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Implementation of the national climate plans prepared by countries ahead of the Paris climate meeting will limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, but a new climate agreement can encourage further action that will be necessary to limit global temperature rise to 2 degree Celsius by 2100, according to a new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report.

Alarmed that bodies of dead civilians are turning up on a “regular” basis in the Burundian capital, Bujumbura, and in the wake of the killing of the son of a prominent human rights defender, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein today called for an end to the killings and widespread impunity that has characterized the recent violence.

Despite a four-day shipping strike that affected refugees, migrants and host communities, the United Nations refugee agency has continued its work in the Greek Islands, where an estimated 20,000 refugees and migrants are currently staying, placing considerable strain on the limited reception facilities of several islands.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) indicated today that prior to tropical cyclone Chapala making landfall on Yemen last Tuesday, the agency had moved 1,000 tents and 3,000 non-food items kits into a number of governorates to support people in affected areas.

With the cholera spreading further in Iraq, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which is providing assistance Iraqi health authorities, has today urged accelerated action to shield communities and families from the outbreak, which has already infected more than 2,000 people across the country.

Deeply concerned about potential deaths, illness, malnutrition and psychosocial effects brought by the ongoing El Niño phenomenon, the strongest in nearly two decades, the World Health Organization (WHO) is ramping up its efforts with regional offices and partners to guide countries on El Niño preparedness and timely response to curb its health risks.

International football icon and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham met children receiving treatment for malnutrition at a UNICEF-supported hospital in Papua New Guinea.

Speaking at a symposium on the revitalization of a global partnership for sustainable development, top United Nations officials dealing with economic and social issues today stressed the importance of building trust, cultivating leadership and adjusting policies to achieve the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Following a confirmation from the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, Mr. Mustafa Akinci, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the decision by Turkey to allow access to the Committee on Missing Persons excavation teams, to 30 suspected burial sites in the military areas in the north of Cyprus.

Trafficking in cultural property has increasingly come to the attention of the international community and represents a source of enormous illicit profits, an official from UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) stressed today at a special event in St. Petersburg, Russia.