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Stressing the need for States to work with the private sector to devise ways to prevent terrorists from exploiting the Internet while respecting human rights, the top United Nations political official today said curtailing the influence of terrorists and violent extremist groups must not come at the expense of curbing legitimate political discourse on the Internet or social media.

At its first ever meeting at Finance Ministers’ level, the United Nations Security Council today stepped up its efforts to cut off all sources of funding for the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIL) and other terrorist groups, including ransom payments, no matter by whom.

The “breakthrough” agreement signed this week by the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP) on victims of the decades-long conflict also acknowledges the various forms of violence that women have suffered and removes amnesties for the most serious crimes such as sexual violence, two senior United Nations officials said today.

On the third day of the United Nations-sponsored negotiations on ending the crisis in Yemen, the participants, meeting in Switzerland, have reached an agreement which allows for a full and immediate resumption of humanitarian assistance to the central city of Taiz.

Representatives from a broad range of Libyan society today signed a United Nations-brokered agreement on forming a national unity government, a move welcomed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his top envoy for the country as among the “essential building blocks towards a peaceful, secure and prosperous Libya,” but also as “the beginning of a difficult journey” along that path.

The top United Nations human rights official today urged the international community to take “robust, decisive” action instead of “fiddling around the edges” to avert a civil war in Burundi that could have serious ethnic overtones and alarming regional consequences.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today pledged to urgently review the recommendations made by an independent panel that found that the United Nations did not act with the “speed, care or sensitivity required,” when it uncovered information about crimes committed against children by soldiers – not under UN command – sent to the Central African Republic (CAR) to protect civilians.

More than 16 million babies in 2015 were born in conflict zones such as Afghanistan, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen or on perilous journeys to escape fighting, which translates to 1 in 8 of all births worldwide, or one newborn every two seconds, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today.

A United Nations human rights expert expressed deep concern today at the lack of consultation and the reduced protections to the Sami indigenous people in the current draft law on the Finnish Forest and Parks Service (Metsähallitus) to regulate the management of State-owned lands.

The United Nations rapid response funding mechanism for saving tens of thousands of lives in both sudden disasters and long-festering crises marked its 10th anniversary today with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon laying out plans to strengthen it in the face of mounting challenges.