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A United Nations expert today welcomed the General Assembly’s declaration this week that safe and clean drinking water is a human right, calling it a “landmark resolution” that sends an important signal to the world.

Iron ore production fell last year for the first time in seven years but continuing demand for the raw material from the Chinese steel industry ensured that the volume of trade increased again, a United Nations report released today says.

Millions of schoolchildren in China have demonstrated their concern for the environment by participating in a painting contest, using their artistic creativity to come up with images to illustrate their commitment to conservation, the United Nations environment agency said today.

The Everglades National Park in the United States is back on the List of World Heritage in Danger because of the “serious and continuing degradation of its aquatic ecosystem,” the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced today.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has added his voice to those of other United Nations officials expressing deep sadness at learning of the news that more than 140 people have reportedly died when a boat capsized in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) this week.

Actress Nicole Kidman, wrapping up a visit to Haiti today in her role as United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, stressed the need to tackle gender-based violence and support initiatives that advance women’s livelihoods as the country rebuilds after the January earthquake.

The Security Council today voted to extend by another year the mandate of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur, where violence once again rocked a large camp for people uprooted by the conflict in the war-ravaged Sudanese region.

The number of people affected by severe floods following torrential monsoon rains in north-western Pakistan during the past three days has risen to nearly a million, with hundreds dead and most of the stricken areas cut off, limiting access and relief efforts, the United Nations reported today.

Drawing from the experience of January’s catastrophic earthquake which devastated Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, the city’s mayor today told a United Nations-backed conference in Shanghai that local governments must be better prepared for disasters.

The United Nations is on track to transform the way it deploys missions around the globe and to ensure that its field operations have the support they need to successfully carry out their work, a senior official with the world body said today.