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The United Nations expert on the situation of human rights in Cambodia urged all sides to immediately exercise utmost calm and restraint, and reiterated his call for an end to the official ban on demonstrations.

Deeply concerned by the “urgent humanitarian situation” of unaccompanied child migrants from Central America, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for Governments of countries where the children start, continue or finish their journeys, to protect their dignity and human rights.

In a first-ever visit to the Dominican Republic, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today addressed the National Congress, saying “one country with dedication and solidarity can move the world,” helping to spur progress across the three pillars of the UN – development, human rights and peace.

While showing a downward trend in AIDS-related deaths, a new United Nations report out today warns that19 million of the 35 million people living with the virus globally do not know their HIV-positive status and therefore, ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 will require smart scale-up to close the gap.

The top United Nations human rights official today warned of the “disturbing” lack of transparency in governmental surveillance policies and practices, “including de facto coercion of private sector companies to provide sweeping access to information and data relating to private individuals without the latter’s knowledge or consent.”

Calling them “the backbone” of Haiti, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today praised national police recruits and the efforts under way to strengthen the rule of law in the country, as he continued his visit to the Caribbean nation.

The level of human loss and destruction in Gaza as a result of the ongoing conflict with Israel has been “immense,” the United Nations agency tasked with assisting Palestinian refugees said today, noting that eight days of hostilities has claimed 174 lives and injured well over 1,100 people.

More than 90 days after hundreds of schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram rebels in north-eastern Nigeria, a United Nations envoy for the region got a first-hand account of the efforts underway to rescue the students and to fight terrorism in the region, and met with education activist Malala Yousafzai, who was spending her birthday in Nigeria to show solidarity with the girls and their families.

The Chair of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) told the Security Council today that the recent crises in the Central African Republic (CAR) and South Sudan are painful reminders that efforts to prevent relapse into conflict remain insufficient and tools are not fully adequate.

Senior United Nations officials today called for a greater focus on development activities and alternative crops in countries where the tight grip of drug lords has disrupted peace, security and development, such as in Afghanistan and Myanmar.