UN News Centre

Denouncing today&#39s deadly attack on a peaceful funeral procession in Kabul as &#8220morally reprehensible and bereft of humanity,&#8221 the top United Nations official in Afghanistan said that after a week of violence across the long-troubled country, &#8220now is the time to seek unity and solidarity.&#8221

In a single round of voting today, the United Nations General Assembly elected Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, Peru and Poland as non-permanent members of the Security Council for the next two years.

Protecting the oceans is among the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the blueprint for a more just and equitable world adopted by the 193 Member States of the United Nations in September 2015.

United Nations agencies are calling for urgent aid to help hundreds of thousands of people affected by Cyclone Mora, which swept across the Bay of Bengal earlier this week.

Warning that smugglers may now be “broadening” a death trap for migrants and refugees that could stretch from the Mediterranean to the vast Sahara Desert, the United Nations refugee agency has reiterated its call for safe pathways so that those in desperate need of international protection do not lose their lives.

Warming oceans, depleting sea life and plastic pollution are on the agenda for next week&#39s ocean summit at the United Nations, which will call for urgent action to improve the health of the oceans, while also creating jobs and raising people out of poverty.

Underscoring the threats posed by climate change &#8211 those already apparent, as well as those sure to impact the future of the planet &#8211 United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today urged Governments worldwide to &#8220stay the course&#8221 and remain committed to climate action.

As thousands of refugees return from Cameroon to north-eastern Nigeria, straining the few existing services and creating a new emergency, the United Nations refugee agency is stepping up its response to improve conditions.

As heavy fighting continues to drive large numbers of people from Mosul, the United Nations refugee agency today appealed for urgent support to meet the critical needs of vulnerable children, women and men displaced from and returning to the city.

More than 9,000 children who have arrived at two temporary reception centres in a northern Angolan city from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) need urgent support, the United Nations Children&#39s Fund (UNICEF) said today.

Strongly condemning the nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development activities of the Democratic People&#39s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United Nations Security Council today decided to apply existing sanctions to 14 individuals and four entities.

With about 70,000 cholera cases reported with nearly 600 fatalities in Yemen, the United Nations Children&#39s Fund (UNICEF) today warned that an already dire situation for children is turning into a disaster.

The United Nations envoy for Afghanistan today called on protesters on the street of the nation&#39s capital to use restraint and avoid violence, while expressing his understanding of their frustration over a string of terrorist attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians in recent months.

Expressing concern at the violence and arrests that occurred as part of a wider crackdown on dissent in Bahrain, the top United Nations human rights official today called on the Government to promptly launch an independent, effective investigation into the deaths of protestors on 23 May.

The United Nations Mission in Colombia has said that it will comply with new deadlines agreed between the Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) for a weapon hand-in, now set for June 20.

At the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Italy, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today called world leaders to invest in young people, with stronger investment in technology and relevant education and capacity building in Africa.

Taking into account an expert panel report on alleged human rights violations by the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, the Secretary-General has decided to establish a Trust Fund to implement community-based assistance projects, his spokesperson said today.

The United Nations Middle East envoy today cautioned that unless urgent measures are taken to de-escalate the crisis now spiralling out of control in the Gaza Strip, there will be devastating consequences for Palestinians and Israelis alike.

The vital role of the world's oceans in human well-being and development is being highlighted next month as the United Nations hosts a global conference aimed at protecting these resources.

As Head of Communications and Chief Spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Melissa Fleming listens to stories of people fleeing for their lives every day. Although she has met many refugees and gotten to know several stories of resilience, when she came across Doaa’s story, she couldn’t sleep at night.