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The United Nations political chief today visited Somalia to express solidarity in the aftermath of the recent attack on the world body's compound, and to reaffirm the Organization's resolve to continue its support to the Government and people of the East African nation.

Governments must take measures to protect children from harmful work in small-scale fisheries and aquaculture, two United Nations agencies stressed today, noting that many are exposed to hazardous working conditions even when their countries have signed treaties to protect them.

Two senior United Nations officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have condemned the recent cases of rape of young girls in the eastern province of South Kivu as “unacceptable” and called for an end to such abuse.

A United Nations committee today voiced concern at a wide range of practices that violate Israel's obligations as an occupying Power and infringe on the human rights of the Palestinians, and warned that popular discontent could result in another round of violence.

Negotiators at a United Nations-backed forum in Marrakesh adopted today a landmark copyright treaty to enhance access to books for millions of people who are blind or visually impaired.

The recent wave of violence in Iraq is taking a toll on human rights in the country, according to a United Nations report out today which recommends that the Iraqi Government implement measures in a range of areas, including police training and women's and children's rights.

While the use of traditional drugs is largely stable, demand is soaring for untested concoctions of psychoactive substances that threaten to be more dangerous, the head of the United Nations drug and crime agency said, marking the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

To mark the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon joined with United Nations independent human rights experts urging Member States to step up efforts to promote a victim-centred approach which includes access to redress and rehabilitation services.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today urgently appealed for $22 million to tackle the locust plague that has already infested over half of Madagascar’s cultivated land and pastures and threatens to trigger a severe food crisis in the island nation.

Warning that a prisoner in Nigeria is in imminent danger, an independent United Nations expert is today urging a stop to his possible execution just days after the country broke its seven year moratorium on the death penalty and apparently executed four prisoners.