UN News Centre

Addressing the graduating class at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, where he was bestowed an honorary degree today, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gave students one final homework assignment: become global citizens with global vision.

Today, the Greek Cypriot leader, Nicos Anastasiades, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci, took the next steps towards fulfilling their joint vision for a united federal Cyprus, the United Nations Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Cyprus has confirmed.

Recognizing the growing challenge of feeding city dwellers, who will become the world’s majority by 2050, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Union of Wholesale Markets today signed a partnership aimed at reaching the urban poor and reducing food waste estimated at 1.3 billion tonnes every year.

This is 35-year-old Oscar Ouedraogo’s first deployment with a United Nations peacekeeping mission. The native of Burkina Faso has been working as a corrections officer for the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) since 20 September 2014, in the capital, Bangui.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced concern about the escalation of fighting in Yemen in a telephone conversation with the country&#39s President, the United Nations has confirmed.

The diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East peace process today announced that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair plans to step aside as the group’s Representative and expressed its “deep appreciation” for his “remarkable service” and commitment to advancing peace and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians.

One in every 10 cigarettes consumed is illicit, making them cheaper and more accessible to people from low-income groups, as well as to children, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned ahead of this year’s World No Tobacco Day, devoted to combatting the illegal tobacco trade.

The head of the United Nations’ regional commission in Latin America and the Caribbean has met with the Premier of China, and looked forward to greater cooperation and a deeper relationship with the Asian country.

More open and constructive dialogues should be held among Sudanese stakeholders as a top priority to address ‘the silence and the denials’ of crimes against women, a United Nations human rights expert concluded after her recent mission to the country.

In Brussels today, where he was addressing the European Parliament, the United Nations Secretary-General today the important role played by the European Union in boosting the UN agenda, particularly on matters of peace, development and human rights.

The United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict has condemned Boko Haram militias in Nigeria for “waging war on women’s physical, sexual and reproductive autonomy and rights” by repeatedly raping their female captors and treating them as vessels for producing children for fighters.

Deeply concerned by the frequency of acts of violence in many parts of the world against media professionals in armed conflict, the United Nations Security Council today adopted a resolution condemning all violations and abuses committed against journalists and strongly deploring impunity for such acts.

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) today warned that the “unnecessary loss of innocent lives cannot go on” and spotlighted the increasingly dire medical situation in Yemen, where it says the health and lives of millions of people are at risk, and health facilities, staff and patients are under attack in widespread violations of international humanitarian law.

The number of the world&#39s chronically undernourished has dropped below the 800 million mark as an increasing number of countries hit their Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets on hunger, according to a new United Nations report released today by the Organization&#39s three food agencies.

The United Nations entity dedicated to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women announced today a partnership with Valencia Club de Fútbol, the first time ever that UN Women will collaborate with a professional sports team.

The United Nations rights office called today on the Government of Kyrgyzstan to ensure that the freedoms of expression and association are protected in line with international human rights standards as the country’s Parliament prepared to hear the first reading of draft law that could negatively affect the work of civil society organizations there.

As Serbia and Kosovo aim to overcome the legacy of conflict, the two countries must avoid procrastination on implementing the remaining steps of the April 2013 Accord and allowing older issues to shackle opportunities to open new ground, the United Nations Security Council was told today.

The World Health Assembly wrapped up its work today after giving the greenlight for the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) to reform its emergency and response capacity to better tackle future disease outbreaks like Ebola, and agreeing to address antimicrobial resistance and air pollution, as well as improve access to affordable vaccines and set global nutrition targets.

The tenuous situation in eastern Ukraine continues to be marked by sporadic fighting and a crippling humanitarian crisis forcing many civilians to seek refuge in underground shelters or in neighbouring countries, the United Nations relief arm confirmed today.

Aiming to target 5.7 million children under the age of five, the United Nations today launched a mass polio vaccination campaign in Iraq, which is set to be conducted in all governorates to maintain the country's polio-free status.