UN News Centre

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, and the Inter-American Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, Edison Lanza, expressed concern at the eroding media freedom in Venezuela, citing a number of reported incidents of harassments of journalists and media groups.

Expressing deep concern about the critical health condition of a prisoner on hunger strike for three months, a group of United Nations independent human rights experts today called on the Government of China to stop all forms of ill-treatment and urgently provide him with specialized medical care, based on his full and informed consent.

As fighting in and around battle-scarred Aleppo intensifies, along with diplomatic efforts to secure a truce, United Nations agencies and their partners are “ready, willing and able” to rush aid to the desperate people trapped there, a senior UN envoy said today, stressing that a humanitarian pause is critical, both to allow relief workers to enter the area, and for civilians to leave voluntary.

The United Nations refugee agency today welcomed a joint commitment by nine North and Central American countries acknowledging the need for stronger protection of asylum-seekers, refugees and internally displaced people in the region, where crime and gang violence have driven thousands of people from their homes.

Preliminary United Nations investigations into the recent fighting in South Sudan reveal Government security forces carried out killings and rapes, and looted and destroyed properties, the UN human rights chief said today, calling on the Security Council to take stronger action.

The international prices for major food commodities saw a modest decline in July, following five consecutive months of increases, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien concluded today his three-day mission to crisis-torn South Sudan, voicing serious concern at the humanitarian situation in the country and in particular the violence against civilians, as well as attacks against aid workers, which is hampering efforts to respond to the needs of the people affected by the fighting.

A United Nations-backed report launched today explores the different ways the international treaty governing the inscription of world heritage sites may one day apply to sunken coral islands, floating rainforests, or giant undersea volcanoes, none of which can be considered for listing because they are in the seas outside of any national jurisdiction.

The United Nations is "deeply troubled" by the recent missile launches of the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK), a UN spokesperson said today after one of the rockets, reportedly landed in or near Japanese waters for the first time.

In a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Erlan Idrissov, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated the country on its recent election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, as well on its signing of the Paris Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The United Nations food relief agency today started a fundraising campaign, using a smartphone application, to provide school meals in a southern district of Malawi, where El Niño-induced drought has reduced crop yields.

A new United Nations report has found that e-government is an effective tool for facilitating integrated policies and public service by promoting accountable and transparent institutions, such as through open data and participatory decision-making, and therefore it has the potential to help support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Marking the second anniversary of the seizure of Sinjar by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed his profound sympathy to the families of the victims and the survivors as well as deep concern for safety of the people – particularly thousands of Yazidi women and children – still being held captive.

Civilian causalities in eastern Ukraine spiked in June and July, prompting the United Nations human rights chief to call on the parties to the conflict to make protection of civilians a priority and take urgent steps to de-escalate the increasingly tense situation at the contact line.

With all eyes on Yemeni peace negotiations, the United Nations envoy for the country announced today that the UN-supported talks under way in Kuwait have been extended for an additional week.

Marking the International Day of Friendship, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged everyone to unite in a shared spirit of human solidarity to overcome the crises confronting the global society.

The Security Council this evening requested Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to establish a United Nations police officers component in Burundi for an initial period of one year to monitor the security situation and to support the Office of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) in monitoring rights violations and abuses in the crisis-gripped country.

The Security Council today extended for two weeks the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), allowing time for its membership to consider options on adapting the operation’s mandate amid renewed violence in the world’s youngest country.

Ahead of the six-year remembrance of a mass rape of more than 300 civilians residents of the Walikale region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by armed groups, the United Nations envoy on sexual violence in conflict has called on the international community to be relentless in seeking accountability for the crimes.

As the humanitarian crisis reaches distressing levels in Syria, particularly in and around battle-torn Aleppo, the United Nations envoy for the country welcomed today initiatives aimed at assisting the civilian population trapped amid the fighting and, “under the right circumstances,” the implementation of humanitarian corridors.