UN News Centre

The United Nations envoy for Liberia today stressed the need for long-term, robust engagement by stakeholders, particularly the Security Council, towards a sustainable peace in the West African country.

Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Kosovo Zahir Tanin told the United Nations Security Council today that while opposition parties in Kosovo continue to try to generate, exploit and, if possible, prolong moments of ‘crisis,’ they appear to have become aware that the use of violence is counterproductive to their objective of gaining more political influence.

Reporting that the Russian Federation is backing a 48-hour humanitarian pause in and around Aleppo, senior United Nations envoys on the Syrian crisis today said they are “waiting for others on the ground to do the same,” and are ready to green light aid convoys to the war-ravaged city once assurances are received.

The United Nations Special Adviser on Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, has expressed concern at inflammatory statements concerning the genocide in Rwanda that were made by a senior official of the ruling party in Burundi and cautioned that such statements could constitute incitement to violence.

The United Nations’ mission in Afghanistan has condemned last night’s attack on a university in the capital, Kabul, that killed 12 civilians and injured more than 50 others, mostly students.

Years of violence by Boko Haram in Africa’s Lake Chad basin, which includes Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, have led to a worsening humanitarian crisis that has displaced 1.4 million children and left at least one million still trapped in hard-to-reach areas, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a report released today.

The courage of the men and women who in August 1791 revolted against slavery in Haiti &#8220has created obligations for us,&#8221 the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said on the day set aside for remembrance of that rebellion, noting that &#8220all of humanity is part of this story&#8221 and efforts to teach the history of the slave trade will help build a better world.

Stressing the need for a 48-hour pause to the fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo, the United Nations humanitarian chief today urged the United States and Russia to rapidly reach agreement on the security guarantees and operational modalities for a ceasefire there so aid workers can deliver life-saving assistance to those in desperate need.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has congratulated Brazil, the city of Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian people, the Rio 2016 Local Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for having successfully concluded the 2016 Olympic Games.

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) is ramping up its response in north-eastern Nigeria, where initial assessments have revealed urgent health problems among populations in areas formerly held by Boko Haram insurgents.

An alleged Malian Islamist accused of destroying historical and religious monuments in the fabled city of Timbuktu pleaded guilty in the first-ever international war crimes trial focusing on destruction of cultural heritage, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on the opening day of the landmark case, which was welcomed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

A senior United Nations official has cautioned that many Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank are facing a heightened risk of forcible transfer as there has been a recent surge in the number of demolitions in the area.

With Africa still accounting for more than 90 per cent of global malaria deaths in 2015, the United Nations health agency’s member States in the region have adopted a new framework on implementing a strategy towards a malaria-free continent.

A joint report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has found that the conflict in Yemen has resulted in the displacement of some 3,154,572 people.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today condemned yesterday&#39s terrorist attack on a wedding party in the Turkish city of Gaziantep &#8211 an act that was reportedly carried out by a suicide bomber and killed at least 50 people and wounded dozens of others.

A senior United Nations official today expressed a deep concern about the deteriorating health of a Palestinian detainee on hunger strike for more than two months in protest of his detention after completing a 14.5-year prison sentence.

The United Nations human rights arm today expressed concern about the mounting constraints on the democratic space in Thailand – calling for a prompt return to civilian rule.

The heart breaking photograph of Omran Daqneesh, the little boy sitting alone in an ambulance with his face and body covered in blood and dirt after being pulled from a destroyed building has reminded the world, yet again, of the unimaginable horrors that Syrian children face every day, a spokesperson for the United Nations Children&#39s Fund (UNICEF) said today.

With at least eight human rights defenders killed in Honduras this year, United Nations and international rights experts today said the country is one of the most hostile and dangerous for rights defenders and urged the Government to take urgent steps to ensure their protection.

Voicing concern over serious human rights violations in the Oromia and Amhara regions of Ethiopia earlier this month, the United Nations human rights chief today urged the Government to ensure access for independent observers to affected areas and to work towards opening up political and democratic reforms.