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The top protection expert in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today warned of a growing risk to people fleeing conflict and persecution and called for “an all-out effort to ensure that protection, and in particular the institution of asylum, remains life-saving, non-political, and fundamentally humanitarian.”

Global youth unemployment rates have stabilized somewhat but remain well above pre-financial crisis levels, according to a new report released by the International Labour Organization (ILO) today.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Maman S. Sidikou of Niger as his new Special Representative for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Head of the UN Mission in the country, known as MONUSCO.

Voicing extreme concern over escalating tensions and rapidly-spreading violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the United Nations human rights chief today called for urgent action by both Israelis and Palestinians to halt the violence, while stressing the need to ensure security forces comply with international standards and respect for human rights.

There were no new cases of Ebola reported in West Africa in the week ending last Sunday, making it the first week since March 2014 with zero cases recorded in the three countries most affected by the outbreak, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which cautioned that there remains a near-term risk of new cases.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has requested that the Organization’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) launch an audit of the interaction between the UN and the Global Sustainability Foundation and the Sun Kian Ip Group, and the use of any funds received from these entities, according to a UN spokesperson.

With the holding its first round of elections 9 August this year, to renew the executive legislative and local leadership of the country, Haiti is taking “resolute” steps in renewing its democratic institutions, the top United Nations official for the country told the Security Council today.

Food prices are staying lower for longer periods, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported today, saying lower food prices "seem to be a boon to food security and are indeed just that for households who spend a large share of their income on food purchases.”

International and national experts from the Nepalese Department of Archaeology and an archaeological team from Durham University have begun post-disaster excavation surveys and rescue excavations at earthquake damaged UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.

Despite significant progress towards building a solid human rights framework, the Mexican Government must nevertheless “bind itself to a new sense of urgency in solving the enormous human rights challenges it faces,” Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said today as he wrapped up an official visit to the country.