Geneva - A new ceiling artwork meant to inspire dialogue, human rights and global solidarity was unveiled Tuesday at the United Nation's Geneva offices.

The work, created by Spanish abstract painter Miquel Barcelo, graces a room where groups like the UN's Human Rights Council and the High Level Group of the Alliance of Civilizations meet.

Geneva - Five United Nations experts condemned Tuesday what they said were "severe convictions and the unfair trials" of prisoners accused of involvement in last year's anti-government protests in Myanmar.

Last week, a dozen detainees were each given 65-year prison sentences and more than 20 others, including five monks, received 24-year imprisonment terms, the experts said in a statement, noting that others still awaited sentencing.

A popular blogger, arrested several months after the protests were quelled, was also sentenced to over 20 years in jail.

Geneva - A new award has been launched to honor efforts to respond to environmental emergencies, the United Nations said Monday, in an attempt to encourage action to curtail the impacts of man-made and natural disasters.

The non-monetary Green Star Awards will first be awarded next May in Brussels to charities, government and companies that help prevent and respond to disasters that can cause severe damage to the environment.

Geneva - An organization representing 900 Swiss companies has signed an agreement to crack down on commercial child sex tourism, an official with the Swiss Federation of Travel Agencies said Monday.

"We want our members to inform their clients and partners in different countries about the protection of children there," Sandra Gonzales with the SVR, the federation's German initials, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The organization also called on tourists to report any illegal activities at their holiday destinations to the Swiss Federal Police, via an online form that was first made available over the summer.

Geneva - Continuing fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has prompted the UN to make plans to transfer 60,000 displaced people to a new camp farther away from the front lines, officials said Friday.

The new site is located about 15 kilometres to the south-west of the existing camps. Most of the transferees will have to make their way on foot.

"The voluntary transfer will be complicated," said Ron Redmond of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He added the transfer was expected to start next week.

"We hope to complete it very quickly, within a few days," Redmond said.

Geneva - Norway is the country closest to closing the gaps between men and women, a new report released Wednesday by the World Economic Forum said.

Finland, Sweden and Iceland were the next ranking countries, according to the Gender Gap Index, with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Chad and Yemen listing at the bottom of the 130 countries surveyed.

New Zealand was the top ranking non-European country, making it to fifth place, followed by the Philippines.