The findings come from the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS), a Switzerland-based agency that is supported by UNEP.

Data was collected from nearly 30 glaciers in nine mountain ranges from 2004 to 2006. The findings are significant since global glaciers provide a vital water source for millions of people worldwide.

"The latest figures are part of what appears to be an accelerating trend with no apparent end in sight," said Wilfried Haeberli, WGMS Director.

"There are many canaries emerging in the climate change coal mine," said Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director. "The glaciers are perhaps among those making the most noise and it is absolutely essential that everyone sits up and takes notice."

The WGMS research found that some of the most dramatic glacier shrinking has occurred in Europe with Norway's Breidalblikkbrea glacier thinning by close to 3.1 meters during 2006 compared with a thinning of 0.3 meter in the previous year.

The findings come three months after a road map agreement was reached in Bali, Indonesia by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The next phase of negotiations will take place in Bangkok, Thailand from March 31 to April 4, 2008 in a continued effort to halt the increase in global emissions within the next 10-15 years.

The twelfth report of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) - covering the second half of 2007 - said that the decline in such attacks, such as suicide attacks and car bombings, is a result of the ongoing "surge" within the Baghdad Security Plan launched last February.

"The extent to which the decrease in violence was sustainable remained unclear, with the security situation still precarious in many parts of the country," the report observed.

Civilians were deliberately targeted by Sunni and Shi'a armed groups through suicide bombings, car bombs and other attacks, UNAMI said.

"Such systematic or widespread attacks against a civilian population are tantamount to crimes against humanity and violate the laws of war, and their perpetrators should be prosecuted," the mission said.

Also vulnerable to attack were: government officials; religious figures; state employees; law enforcement personnel; professional groups including academics, journalists, lawyers and judges; religious and ethnic minorities; and women in so-called "honor killings," it reported.

During the reporting period, thousands were forced to flee due to the continued sectarian violence. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of last December, there are over 4.4 million displaced Iraqis worldwide, with 2.5 million inside Iraq and about 1.9 million in neighboring countries.

The new report welcomed the expanded capacity of the Iraqi judiciary to process cases as the detainee population continues to grow.

UNAMI also welcomed Iraq's decision to ratify the UN Convention Against Torture, and noted there has been "a greater degree of transparency and access to information pertaining to law enforcement issues on the part of both Iraqi officials and their international advisers."