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United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein today condemned the latest attack against people with albinism in Tanzania that took the form of the “horrific murder and mutilation” of an albino baby and demanded such “terrible” crimes be halted.

Syrian authorities should release all those held by Government forces and its militias, without due process, in some cases for years on end, the United Nations rights chief urged today, noting which said that activists, lawyers and human rights defenders had been particularly targeted.

Scaling up investment to tackle leprosy, dengue fever, sleeping sickness and other neglected tropical diseases will improve the health and well-being of more than 1.5 billion people, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said today, launching a new report.

The United Nations agricultural agency has today announced the launch of a new technology that will allow quick identification of species of the fish while better helping to protect endangered shark species and to combat illegal trade in shark fins.

In Washington D.C. for a summit hosted by the United States on countering violent extremism, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon today warned leaders against “discarding our moral compass” and giving into fear, as he called for “cool heads and common sense” to deal with what may very well be “the greatest test our human family faces in the 21st century.”

Several days after parties to the conflict in Ukraine signed a ceasefire, United Nations agencies announced a scale up of their emergency operations to the country, delivering some 62 metric tons of humanitarian aid to the crisis-torn Donetsk region today.

The United Nations Security Council today urged the Government of Burundi to establish a climate of freedom and openness conducive to the holding of elections later this year and expressed concern about reports of intimidation, harassment, arbitrary detention and other curtailments to the enjoyment of the rights of freedom of peaceful assembly and expression.

The High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, Nassir Al-Nasser, said today that the “vicious forces” of extremism, violence and terrorism should not hamper international efforts to prevent and combat such forces.

Any peace agreement reached to end the conflict in South Sudan should reflect the commitments made at the end of 2014 to ensure accountability for sexual violence crimes, the UN Secretary-General’s Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict said today.

Recent savage terrorist acts – culminating in the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians – highlight the “imminent danger” confronting Libya, its people and the wider region, the United Nations envoy to the country warned today, urging swift agreement among the main parties on resolving the crisis and ending the military and political conflict.