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The Afghan conflict has intensified in 2015, resulting in record high levels of civilian casualties and new displacements that are stretching the humanitarian community’s ability to sufficiently meet life-saving needs, the United Nations relief wing reported today.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the signing by former South Sudan Vice President Riek Machar and the Former Detainees of the compromise peace agreement put forth by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development Partners Forum (IGAD) mediation, meant to end the conflict raging in the country for the past 20 months.

The escalating refugee crisis in Greece is continuing, with migrant arrivals accelerating “dramatically,” the United Nations warned today, urging the Greek Government to strengthen reception facilities and services and for wider Europe to bolster humanitarian coordination.

With one in five children still not receiving routine life-saving immunizations, and an estimated 1.5 million dying each year of diseases that could be prevented by vaccines, people who delay or refuse vaccines for themselves or their children are presenting a growing challenge for countries seeking to close the immunization gap, according to the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO).

Since the United Nations increasingly shares responsibility for peace and security with regional organizations, everything possible should be bone to help them resolve regional problems and to include the States concerned in solutions, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

Welcoming Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s commitment to strictly enforce his ‘zero tolerance’ policy against sexual exploitation or abuse by United Nations personnel, the Security Council today stressed the importance of the UN quickly investigating the most recent allegations of misconduct by peacekeepers, and if substantiated, working with the troop contributing countries involved to ensure those responsible are held accountable.

Stephen O'Brien has hit the ground running since taking up his post a couple of months ago as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, having seen first-hand the devastation wrought by ongoing conflicts in South Sudan, Iraq, Yemen and Syria.

The United Nations human rights office today expressed concern over violence in Sirte, Libya, involving militants claiming allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

With hundreds of millions of Facebook and Twitter feeds set to be devoted to stories from survivors of humanitarian crises as part of a massive digital storytelling campaign launched by the United Nations and its partners, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon kicked off World Humanitarian Day with a reminder that “each one of us can make a difference” and “ help create a more humane world.”

The United Nations Security Council reiterated today its demand that all parties to the conflict in Syria must cease any attacks against civilians, as well as any indiscriminate use of weapons in populated areas, and work towards a political solution to the years-long crisis.