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Despite commendable efforts by leaders of West African countries, the region remains fragile and continues to require ongoing support from the United Nations and the international community, particularly to stem the rise of organized crime, a UN envoy today told the Security Council.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the members of Security Council have deplored the shooting on Sunday of an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) soldier by a Lebanese soldier, and called for calm and continued restraint by all parties.

The United Nations and its partners will need nearly $13 billion in funding to reach millions of people with life-saving aid in 2014, with half of that sought for those affected by the deepening crisis in Syria.

With 2013 marked by a deterioration “beyond all imagination” in the Syrian conflict and the “imminent danger of mass atrocities” looming in the Central African Republic (CAR), Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on world leaders to follow the example of the late South African President Nelson Mandela in making 2014 the year of protecting people.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan is deeply concerned about a new bout of fighting that has forced an estimated 13,000 civilians – many women and children – to seek refuge at the UN base in Juba.

The Central African Republic (CAR), wracked by conflict that has killed thousands of people and driven more than half a million from their homes over the past year, is now facing a looming food crisis, the United Nations warned today, calling for urgent action to provide crop seeds to farmers.

Just over a month since Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines, the United Nations and its partners today agreed on the need to act quickly to help the affected communities rebuild their lives, as well as learn lessons from the international community’s response to the disaster.

Cambodia has fallen behind in obligations it made to monitor the treatment of prisoners, a United Nations committee to prevent torture said today, urging Phnom Penh to set up an independent national body to monitor detention centres.

The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom today called on Philippine authorities to investigate the separate murders of three journalists recently attacked in the southern Philippines region of Mindanao.

A group of independent United Nations experts today urged the Government of Laos to boost its investigation into the enforced disappearance a year ago of Sombath Somphone, a prominent human rights activist working on issues of land confiscation and assisting victims in denouncing such practices.