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United Nations Police Adviser Mark Kroeker has called on Member States to provide more police officers to peacekeeping missions, stressing that nothing is more important for countries emerging from conflict than providing “qualified and compassionate law enforcement.”

Building on the “spectacular success story” of the 60 per cent reduction in measles deaths since 2000, 10 per cent above target, the United Nations health agency today outlined its ambitious goals of expanding the integrated delivery of immunization and preventive treatment against a whole host of diseases.

A lack of global leadership on climate change, stemming from an unwarranted fear of economic hardship, is seriously hampering efforts to combat global warming, the top United Nations official dealing with the issue has warned.

Condemning the killings of journalists in Iraq and Turkey, the head of the United Nations body mandated to protect press freedom today once again stressed the vital role played by the media in establishing democracy and the rule of law.

Preventing further expansion of nuclear arsenals and reducing weapon stockpiles should be the key aims of this year’s Conference on Disarmament, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today in his message to the meeting’s first session in Geneva, where he also noted that military spending worldwide has risen to over $1.2 trillion.

Responding to a rise in pneumonia, bronchitis and other acute respiratory infections in Afghanistan following a wave of record cold temperatures there, the United Nations health agency is sending antibiotics for thousands of people and putting in place a system to protect many more from catching the illnesses.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today met with the heads of UN funds and programmes to discuss how to ensure staff mobility between those bodies and the UN Secretariat, as part of his efforts to make the world body’s personnel far more mobile and multi-functional.

The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) is investigating an incident in which 20 people, including five UN staff, taking part in a social gathering in a Darfur town were arrested by local police and assaulted – in some cases causing serious injuries – before being released.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon moved quickly today on his promise of an external, system-wide probe of United Nations activities in the field, announcing that it would target as a first priority countries where hard currency transactions, independence of staff hiring and access to review local projects are an issue, beginning with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The United Nations is sending in food and providing logistical support to approximately 8,000 Bolivian families – or 40,000 people – affected by severe floods and landslides.