U.N. has high hopes for private sector after Microsoft rights donation

An promotional video plays behind a window reflecting a nearby building at the Microsoft office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. May 15, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations human rights office on Tuesday welcomed a $5 million (£3.8 million) donation from Microsoft Corp and called on the rest of the private sector, which makes up only a tiny proportion of its donors, to "step up to the plate".

Microsoft's funds will go towards helping the U.N. agency develop and make better use of technology in its human rights work as part of a five-year partnership, the parties said at a news conference in Geneva.