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The United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen met with officials in Cairo as part of the ongoing efforts to reach a political solution to a conflict that has led to just over 1,900 civilian deaths since fighting erupted in March and caused almost 100,000 people to flee the country.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations human rights office have strongly condemned the assassination attempt on Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, a leading Burundian human rights defender who was shot and wounded by unknown assailants in the capital on Monday.

United Nations officials have reiterated the need to bring perpetrators of last year’s tragedy, in which militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) attacked as many as 200,000 civilians – most of them from vulnerable communities – causing them to flee to Sinjar, to justice as well as to increase protection for women and girls from conflict-related sexual violence.

The members of the Security Council condemned today in the strongest terms the attacks against a convoy of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), which were perpetrated on Sunday in Bangui and resulted in the death of one peacekeeper.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the Clean Power Plan formally unveiled today by President Barack Obama, saying it shows the determination of the United States to address global warming while also saving money and growing the economy.

Member States answered the call to make 2015 a year of global action by agreeing on a “bold, ambitious and transformative” sustainable development agenda for the next 15 years, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

United Nations officials are marking the annual World Breastfeeding Week by highlighting the vital importance of a practice that gives children the healthiest start in life and the need to strengthen policies to promote nursing with stronger workplace policies.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced concern over the situation in Burundi, where the security situation continues to worsen following the recent elections, and strongly condemned the assassination yesterday of General Adolphe Nshimirimana.

The United Nations and its partners have welcomed the significant commitments made at a recent high-level forum in Somalia that will be critical to the future of the Horn of Africa nation, including the holding of inclusive elections.

Chris Gunness has served as the Spokesperson and Director of Advocacy and Communications for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for almost a decade.