Africa

Special Representative for Somalia Nicholas Kay.
AU/UN/IST/Ilyas Abukar

Somalia: UN envoy appeals for calm following clashes in northern region

30 November 2013
“Deeply concerned” by the recent outbreak of violence in Somalia's northern Sool region, the top United Nations official in the country called today for calm and urged all parties to resolve political issues through dialogue and reconciliation.
A view of Torit prison, built in 1946 and the oldest one in South Sudan.
UN Photo/Martine Perret

South Sudan: UN urges death penalty moratorium following reported executions

29 November 2013
The United Nations human rights office today called on authorities in South Sudan to stop the use of the death penalty, stressing that the country’s nascent judicial system may not have ensured fair trials for the more than 200 people on death row.
A Malian refugee woman in Mangaize, northern Niger. Many Malians have fled to neighbouring countries because of the general insecurity and humanitarian situation in the country's north.
UNHCR/H. Caux

Mali: UN mission calls for restraint, return to negotiations after clash in Kidal

29 November 2013
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali today strongly condemned the latest violence in Kidal, in the northern part of the country, and called for restraint.
Vaccination is the best way to prevent yellow fever.
WHO/C. Banluta

Sudan: UN relief official deplores killing of health workers in West Darfur

29 November 2013
The top United Nations humanitarian official in Sudan today strongly condemned the killing of two Ministry of Health staff members who were part of a measles vaccination team in West Darfur.
Children caught on the frontlines in Katanga province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
OCHA/Gemma Cortes

UN calls for immediate action after reported killings of children in DR Congo capital

27 November 2013
The United Nations today called on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to take immediate action in light of alarming reports of disappearance and assassination of children and youth that coincide with a Government operation to tackle delinquency in Kinshasa.
Egyptians protest in Cairo in July 2013.
UN News Centre

Amid ongoing Egyptian protests, UN chief urges rethinking anti-demonstrations law

27 November 2013
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed serious concern about the detentions and violent dispersal of protesters in Egypt, including reports of sexual assault.
The sprawling Dadaab camp in Kenya, the world’s largest refugee complex.
IOM/UNHCR/Brendan Bannon

Kenya: Somali repatriation process must be voluntary, UN agency stresses

26 November 2013
The agreement signed earlier this month between the United Nations refugee agency and the Governments of Somalia and Kenya supports the voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees, a UNHCR spokesperson has stressed, reiterating that the parties are not forcing anyone to return to Somalia.
Child soldiers guard a road near Bunia, Ituri region, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
UNICEF/HQ03-0555/LeMoyne

Back from DR Congo, senior UN official urges more focus on protection of children

26 November 2013
Former child soldiers and girls used as sex slaves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) desperately wish to be reunited with their communities – to return to school or get jobs ¬ a United Nations envoy said today, urging authorities to seize every opportunity to better protect children affected by conflict-related violence.
UNAMID Joint Special Representative Mohamed Ibn Chambas.
Hamid Abdulsalam/UNAMID (file photo)

Joint African-UN envoy fosters effort to bring all Darfur groups into peace process

26 November 2013
In an effort to bring all groups in Sudan’s conflict-wracked Darfur region into the peace process, the joint African Union-United Nations mediator has held talks with Chadian President Idriss Déby, seeking his support.
José Ramos-Horta, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Credible elections vital for restoring constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau, says UN envoy

26 November 2013
The holding of credible and peaceful elections next year is vital for the process of restoring constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau, a United Nations envoy told the Security Council today, urging continued international support to help the West African nation complete this process.