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Security Council votes unanimously to extend the mandate of the United Nations- Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Joint Investigative Mechanism.
UN Photo/Cia Pak

Security Council extends mandate of UN-OPCW body on chemical weapons use in Syria

31 October 2016
The UN Security Council today extended by just under three weeks the mandate of the United Nations- Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Joint Investigative Mechanism, the body tasked with identifying those behind chemical weapons attacks in the Syrian civil war.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) meets with Michel Aoun in Beirut, Lebanon on 30 March 2007.
UN Photo/Evan Schneider (file)

Lebanon: Welcoming new president, UN chief encourages formation of government without delay

31 October 2016
Welcoming the election of Michel Aoun as the new President of Lebanon, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed hope that all parties in the country will continue to work in a spirit of unity and in the national interest, according to his spokesperson.
Children at the home clinic in Foot village, Sa’ada Governorate, northern Yemen. The clinic provides basic health services for the 3,000 people in the village.
OCHA/Afif Abu Aser

‘Dawn of peace’ could be near if Yemeni actors prioritize national interest – UN envoy tells Security Council

31 October 2016
Highlighting that the humanitarian situation in Yemen continues to deteriorate despite the efforts of relief actors, the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen called on all parties to recommit themselves to the promises made earlier and to engage fully and constructively with the UN-mediated peace process.
UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro.
UN Photo/Evan Schneider

New approaches required to prevent trafficking among conflict-induced migrants – UN human rights expert

31 October 2016
Governments need to adopt new approaches to human trafficking in light of conflict-induced migration increasing around the world and putting many more people at risk of such trafficking, according to an independent United Nations human rights expert.
City of old Cairo, Egypt, as people start filling the streets early in the day.
World Bank/Dominic Chavez

“To transform our world, we must transform its cities” says UN chief on World Cities Day

31 October 2016
With more than half of the global population now living in cities and human settlements, greater attention needs to be placed on the role of urbanization as a source of global development and social inclusion, according to the United Nations on World Cities Day.
Cash assistance to Internally Displaced Persons in Al NAbek, Rural Damascus. Photo OCHA. Credit UNHCR.

UN refugee agency aims to double funds for cash-based assistance to refugees by 2020

31 October 2016
The United Nations refugee agency announced today its intention to double funds for cash-based assistance to refugees across the world by 2020 as a way to better assist and protect them
On 24 October 2016 in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria, children pass in front of a flame fed by waste and rubber materials in order to make Kanda, a type of smoked meat, at an abattoir.
UNICEF/Tanya Bindra

Almost one in seven children breathing heavily toxic air – UNICEF report

31 October 2016
About 300 million children in the world are living in areas with outdoor air so toxic – six or more times higher than international pollution guidelines – that it can cause serious health damage, including harming their developing brains, a new United Nations Children's Fund report has revealed.
A damaged building in Aleppo City, Syria.
OCHA/Gemma Connell (file)

UN envoy on Syria 'shocked' and 'appalled' by indiscriminate rocket attack on western Aleppo

30 October 2016
The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has said that he is “appalled and shocked” by the high number of rockets indiscriminately launched by armed opposition groups on civilian suburbs of Syria's western Aleppo in the past 48 hours.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks on the telephone [file photo].
UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras

In phone call with South African President, Ban expresses hope country will 'reconsider' decision on ICC withdrawal

30 October 2016
In a telephone conversation with President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon regretted the country's decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court and expressed hope that it would reconsider the decision before the withdrawal takes effect.
A wide view of the Security Council.
UN Photo/JC McIlwaine (file)

Syria: Security Council strongly condemns attacks against schools and shelling of Russian Embassy

29 October 2016
The United Nations Security Council has condemned in the “strongest terms” an attack yesterday on the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Syria's capital Damascus as well as the widely reported recent attacks on schools in the country, according to separate statements issued late yesterday.