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Threats to Belize's barrier reef reserve and Colombia''s Los Katios National Park from deforestation, illegal fishing and “excessive development” have led the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to inscribe the sites on its List of World Heritage in Danger.

Marking the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for stepped up aid and tightening the rule of law to halt the cultivation, production and trafficking of illicit drugs.

The United Nations refugee agency today voiced its grave concern over the escalating violence and worsening displacement crisis in the Somali capital, where local hospitals report that over 250 civilians have been killed and nearly 1,000 others wounded since fighting erupted last month.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon led United Nations officials in calling on governments to go on the offensive in the fight against torture, stressing there can be no justification under any circumstances for such “cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment,” in a message marking the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, further liberalization of international trade can help combat climate change and support a low carbon economy, said a joint United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Trade Organization (WTO) report launched today in Geneva.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon joined the other members of the diplomatic Middle East Quartet today in calling on Israel and the Palestinians to fulfil their agreed obligations in the search for peace, adding that it is important to work hard towards meaningful progress.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced his concern about the political and institutional tensions in Honduras and urged restraint by all concerned to prevent any further escalation.

The United Nations envoy for Myanmar has arrived in the South-East Asian nation for a two-day visit, a spokesperson for the world body announced today.

The top United Nations relief official today called for enhancing compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law, as well as countering impunity for perpetrators of abuses, to strengthen the protection of civilians caught up in armed conflict.

Despite local media reports of widespread returns of some of the 2 million people uprooted by the conflict between Government forces and militants in north-west Pakistan, the United Nations refugee agency today said that there was no large-scale movement out of the makeshift camps housing the displaced.