UN News Centre

The Security Council today approved a 12,600-strong United Nations peacekeeping operation to take over from the African-led mission in Mali on 1 July and authorized the blue helmets “to use all necessary means” to carry out security-related stabilization tasks, protect…

Insecticide-treated mosquito and fly nets encircling livestock pens in small farms in western Kenya are proving to be an effective means of killing disease-carrying pests and boosting milk yields, the United Nations today reported, as well as contributing to fewer…

The United Nations human rights chief today urged all branches of the United States Government to work together to close the Guantánamo detention centre, stressing that the indefinite incarceration of detainees is a clear breach of international law. “I am…

The United Nations today called for accelerated action in the next 1,000 days from governments, international organizations and civil society groups to reach the eight anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by their deadline at the end…

Two United Nations independent experts today urged the Hungarian Government to retract a recently passed amendment that criminalizes homelessness, stressing this will result in discrimination against those without shelter. “Through this amendment, the Hungarian Parliament institutionalizes the criminalization of homelessness and enshrines…

The United Nations General Assembly has approved a global arms trade treaty that failed to achieve unanimous support last week but garnered the support of a majority of Member States when put to a vote today. The resolution containing the…

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed the current crisis on the Korean peninsula “has already gone too far,” following an announcement by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to restart its Yongbyon nuclear reactor. “I am deeply troubled. As Secretary-General,…

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Foreign Ministers of Argentina, Cuba, Peru and Uruguay discussed the issue of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) during their meeting today at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom have…

The United Nations today honoured the memory of an estimated 15 million innocent victims who suffered over four centuries as a result of the transatlantic slave trade, while highlighting the plight of millions more who still endure the brutality of…

The process of establishing a post-2015 development agenda must include youth input and participation to reflect the issues that concern them, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Envoy on Youth stressed today in his first press conference since he assumed office. “We are…