’s sovereignty after calling for clampdowns on corruption, reports The Norway Post. Read the full story

Officials from 192 countries are gathering today for the United Nations conference on climate change in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. Heads of state or government from 100 nations will also attend, mostly during the final days before the 18th December. Read the full story

Knut Storberget, the Norwegian Minister of Justice, this week joined with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the launch of the Network of Men Leaders to Combat Violence against Women. Read the full story

Ratifying the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has for years been put off by Finland because of financial concerns and lack of political willingness, according to interest groups. Read the full story

Norway has announced its support for the discharge and rehabilitation process of Nepalese Maoist army personnel. Norway has recently been encouraged by the Nepalese government’s renewed commitment in conjunction with the United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) to speed up the rehabilitation process, which is seen as crucial to establishing and maintaining security within the region. Read the full story