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Ahead of the launch of a new book by the United Nations on the global trend away from the death penalty, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights said today that there has been a decline in the number of countries upholding capital punishment in the last 40 years.

As the number of women and children on the move in Europe continues to increase, an official from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today shared her eyewitness experience travelling with refugees and migrants for eight days along a difficult route from Greece to Slovenia, passing through the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Croatia.

With the “deadline” for concluding a universal climate agreement just four weeks away, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today warned that despite months of talks and critical pledges on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, key issues still remain in play – on equity and differentiation, on finance and ambition – requiring world leaders to give clear guidance to their negotiators to seek compromise and reach a fair, universal deal at the upcoming UN climate conference in Paris

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Martin Kobler of Germany as his Special Representative and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

While the United Nations is reporting that Cyclone Chapala – the rare tropical storm that slammed into Yemen’s southern coast yesterday, dumping perhaps a year’s worth of rain in some areas – is expected to weaken to a tropical depression over the next 12 hours, the immediate concern remains the welfare of an estimated 1 million people, mainly in the two governorates of Shabwah and Hadramaut.

Human rights activists face increasing risks, a United Nations expert said today at the launch of a worldwide survey to identify effective practices to protect human rights defenders.

As the historic elections in Myanmar draws closer, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Save the Children urged potential leaders of the country to prioritize children and commit to providing them with a fair start in life.

As the conflict over the future of Western Sahara nears its fortieth year, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on all concerned, within the region and the wider international community, to take advantage of the “intensified efforts” of his Personal Envoy to facilitate the launching of true negotiations in the coming months.

Governments need to improve data collection as a mean to better assess the situation of vulnerable groups, a UN independent expert on racism said today, noting that “the right to be free from discrimination includes the right to access information that could serve as evidence to prove discrimination.”