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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has commended the European Union (EU) Commission for its 50 million euro contribution to the multinational task force, created by Lake Chad Basin countries – Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria – and Benin to combat Boko Haram insurgents in the sub-region.

The United Nations human rights chief today deplored the execution of 20 people in Iran this week for purported terrorism-related offences.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today paid a visit to the Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he encouraged refugee athletes to show the world their strengths.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, and the Inter-American Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, Edison Lanza, expressed concern at the eroding media freedom in Venezuela, citing a number of reported incidents of harassments of journalists and media groups.

Expressing deep concern about the critical health condition of a prisoner on hunger strike for three months, a group of United Nations independent human rights experts today called on the Government of China to stop all forms of ill-treatment and urgently provide him with specialized medical care, based on his full and informed consent.

As fighting in and around battle-scarred Aleppo intensifies – along with diplomatic efforts to secure a truce – United Nations agencies and their partners are “ready, willing and able” to rush aid to the desperate people trapped there, a senior UN envoy said today, stressing that a humanitarian pause is critical, both to allow relief workers to enter the area, and for civilians to leave voluntarily.

The United Nations refugee agency today welcomed a joint commitment by nine North and Central American countries acknowledging the need for stronger protection of asylum-seekers, refugees and internally displaced people in the region, where crime and gang violence have driven thousands of people from their homes.

Preliminary United Nations investigations into the recent fighting in South Sudan reveal Government security forces carried out killings and rapes, and looted and destroyed properties, the UN human rights chief said today, calling on the Security Council to take stronger action.

The international prices for major food commodities saw a modest decline in July, following five consecutive months of increases, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien concluded today his three-day mission to crisis-torn South Sudan, voicing serious concern at the humanitarian situation in the country and in particular the violence against civilians, as well as attacks against aid workers, which is hampering efforts to respond to the needs of the people affected by the fighting.