UN News Centre

Progress on the economy and improving security is imperative so that Afghans have confidence in their Government, the United Nations envoy in Afghanistan said today.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has released its 2015 annual report, articulating its response to the humanitarian challenges and human suffering, in all corners of the world that have overstretched the UN relief arm.

More than 240,000 people, or a third of the population, in Niger&#39s Diffa region have now been uprooted from their homes since violence by Boko Haram insurgents began three years ago, a senior United Nations official said today.

With the conflict in Syria now well into its fifth year, and the country dealing with a grinding crisis that has brought death, displacement and regional instability, the international community must not lose momentum in attaining a comprehensive and concrete political solution, senior United Nations officials emphasized today.

The first-ever United Nations-sponsored regional forum for Action on Albinism in Africa will take place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from 17 to 19 June to develop specific measures to tackle the attacks and discrimination faced by persons with albinism in several countries in the region.

Marking the 10th anniversary of a United Nations treaty that protects the rights of persons with disabilities, senior UN officials today highlighted the critical role people with disabilities play as invaluable partners to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The longer the political crisis continues in Guinea Bissau, the more likely the country could see setbacks to its development and economic gains, warned the head of the United Nations peacebuilding office there, urging the Security Council to pay greater attention to the situation.

The UN human rights office today urged the Libyan authorities to undertake an effective, thorough and impartial investigation to bring perpetrators of torture to justice, after 12 people were found dead last Friday.

An expert panel of the World Health Organization (WHO) today concluded that while the Zika virus and its associated disorders continue to be a public health emergency of international concern, there is a &#8220very low&#8221 risk of further international spread of the virus as a result of the upcoming Olympic Games.

Given the unchanged nature of the conflict in Darfur, Sudan, the mandate of the African Union-United Nations mission there should be extended for another year, without changes to its priorities or its authorized troop and police ceiling, the top UN peacekeeping official said today.

In Brussels, Belgium, today, ahead of the start of a forum by the European Commission, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with several European officials, discussing such issues as the need for stronger international cooperation in the face of emerging challenges related to terrorism, and also visited with refugees and volunteers working at a soup kitchen.

More than nine out of 10 refugee and migrant children arriving in Europe this year through Italy are unaccompanied, the United Nations Children&#39s Fund (UNICEF) reported today, warning of the growing threats of abuse, exploitation and death that such children are facing.

In an opinion piece published today by The Guardian, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the outcome of the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit, held in Istanbul, Turkey, last month.

In the wake of the mass killing of 49 people by a sole gunman in a gay nightclub in Florida, the United Nations human rights chief today urged the leadership of the United States to live up to its obligations to protect its citizens from the &#8220horrifyingly commonplace but preventable violent attacks that are the direct result of insufficient gun control.&#8221

The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution today authorizing Member States, acting nationally or through regional organizations, to inspect vessels on the high seas off the coast of Libya they believe are carrying illicit weapons.

On World Blood Donor Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for a rapid increase in voluntary blood donations in more than half of the countries globally in order to ensure a reliable supply of safe blood for patients whose lives depend on it.

The United Nations cultural agency and International Criminal Court (ICC) are working together in the fight against impunity for deliberate destruction of cultural heritage, which could constitute a war crime.

Small, fast growing wild fish could be crucial allies in the race to end hunger in some of the world&#39s most chronically poor and underfed regions, according to a new report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on fisheries in the drylands of sub-Saharan Africa.

Incidence of cholera has gone down by 90 per cent in Haiti from 2011 to last year, and the United Nations will continue to help the country tackle the root causes of the disease, such as lack of clean water and sanitation services, the deputy head of the UN mission there has said.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned an attack that occurred early this morning in Orlando, Florida, in which 50 people were killed and dozens more were injured.