UN News Centre - Africa

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.

The Security Council today adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) as the Horn of Africa country continues down its road towards political recovery and increased security.

Northeast Nigeria has witnessed a sharp increase in suicide attacks involving women and girls this year, the United Nations children’s agency warned today, calling on the country’s incoming Government make the safety and well-being of children a political priority.

Travelling around South Sudan to see efforts made by the United Nations to protect civilians in the country, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Ellen Margrethe Løj, who also heads the UN Mission (UNMISS), visited Bentiu in Unity state this weekend.

United Nations-backed containment measures aimed at stemming the deadly cholera epidemic in western Tanzania&#39s Lake Tanganyika region appear to be working, the Organization&#39s refugee agency (UNHCR) announced today amid a tapering off in the number of reported deaths among both Burundian refugees and locals.

Each year, Africa Day is an opportunity to celebrate the continent&#39s achievements and to reflect on its challenges, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, highlighting the courage and determination it took to make remarkable progress to end the Ebola outbreak and urging leaders to commit to ending violence against women and empower them.

The United Nations Special Representative for South Sudan, Ellen Margrethe Løj, has urged accountability and justice for those responsible for gross human rights violations committed as a result of South Sudan&#39s continuing fighting.

The top United Nations official in Somalia has condemned a deadly attack against two Somali Members of Parliament (MP) and reiterated the Organization&#39s support for the country&#39s democratic process.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the killing of a Burundian politician and his bodyguard in a move that threatens to further destabilize the country amid simmering political tensions and a growing humanitarian crisis.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has condemned a spate of suicide bombings committed by Islamist terrorists in what it says is a blatant effort to undermine the country&#39s ongoing political dialogue.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said he is deeply troubled by Boko Haram’s “continuing indiscriminate and horrific attacks” against the civilian populations of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, according to the United Nations.

The escalation of fighting in South Sudan has resulted in “alarming gross violations” of international human rights and humanitarian law as well as having exacted a terrible toll on the young nation’s civilian population, the United Nations human rights chief confirmed today.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced encouragement at the ongoing political dialogue in Burundi following weeks of tensions and a reportedly failed coup d&#39état in the country&#39s capital of Bujumbura, according to a United Nations spokesperson.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is rushing critical relief supplies to Tanzania’s north-western border with Burundi amid a devastating cholera outbreak affecting tens of thousands of refugees there.

Ten trucks carrying vital relief supplies have crossed the border between Tunisia and Libya, as the United Nations hunger relief agency said today that it has resumed providing assistance in support of displaced people affected by the ongoing conflict in Libya.

The World Health Organization (WHO) today reported “a substantial increase” in the weekly total of new Ebola cases in Guinea and Sierra Leone and deployed a response team to the border with Guinea-Bissau because of its proximity to a recent cluster of cases in a neighbouring Guinean prefecture.

The United Nations mission in Mali strongly condemned today an attack against a residential compound housing its military personnel in the country capital of Bamako, a spokesperson for the Organization confirmed today.

The United Nations has strongly condemned the escalation of hostilities in the past ten days between Government and opposition forces in Unity and Upper Nile States in South Sudan.

While it is too soon to celebrate definitive success in Somalia, and while the situation remains challenging, progress is being made and the international community would be missing a strategic opportunity if it failed to realize how much is being achieved, the top United Nations in the country told the Security Council today.

Almost two years since the eruption of the conflict in South Sudan, the situation continues to deteriorate with women and small children making up the majority of most recent casualties, a representative from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the country said today.