UN News Centre

The United Nations human rights expert on freedom of opinion and expression has condemned recent Government clampdown over public and social media expressions in Thailand ahead of a constitutional referendum scheduled for 7 August.

United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon today hailed the determination and courage of the Solar Impulse flight team as the aircraft completes its around-the-world, solar-powered journey.

The United Nations Security Council today adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) for another year, until 31 July 2017.

Underlining the need for the sustainable industrialization of Africa, the United Nations General Assembly today unanimously adopted a resolution proclaiming the period 2016-2025 as the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, along with the Multidimensional Intigrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), condemned the recent clashes in Kidal between forces of The Platform Movement and those of the Coordination of movements of Azawad (CMA), both of which are signatories to the country&#39s peace agreement.

With more than 30,000 foreign terrorist fighters from some 100 countries around the world, terrorism is a global threat requiring a comprehensive and unified response, a top United Nations counter-terrorism official said today.

In a cross-border humanitarian operation, a total of 31 metric tonnes of food and some non-food items have been distributed to about 15,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Banki, located in Nigeria&#39s restive Borno state, near the border with Cameroon, the United Nations relief wing announced today.

Following a request from the main international organization working to achieve a world free of chemical weapons, the United Nations Security Council today adopted a resolution authorizing the transfer of such weapons out of Libya for their safe, timely destruction.

Some 26,500 South Sudanese, mostly women and children, have crossed into Uganda since fighting between rival forces erupted in and around the capital, Juba, on 7 July, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.

Wrapping up a visit to southern Africa, the United Nations deputy humanitarian chief today called for urgent action to assist millions of people across the region where local coping capacities have been impacted by the worst El Niño-induced drought in 35 years.

As the 21st International AIDS Conference wrapped up in Durban, South Africa, the Deputy Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV / AIDS (UNAIDS), Luiz Loures, called for ending discrimination against patients, especially those from the most vulnerable populations.

Concluding a six-day visit to Somalia, a United Nations child rights envoy has called for better protection of children caught up in armed conflict, urging the country&#39s authorities to treat former child soldiers as victims in need of protection rather than as criminals.

The United Nations department providing logistical support to field missions announced today the launch of a new mandatory online programme for all uniformed and civilian personnel to strengthen training on the standards of conduct, with a special focus on sexual exploitation and abuse.

Expressing deep concern over the two-year-long vacancy in the presidency of Lebanon, the United Nations Security Council today urged Lebanese leaders to urgently convene a parliamentary session and called on all parties to negotiate a compromise agreement in order to end the country&#39s political and institutional crisis.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) today wrapped up its fourteenth quadrennial conference, with delegations in Nairobi, Kenya reaching agreement on a framework that will guide the body&#39s work over the next four years, largely focused on ensuring broad achievement of the new UN Sustainable Development Agenda.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Fabrizio Hochschild of Chile as his new Deputy Special Representative for the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom today denounced the killing of award-winning journalist Pavel Sheremet and urged the authorities to bring those responsible for the crime to justice.

Two United Nations agencies have issued a new technical handbook to assist humanitarian workers to address multifaceted problems related to cooking fuel for refugees and displaced people.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today signed a new partnership agreement with the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) that will further strengthen the collaboration between the two organizations in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

At a United Nations intergovernmental forum opening in Nairobi, Kenya, today, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged participants to focus on strong collaboration, equality and inclusion in trade, finance and investment in order to better align action with agreed-upon sustainable development targets and help restore trust in the global economy.