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United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon today condemned the attacks by groups of unidentified assailants on military camps in Bujumbura early this morning and said that such acts of violence can lead to a further destabilization of the situation in crisis-torn Burundi.

The United Nations in Syria and its partners have evacuated more than 300 fighters along with their families from the last rebel-held neighbourhood of the western city of Homs, as part of a local truce the UN Special Envoy for Syria has described as having “great value” toward demonstrating that a nationwide ceasefire is “doable.”

A senior United Nations human rights official warned today that the fighting in Ukraine, which has recently decreased, could erupt again with a massive civilian toll in a conflict that has already left over 9,000 people dead and nearly 21,000 injured over the past two years.

While praising the current United States administration for its commitment to women’s equality, United Nations experts warned today that the extreme polarization of US politics is “profoundly” affecting the Government’s ability to guarantee women’s human rights, and even to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Warning of severe shortages of food and fuel now plaguing Nepal caused by the ongoing major disruptions in imports across its southern border with India, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today predicted extreme hardship for the land-locked country if prices of basic food staples continue to soar.

While global hunger figures are declining, the number of food insecure people in mountain areas rose 30 per cent over 12 years to nearly 330 million, according to a study released today by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and a partner agency on International Mountain Day.

On the eve of a constitutional referendum meant to help stabilize the Central African Republic (CAR) amid conflict between Muslims and Christians, the United Nations human rights chief today voiced deep concern at mounting sectarian language, warning of possible “dramatic consequences” given the highly volatile pre-election atmosphere.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said that he is encouraged by progress of the talks at the UN climate change conference (COP21) in Paris, where the negotiations under way are perhaps the most significant and complex ever attempted.

Alarmed by the recent spate of violent attacks on human rights defenders in Viet Nam, the United Nations rights agency today expressed concern at the “apparent failure” of the Vietnamese authorities to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators and urged the Government to take measures to ensure security of all human rights defenders.

The top United Nations human rights official today called on the Security Council to refer the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the International Criminal Court, citing continuing gross rights violations, “the institutional nature and severity of which pose a threat to international peace and security.”