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The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Cyprus (UNFICYP) by six months, welcoming September’s historic launch of talks between the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities aimed at reunifying the Mediterranean island.

Nearly 50,000 Colombian refugees are expected to benefit from the Ecuadorian Government’s nationwide registration scheme, which aims to recognize and document refugees who have been in the country for more than a year, the United Nations said today.

A booklet that aims to build human rights awareness among the members of the armed forces of the young nation of Timor-Leste was released today and immediately welcomed by the United Nations mission in the country, known as UNMIT.

The United Nations Human Rights Council marked the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in a special session today, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calling on it to rise above “partisan posturing and regional divides” and review the record of every State.

Armed militia this morning shot two young girls who were sheltered at a United Nations camp in the conflict-ridden eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), from which the Organization’s refugee agency has been relocating thousands of displaced people due to concerns for their safety.

An Islamic rebel group in the Philippines will stop recruiting child soldiers and return to civilian life those already in their ranks, according to an action plan announced by a United Nations official who wrapped up a five-day mission in the country today.

The Security Council today extended the United Nations force observing the ceasefire between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights for a further six months, until 30 June 2009.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today strongly condemned the “heinous bomb attack” in northern Iraq which killed scores of people and wounded more than 90 civilians in a crowed restaurant yesterday.

A highly mobile peacekeeping force of at least 4,900, about 1,000 less than previously proposed, backed by 18 helicopters, will be needed to replace European troops next year in strife-torn areas of Chad and Central African Republic (CAR), where hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced people are seeking shelter, according to a United Nations report released today.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed hope that critical differences on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula will be overcome after they were left unresolved by Six-Party Talks that ended yesterday, despite what he called “serious discussions.”