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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has followed with keen interest the electoral process in El Salvador, whose outcome has been confirmed in the election of Mr. Salvador Sánchez Cerén as President.

Domestic and sexual violence, sexual bullying and harassment, forced and early marriages, and female genital mutilation – all these issues and more will be on the docket as the United Nations expert tasked with monitoring violence against women launched her first mission in the United Kingdom.

Our two white UN vehicles are carefully moving down the dusty and bumpy road between Kenema and Koindu in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. We pass dozens of burnt, abandoned ruins of what were once sturdy brick and stone homes, some with hundreds of bullet holes in their walls – eerie remnants of Sierra Leone's brutal civil war that started in this very spot. About 1,200 of the former warlord Charles Taylor's rebels launched their devastating campaign here, leading to years of fighting that killed tens of thousands and displaced more than 2 million people (about a third of the population), disrupting nearly every national institution.

The effects of climate change are already occurring in all continents and across the oceans, and the world, for the most part, is ill-prepared for their risks, says a United Nations report issued today, which also warns that while action can be taken, managing the phenomenon’s impacts will be difficult on a rapidly warming planet.

Relief aid should anticipate and prevent – not just react and treat, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) declares today in a new report that challenges humanitarian and development actors to change the way they operate, and aims to kick-start an urgent global dialogue on preventing crises through effective risk management.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced concern at the latest upsurge in violence in the Central African Republic (CAR), and reminded all those involved that they will be held accountable for their actions and brought to justice.

The United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled against Japan in a case involving charges by Australia that the country was using a scientific research programme to mask a commercial whaling venture in the Antarctic.

Senior United Nations relief officials began a visit to South Sudan today to meet conflict-affected people and to review the ongoing response and needs amid a spiralling humanitarian crisis in the world’s youngest nation.

A group of eight United Nations human rights independent experts today urged the Egyptian authorities to quash the 529 death sentences announced in Egypt last week and give the defendants new and fair trials, in line with international human rights law.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the Government of Myanmar to ensure the safety and security of all staff members and their property in the wake of recent attacks against the United Nations and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Rakhine state.