Latest News

Strongly condemning the killing of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya by an affiliate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations Security Council deplored the targeting of persons based on religious affiliation, while also urging Libyan parties to press ahead with their political dialogue.

At the request of the top United Nations rights official, the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council today agreed to temporarily hold off its consideration of a long-awaited report into alleged rights violations during the conflict in Sri Lanka for six months, until September 2015.

As momentum builds towards negotiations in Paris next year on a universal climate agreement, the United Nations announced today that early analysis shows that countries with targets under the landmark Kyoto Protocol – the world's first emission reduction treaty – have collectively exceeded their original ambition.

While a major scaling up of humanitarian action over the past year meant that “the worst has been avoided” in Central African Republic, senior United Nations and European Union relief officials in the region today stressed that needs are still extremely high and much remains to be done to ease the “appalling” suffering faced by the country's people.

Strongly condemning this weekend's attacks at a freedom of expression event near a synagogue in Copenhagen, Denmark, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed that there is no justification for attacks against civilians and reaffirmed the need for the world “stand strong” for tolerance and free expression.

Demanding that secessionist Houthi militias in Yemen "immediately and unconditionally" withdraw from Government and security institutions, the Security Council this evening called on all Yemeni parties to engage in good faith in the United Nations-brokered political talks being led by Special Adviser Jamal Benomar.

The United Nations Security Council has condemned “in the strongest terms” the continued escalation of attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram terrorists, including deadly attacks during the past week which took the lives of many civilians in Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

On the tenth anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and 21 others who lost their lives on that day, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon renewed his condolences to the families of the victims of this terrorist attack and pledged the Organization's commitment to the country and its people.

In addition to lives lost and the socio-economic impact of the Ebola outbreak, the long-term impact on families – with at least 3,700 children in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone losing one or both parents to the virus – further underscores the dire need to invest in better health care systems, Martin Sajdik, President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), has said.

The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, has met with Ibrahim Ghandour, Deputy Chairman of Sudan’s National Congress Party, to discuss the National Dialogue called for by President Bashir of Sudan and ongoing efforts to end hostilities in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile.