The United Nations today called on all parties in Ukraine to exercise restraint amid reports of the use of excessive force by police and violent acts by demonstrators, and urged the Government to ensure that human rights safeguards are upheld.
With hundreds of thousands of protestors reportedly rallying anew in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, General Ban Ki-moon today appealed directly to President Victor Yanukovich for peaceful dialogue to defuse ongoing political tensions in the country.
![Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks on the telephone [file photo].](https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/assets/2011/03/12264/image350x235cropped.jpg "Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks on the telephone [file photo].")