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Sudan’s military and child welfare authorities have partnered with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to protect children’s rights and prevent the recruitment of child soldiers in the war-torn African nation.

The United Nations disaster management team was kept busy this year by the rise in hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters caused by extreme weather as well as by increased demand from Governments worldwide for disaster-awareness training.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the reported release from house arrest of the President of Mauritania, Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, who was overthrown by the country’s military in August, and called for the restoration of constitutional order as soon as possible.

The United Nations has condemned yesterday’s attack against staff at the Himal Media publishing house in Kathmandu as an assault on the freedom of expression, and urged authorities in Nepal to ensure a safe environment for media professionals to do their work.

The United Nations is bringing $500,000 in emergency food aid to 30,000 Colombians after a volcanic eruption caused massive flooding and avalanches in the northern and western parts of the South American nation.

A group of independent United Nations human rights experts have welcomed United States President-elect Barack Obama’s announced decision close the Guantánamo Bay detention centre, stressing it will end “a dark chapter in the country’s history.”

Four independent United Nations human rights experts today called on the Government of Zimbabwe and the international community to do more to rebuild the country’s health system, end the worst cholera epidemic ever recorded there and ensure adequate food for all people as millions face hunger.

The Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders reaffirmed their commitment today to United Nations-sponsored talks aimed at reunifying the Mediterranean island and pledged to reach a settlement as soon as possible.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a letter to the Security Council, has set out some proposals for the next steps on security and on considerations for a possible peacekeeping option for strife-torn Somalia, which has been beset by fighting and has not had a functioning central government since 1991.

Eighty-five Pakistani troops arrived in Darfur during the past two days to bolster the strength of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force, known as UNAMID, deployed earlier this year to try to end the violence and suffering in the war-ravaged Sudanese region.