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Amid increased levels of violence in Afghanistan that has now spread across a large part of the country, the United Nations Deputy Special Representative there, reported today overall progress in the ability to provide relief aid to those in need, as all parties to the conflict have shown an increase respect for humanitarian laws.

The Security Council today increased the United Nations peacekeeping force level in strife-torn South Sudan by over 1,000 to a ceiling of 15,000 troops and police, and extended its mandate for another six months, citing protection of civilians “by all necessary means” as its top priority.

The United Nations Security Council today extended for another five months its interim peacekeeping force in Abyei, a resource-rich area contested by Sudan and South Sudan, calling on both sides to swiftly resume regular meetings to resolve the oil-rich territory’s final status.

Expressing “grave concern” at the outpouring of intolerance and hate speech in public discourse and in the media in recent weeks, which focused particularly on Muslims, senior United Nations human rights officials have urgently called on those in positions of authority and political leadership to act responsibly and with respect for both international and national laws.

Some 180,000 children under the age of five die every year – roughly 500 a day – in sub–Saharan Africa due to diarrhoeal diseases linked to inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned today ahead of a conference in the region on boosting financing for the sector.

Citing remarkable achievement of the information and communication technologies (ICT) for development, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that the focus now lies on bridging the digital divide to facilitate inclusive Internet access for all in order to enable the implementation of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

Warning that deeply entrenched patriarchal attitudes make violence against women “an almost acceptable phenomenon” in South Africa, a United Nations human rights expert today urged the Government to strengthen its fight against gender-based violence through awareness and education at all levels of society.

The President of the 193-member United Nations General Assembly today vowed to begin the hard work of carrying out the Paris Agreement on climate change, reminding the world that at a time of great division, the unity, leadership and collective responsibility demonstrated in the French capital should not be forgotten.

The children of South Sudan are among the most vulnerable on the planet, two leading United Nations humanitarian agencies said today, with a senior UN refugee official warning that the world’s newest nation cannot afford to lose a generation of children, “as in them lies the future and hope of the young nation.”

The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) today chided the United Nations Security Council for its “empty promises” to bring Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir to trial for atrocities in Darfur, even as his victims cry out for justice amid indiscriminate killings and mass rape.