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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has wrapped up his visit to the Sahel with a final stop in Chad, where he discussed with senior Government officials the country’s efforts to tackle the serious security and development challenges at home and in the wider region.

With diplomats set to gather in Warsaw next week to pick up negotiations on a binding climate deal, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) stressed today that small farmers in developing countries must have a greater role in the talks as they are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

With myriad technological, demographic and financial factors impacting all facets of labour – perhaps even giving the idea of work an altogether different meaning in the years to come – two key United Nations bodies joined forces today to examine “the future of employment” and the need for bold action to ensure the post-2015 development agenda provides decent work for all.

The United Nations environment agency today welcomed the ratification by the United States of the Minamata Convention, which seeks to bring down emissions and releases of mercury.

Improved supplies and a recovery in global inventories of cereals has led to less price volatility than in recent years, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today, adding that food prices over the past month rose slightly, driven by higher sugar prices.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated Colombia following an announcement that negotiating parties in Havana, Cuba, reached an agreement on the issue of political participation in the South American country.

The President of the General Assembly today urged Member States to embrace a spirit of compromise as they renewed their discussion of a topic that has eluded consensus for two decades – reform of the United Nations Security Council.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today underscored the importance of preparing for extreme weather patterns in Burkina Faso, which as has much of the Sahel region, been impacted by climate change, and urged national leaders to work with the United Nations and the international community to obtain the necessary resources to mitigate and adapt to the impacts.

A senior United Nations official today appealed to the international community to provide funding to the UN-backed tribunal trying Khmer Rouge leaders accused of mass killings in Cambodia, which is experiencing financial difficulties preventing it from completing its work.

The Joint Mission of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations overseeing destruction of Syria’s weapons stockpiles today confirmed verifying 22 of the 23 sites disclosed by Damascus.