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Three weeks after the earthquake in Haiti, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations’ oldest agency, is still trying to re-establish reliable telephone and internet connections in the country, but also has long-term plans to help build state-of-the-art telecommunication networks there.

Progress on achieving greater social integration as envisioned in a landmark declaration in 1995 has been mixed, the head of the United Nations social development commission said today, calling for accelerated efforts to boost the participation of the world’s most vulnerable groups in decision-making processes.

The United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office has joined forces with a network of over a dozen other UN entities to prevent sexual violence in armed conflict and respond effectively to the needs of survivors.

The joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in the war-torn Darfur region today strongly rejected “unfounded allegations” levelled by the Sudanese military’s spokesperson that it is collaborating with the rebel group known as the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

The United Nations Women’s Fund (UNIFEM) has announced that the outgoing Chilean President will work closely with the agency to speak out on behalf of Haitian women suffering from the massive earthquake that devastated the Caribbean country on 12 January.

The pre-trial chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) today was ordered to reconsider adding the charge of genocide to the arrest warrant for Sudanese President President Omar al-Bashir issued last year.

The United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) is providing medical kits to thousands of expectant mothers in Haiti in case they cannot get medical attention in time and give birth at home or on the streets where they are living after last month’s earthquake.

Despite the commitment shown by Ecuador to eliminate child labour, the scourge remains a major obstacle to the country’s development efforts, said an independent United Nations human rights expert.

More than 20,000 families are at the risk of going hungry, as temperatures reaching as low as -50 degrees centrigrade have killed nearly two million head of livestock in Mongolia, the United Nations agriculture agency reported today.

The United Nations refugee agency today reported that a sharp rise in violence in Somalia in January left nearly 260 civilians dead, in addition to uprooting over 80,000 and causing widespread destruction.