UN News Centre

The United Nations refugee agency today announced that it is stepping up its presence in the eastern Aegean islands of Greece where in recent weeks, sea arrivals have been averaging some 600 people a day from countries like Syria, Afghanistan Iraq and Turkey, severely straining local reception capacities.

A United Nations-backed conference aimed at accelerating an ambitious development plan for the world’s 32 landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) concluded today in Zambia with a global ‘Call to Action’ intended to streamline their path towards sustainable, inclusive and economic progress.

The head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today called for a global movement to eradicate hunger as countries look ahead to the new set of development goals that will be adopted in September.

Critical aid operations supporting millions of people affected by the conflict in Iraq are at risk of shutting down unless funds are made available immediately, the United Nations official overseeing relief operations in the country warned today as she joined an international appeal for nearly $500 million to cover the immediate needs of 5.6 million Iraqis for the next six months.

The prices of major food commodities continued their downward trajectory through May as cereal prices dropped amid an increasingly favourable forecast for this year’s harvests, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) confirmed today.

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) today reported an increase in the intensity and geographic area of Ebola transmission in Guinea and Sierra Leone, warned that the onset of the rainy season &#8220from now onwards&#8221 will make field operations more difficult and noted that community engagement remains a challenge in both countries.

Renewing its support to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the vital mandate it is performing to protect civilians there, the Security Council today expressed its grave concern over the security and humanitarian situation in the country, which has been torn by “a conflict that is only growing more violent as it nears its 18th month.”

At a Headquarters forum on the role of media in combating terrorism, senior United Nations officials today expressed deep concerns over the impact of foreign terrorist fighters and their use of social media in spreading propaganda and radicalizing and recruit vulnerable young men and women to join their ranks.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced his intention to establish an independent review panel to investigate the United Nations&#39 handling of sexual abuse allegations involving foreign troops in the Central African Republic (CAR), the Organization has confirmed.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is celebrating its longstanding partnership with luxury goods brand Gucci and marking a decade of successes in bringing access to quality education to more than seven million children across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, the agency announced.

Palestinian refugee families living in substandard dwellings and owners of homes demolished in last year’s hostilities in Gaza, are among those gaining access to shelter under a United Nations-backed project to provide close to 450 newly-built housing units, which was stalled for three years due the lack of access to construction materials.

The only option Libya has, “the only real alternative for the future,” is an agreement, Special Representative and head of the United Nations Support Mission in the country (UNSMIL), Bernardino León said at a meeting in Algeria with Libyan political leaders and activists today.

Appalled at the two-year prison sentence handed down to U Htin Lin Oo on charges of insulting religion, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) today urged the Myanmar authorities to release the columnist and guarantee freedom of expression and opinion in the country.

The Security Council today voiced deep concern about the &#8220grave situation&#8221 in Yemen and urged the country&#39s stakeholders to engage as soon as possible in United Nations-brokered inclusive political consultations.

Noting that challenges remain to curb Greek debt crisis while addressing human rights, a United Nations expert today urged international institutions and Greece to redouble their efforts to “maximum available resources” for financial obligations and ensure the enjoyment of human rights.

While the outgoing senior United Nations rights official in Afghanistan said she expected the human rights advances made “will be sustained, will not be rolled back, and will not be sacrificed,” she lamented the high level of violence against women and the need for the Government to do “much more” for women’s rights.

The United Nations is continuing its efforts to facilitate a dialogue among Burundian stakeholders amid the country’s ongoing political deadlock and a burgeoning humanitarian crisis, a spokesperson for the Organization announced today.

United Nations Special Rapporteur Michel Forst today criticized the “relentless prosecution and repression of prominent rights activists in Azerbaijan” and called for their immediate release – before the inaugural European Games begin in Baku on 12 June.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed his sadness over a ship accident that occurred last night in China, reportedly resulting in major casualties.

If the upcoming launch of the 2015 humanitarian response plan for Iraq by the United Nations and partners fails to raise the required $500 million, the people of the country, especially those internally displaced by fighting, will face even greater hardship, a World Health Organization (WHO) official warned today.