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A three-day training session aimed at improving industrial safety across the Balkans has kicked off in the Croatian city of Split, the UN announced today, adding that the initiative is part of the world body’s continuing efforts to protect people and the environment against industrial accidents.

A group of United Nations independent human rights experts today called on Colombian authorities to revisit the military criminal law provisions of proposed constitutional reforms, warning they could have serious implications for the rule of law, violate international law, and reverse the Latin American nation’s achievements in advancing respect for human rights.

The United Nations top peacekeeper today highlighted the need for flexibility and increased coordination among international actors to ensure peacekeeping missions address the needs of the countries they operate in, within the context of financial restraint.

The United Nations condemns an attack on a military base in Guinea-Bissau which resulted in numerous deaths, a spokesperson for the world body announced today.

Delegations from the Government of Sudan and the Justice and Equality Movement – one of the rebel groups in the Sudanese region of Darfur – have signed a declaration affirming their commitment to the ongoing peace process there, the immediate cessation of hostilities and the resumption of negotiations “in order to achieve a comprehensive settlement of the conflict” on the basis of the so-called Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD).

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today met with Argentine Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman and congratulated Argentina on its accession to the Security Council for the 2013 – 2014 session.

A top United Nations envoy today expressed the hope that the local polls taking place in the city of Ramallah and elsewhere across the West Bank “will re-establish elections as a crucial component of an inclusive, democratic process and will serve as a prelude to general elections being organized next year in all of the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) in the context of reconciliation.”

Following the deaths of at least 18 women, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) today called on the Taliban leadership to publicly reiterate a ban on landmine-like improvised explosive device (IEDs) and to stop their use.

The United Nations humanitarian chief has called for a change in the way the international community deals with humanitarian crises and supports governments in improving preparedness and increasing the capacities and coping mechanisms of communities and households faced with floods.

While expressing praise for the “huge efforts” made by Libya’s leadership and others to bring a halt to violence which has plagued the country over recent months, the UN envoy for the North African nation today voiced concern about unfolding military developments in the city of Bani Walid.