A draft conclusion of the EU heads of government summit currently being held, may delay a decision on Serbia’s accession into the EU until March 2012, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Stipulating conditions that Serbia had to fulfil, it concluded,

"With a view to granting Serbia the status of candidate country by March 2012, the European Council tasks the Council to examine and confirm that Serbia has continued to show credible commitment and achieved further progress"

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.

But even this reduced showing seemed to have been gained through interference by authorities at polling stations, the Financial Times reports.

In a rare interview, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has tried to downplay the command responsibility he has had over the Syrian army, who have been accused of gross violations of human rights.

Speaking with American broadcaster ABC, Assad claimed that the troops belonged to the “government” saying,

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.

Boediono said Indonesia may consider allowing independent observers to oversee the development.

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".

Jallow urged member states to hand over any of the wanted men who may be sheltering in their country.

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Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, has met with seven members of the opposition Syrian National Council at a meeting in Geneva , discussing ideas to strengthen Syria’s transition towards democracy.

It is only the second time that Clinton has met with the Syrian opposition, having first met with representatives at the State Department in August, shortly before the US called on Assad to step down.

In the meeting Clinton told the opposition,

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.

The Security Council resolution had been watered down after objections by Russia and China.

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.

Calling on the government to grant immediate access to UN staff to enable an independent assessment of the human rights situation on the ground, Pillay reiterated that violations must be made public via an independent investigation.

Speaking in Geneva on Tuesday, she said,

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.

At a meeting of the Arab League ministerial committee on Saturday, Qatari PM Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Jabr al-Thani said: