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As the international community gathers to commemorate the millions of victims exploited by slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today warned that the insidious practice of forced bondage continued to reverberate around the world in various forms – from forced labour and trafficking to sexual exploitation and captivity in slavery-like conditions.

The United Nations budget committee on Tuesday rejected a draft decision that would have had Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon withdraw a bulletin, issued last year, which established rules for the personal status of staff members in determining their benefits and entitlements.

The United Nations Security Council has voiced its “profound disappointment” at the failure of all parties in South Sudan to conclude an agreement that would bring the country closer to resolving its ongoing conflict and usher in a period of national unity and peace.

The scope for developing countries to participate in and benefit from e-commerce is expanding, according to a new United Nations report released today, with improved connectivity, new e-commerce applications, platforms and payment solutions, and the emergence of local e-commerce companies that are tailoring their services to local demands.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today recalled, on the 35th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero of El Salvador, that the United Nations has over the past year supported commissions of inquiry on the Central African Republic, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Eritrea, the recent conflict in Gaza and Syria to further the icon’s work to see that truth prevails.

The issue of poverty continues to remain “under the radar” for many Chilean policy-makers despite the country’s impressive array of anti-poverty programmes, an independent United Nations human rights expert has warned.

The United Nations refugee chief António Guterres began a two-day visit to Cameroon today to see the impact of the displacement crises in neighbouring Nigeria and Central African Republic (CAR), which have sent over hundreds of thousands fleeing for safety.

Grave violations of children’s rights are continuing to take place in Yemen, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) confirmed today, on the heels of a spate of recent attacks on mosques in Sana’a that killed 12 children and injured 20.

A permanent memorial to honour the victims of one of the most horrific tragedies of modern history will be revealed at United Nations Headquarters in New York on Wednesday, when the world marks the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

With some 37 million lives saved between 2000 and 2013 through the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis, it is possible to end the epidemic by 2035, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on World Tuberculosis Day, urging leaders to recommit to ending one of humanity's top killers.