UN News Centre

Five middle-distance runners from South Sudan, until recently living in Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp, have flown out of the capital city of Nairobi to take part in the first-ever Olympic refugee team for the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the United Nations refugee agency has said.

The United Nations has temporarily halted humanitarian assistance missions in north-eastern Nigeria’s restive Borno state after yesterday’s attack on a multi-agency aid convoy which had been delivering desperately needed relief aid in a remote area of the region, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has deplored recent shocking attacks in northern Syrian cities of Qamishli and Idlib, which killed more than 60 people including many children; reiterating that all parties to the conflict should respect international humanitarian law and protect children and civilians.

The announcement that the United States might have discovered its first cases of locally-transmitted Zika virus, and concerns raised by some of the athletes headed to the Olympic Games in Rio, are renewing fears about the disease, which the United Nations’ health agency declared a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ in February 2016.

The international community must do more to end the inhumane practice of human trafficking and protect migrants and refugees – particularly young people, women and children – from those who attempt to exploit their opportunity for a better future, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, urging all nations to recognize their responsibility in combating the global scourge.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned today that some 77 million of the world’s newborns – or 1 in 2 – are not breastfed within the first hour of birth, depriving them of essential nutrients and antibodies and thus exposing them to an increased risk of death.

The United Nations human rights office said today it is shocked by video footage that has emerged from Don Dale youth detention centre in the Northern Territory in Australia, showing children as young as 10 years old – many of whom are Aboriginal children – being held in inhumane conditions and treated cruelly.

The United Nations human rights office today expressed concern over the three-year prison sentences handed down last week to 30 members of the main opposition party in Gambia, including its leader Ousainou Darboe, following their participation in peaceful protests in mid-April.

Two United Nations agencies warned the UN Security Council today that ongoing conflicts around the world have pushed more than 56 million people into “crisis” or “emergency” levels of food insecurity and are hindering efforts to eradicate malnutrition.

The United Nations has a “zero tolerance” policy towards sexual abuse by anyone working under the blue flag.

The matter is one of such weight for the Organization that earlier this year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Jane Holl Lute as the Special Coordinator on improving the UN response to sexual exploitation and abuse.

The United Nations refugee agency today appealed to donors for an additional $115.4 million to fund the voluntary return and reintegration of Somali refugees from Kenya&#39s Dadaab refugee camp.

The United Nations envoy mediating a resolution to the five-year crisis in Syria said today he aims to convene a new round of intra-Syrian peace talks towards the end of August, and expressed hope that the United States and Russia would make &#8220concrete progress&#8221 in order to improve the atmosphere for the resumption of the discussions.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a United Nations specialized agency, will set up a committee to examine whether a 54 degrees Celsius temperature recently recorded in Kuwait, has set the new highest temperature for Asia, as well as for the entire Eastern hemisphere.

Two senior United Nations officials today underscored that the centrality of women to the Colombian peace process, as shown by the &#39historic commitment&#39 by the Government and Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People&#39s Army (FARC-EP) at the Havana Peace Talks Table, must be reinforced in the final agreement and, more importantly, during the implementation phase.

The United Nations Children&#39s Fund (UNICEF) reiterated today that attacks on health facilities are a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and can amount to war crimes, in response to the recent airstrikes on four hospitals and a blood bank in eastern Aleppo city in Syria.

Recent fighting in South Sudan has forced 37,491 people to flee to Uganda in the past three weeks, averaging more than 4,000 a day in the past week, the United Nations refugee agency warned today.

The United Nations chief and his envoy for Somalia have denounced today&#39s terrorist attack in the vicinity of Mogadishu International Airport that killed at least a dozen people.

Mangroves are rare and vital ecosystems that help to protect coastlines and mitigate the effects of climate change, but their survival is being jeopardized, the United Nations cultural agency said today, calling for greater preservation efforts as the international community marks the first ever International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Central African Republic (CAR) until 15 November 2017, keeping an authorized troop ceiling of 10,750 military personnel intact and providing time for the mission to assess the post-transition process in the country.

The United Nations Security Council today extended the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for six months, until 31 January 2017, and welcomed the progress of the negotiations between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders to reach a comprehensive settlement.