30 December 2008 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today strongly condemned the “appalling atrocities” reportedly committed by the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and southern Sudan, and demanded that they respect all rules of international humanitarian law.
29 December 2008 – A military officer serving with the United Nations-African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) died today, after being shot in the leg two days ago during a car-jacking in the strife-torn Sudanese region.
29 December 2008 – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners have started to deliver supplies to help an estimated 200,000 Afghan returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) get through the country’s harsh winter.
29 December 2008 – A United Nations-backed landmine clearing operation in Cyprus is in danger of folding next month before its work in de-mining the buffer zone on the island is complete, risking the lives of the local population.
29 December 2008 – The top United Nations envoy to Somalia today called for unity and solidarity among all the people of the strife-torn nation in the wake of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed’s resignation from office, which he called a “patriotic and courageous” decision.
28 December 2008 – The Security Council on Sunday called on Israel and the Palestinians to immediately end all violence, as Israeli airstrikes in response to rocket attacks by militants in Gaza reportedly killed 270 people and wounded more than 600 in the Strip.
27 December 2008 – The close cooperation between United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Lebanese Army in ensuring peace and security in the country’s southern region was stressed today during a visit by President Michel Suleiman to the mission’s headquarters in Naqoura.
26 December 2008 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he hoped an independent Commission of Inquiry into the circumstance of the killing of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated one year ago, could be established soon.
26 December 2008 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today rushed a company of Government army troops to the north-east of the vast country, following reliable reports that elements of the Ugandan rebel Lord''s Resistance Army (LRA) had massacred at least 15 villagers.
25 December 2008 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Sudan said today that the world body's top envoy to the African nation has not made remarks about the International Criminal Court (ICC) attributed to him by newspapers in Khartoum.
24 December 2008 – The joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan got a boost with the arrival of 156 military personnel from Pakistan, including 29 doctors and paramedics, bringing advanced medical expertise and equipment as well as logistics and administrative experts.
24 December 2008 – The United Nations is investigation allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by its peacekeepers stationed in the war-ravaged North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
23 December 2008 – The joint African Union-United Nations mission in the strife-torn Darfur region of Sudan received an additional 45 troops today, bringing the number of military staff to 12,242 – just over 60 per cent of the total military component of the force. However, this is still far short of the 26,000 uniformed personnel, including police, expected at full deployment.
23 December 2008 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has put bases in war-ravaged North Kivu province on high alert and is conducting additional patrols amid increasing concern at “clear evidence” of a build-up by mainly Tutsi rebels in key areas.
22 December 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a letter to the Security Council, has set out some proposals for the next steps on security and on considerations for a possible peacekeeping option for strife-torn Somalia, which has been beset by fighting and has not had a functioning central government since 1991.
22 December 2008 – The United Nations Security Council today called on the Government of Burundi and the last major rebel holdout to complete the final phase of their peace process by the end of this year and desist from any action that could lead to a resumption of hostilities in a country that has been torn by ethnic conflicts for over four decades.
22 December 2008 – Eighty-five Pakistani troops arrived in Darfur during the past two days to bolster the strength of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force, known as UNAMID, deployed earlier this year to try to end the violence and suffering in the war-ravaged Sudanese region.
22 December 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the reported release from house arrest of the President of Mauritania, Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, who was overthrown by the country’s military in August, and called for the restoration of constitutional order as soon as possible.
22 December 2008 – The United Nation Security Council today strongly condemned recent attacks by the rebel Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Southern Sudan, and demanded that it immediately sign a previously negotiated peace accord.
22 December 2008 – The Security Council today told United Nations peacekeepers in strife-torn eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to prioritize the protection of civilians, including humanitarian personnel, as the number of attacks on aid workers, some of them deadly, passed 100 since the start of 2008.
19 December 2008 – The Security Council today voiced concern at the lack of progress in freezing the financial assets available to former Liberian president Charles Taylor, now on trial at the United Nations-backed court for Sierra Leone for war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as to his family and associates.
19 December 2008 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for an immediate end to rocket attacks against Israel from Gaza and all other violence, and a continuation of the Egyptian-brokered calm in the area.
19 December 2008 – The Security Council today called on the United Nations war crimes tribunals dealing with the 1994 Rwanda genocide and the Balkans conflicts of the 1990s to conduct their trials as quickly and efficiently as possible, and pledged to support their efforts to complete their work.
19 December 2008 – The United Nations Security Council today called for enhanced monitoring of the arms embargo in Somalia, declaring that strict enforcement would improve security in a country that has been torn by factional fighting and has had no functioning central government since 1991.
19 December 2008 – The violence in Darfur has intensified in recent months with attacks on humanitarian workers, peacekeepers and the growing number of displaced persons sheltering in makeshift camps, with inter-tribal clashes and fighting between the Government and armed militia adding to the mayhem, the head of United Nations peacekeeping told the Security Council today.
18 December 2008 – Violent clashes between the warring factions in conflict-ravaged Darfur threaten humanitarian work and the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping operation in the Sudanese region, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warns in his latest report on the mission, urging all parties to end hostilities immediately.
18 December 2008 – With the goal of reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by the end of this year out of reach, a top United Nations envoy today stressed the need to step up efforts by both sides to attain a comprehensive settlement to their decades-old conflict during the coming year.
17 December 2008 – More than 300 Ethiopian troops arrived in Darfur over the last two days to boost the strength of the joint United Nations-African Union force, known as UNAMID, deployed earlier this year in an attempt to suppress the violence and humanitarian suffering in the war-torn Sudanese region.
17 December 2008 – The Security Council today extended for a further two months the mandate of the independent probe into the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri and several other political killings in Lebanon.
17 December 2008 – The Security Council today voiced support for the joint military operation launched by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda and Southern Sudan to flush out the Ugandan rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) from a remote national park in north-eastern DRC, a senior United Nations envoy said.
17 December 2008 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned today that the coming year promises to be no less difficult than 2008, which he called the year of multiple crises, and he stressed the “responsibility to deliver” on the full range of global endeavours.
16 December 2008 – As the United Nations Security Council strengthened efforts today to fight piracy off the Somali coast, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that the problem could not be divorced from the need to bring a comprehensive, inclusive peace to the war-torn country that has been without a functioning central government since 1991.
16 December 2008 – The United Nations Security Council today called on Israel and the Palestinians to fulfil their obligations under the so-called Roadmap peace plan seeking a two-State solution to the Middle East conflict, and to refrain from any steps that could undermine confidence or prejudice the outcome of negotiations.
15 December 2008 – More than 90 per cent of the nearly 17,500 United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are now deployed in the strife-torn east of the vast country, including over 6,000 in North Kivu province which has seen an upsurge of fighting between various rebels groups and the national army.
15 December 2008 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today expressed its gratitude to the European Union (EU) for protecting ships carrying vital food aid from rampant piracy off the coast of Somalia.
15 December 2008 – The United Nations Security Council was briefed today by the heads of its subsidiary bodies entrusted with monitoring sanctions on Sudan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Somalia, Al-Qaida and the Taliban, Côte d’Ivoire, Iran, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda.
15 December 2008 – Senior United Nations officials in Afghanistan have called for greater efforts to improve the situation of children in the strife-torn nation, after a new report by the Organization revealed cases of recruitment by insurgents, sexual violence and continuing attacks on schools.
15 December 2008 – The death toll from Zimbabwe’s worst-ever cholera outbreak is approaching 1,000, the United Nations reported today, as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that the country’s leadership is not doing enough to address the dire situation in the Southern African nation.
14 December 2008 – A United Nations-chaired international group of countries and organizations supporting the consolidation of peace in war-ravaged Somalia has been slated to hold a high-level meeting ahead of a Security Council gathering focusing on the Horn of Africa nation.
12 December 2008 – Top officials from the United Nations tribunals set up to try those responsible for atrocities committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s and the 1994 Rwandan genocide today stressed that cooperation from States, especially in arresting fugitives and accessing evidence, will enable the courts to meet the deadline set for completing their work.
12 December 2008 – The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Cyprus (UNFICYP) by six months, welcoming September’s historic launch of talks between the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities aimed at reunifying the Mediterranean island.
12 December 2008 – A group of experts monitoring a United Nations arms embargo on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported today that it had found evidence that the Rwandan authorities and the Congolese army have aided opposing rebel groups in the war-ravaged east of the country.
12 December 2008 – An Islamic rebel group in the Philippines will stop recruiting child soldiers and return to civilian life those already in their ranks, according to an action plan announced by a United Nations official who wrapped up a five-day mission in the country today.
12 December 2008 – A highly mobile peacekeeping force of at least 4,900, about 1,000 less than previously proposed, backed by 18 helicopters, will be needed to replace European troops next year in strife-torn areas of Chad and Central African Republic (CAR), where hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced people are seeking shelter, according to a United Nations report released today.
12 December 2008 – The Security Council today extended the United Nations force observing the ceasefire between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights for a further six months, until 30 June 2009.
11 December 2008 – Although Burundi has made commendable advances in key areas for peace consolidation, an impasse between the Government and the last major rebel holdout is deepening and the risks of renewed confrontation are intensifying, according to a United Nations report being discussed by the Security Council today.
11 December 2008 – The United Nations Security Council has imposed sanctions, including a travel ban and assets freeze, on four leaders of a Pakistani militant group blamed by India for last month’s deadly terrorist attack in Mumbai.
11 December 2008 – The United Nations Security Council today underscored the need for continued international support for Guinea-Bissau, while voicing their concern over security in the West African country which faced an unsuccessful coup attempt last month by elements of the military.
11 December 2008 – A United Nations-backed meeting concluded today with participants calling for greater cooperation to combat the rampant piracy off the coast of Somalia, emphasizing that a durable solution to the problem requires peace and stability in the war-ravaged Horn of Africa nation.
10 December 2008 – Facing a surge in hijackings of United Nations and non-governmental organization (NGO) vehicles in Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur region, the joint UN-African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has handed over equipment for two new Sudanese police posts in the southern area.
10 December 2008 – The pre-trial chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) today has asked prosecutors to submit additional information regarding their request for arrest warrants for three rebel commanders for their role in last year’s deadly attack against peacekeepers in the war-ravaged Sudanese region of Darfur.
10 December 2008 – On the day that the United Nations celebrated the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the world body’s new top human rights official brought her own special focus to the issue – as victim and nemesis of abuse.
10 December 2008 – The Security Council today urged all parties to make concerted efforts in determining the fate of Kuwaitis and other nationals missing since Iraq’s 1990 invasion, and expressed concern over the lack of progress in finding the Kuwaiti national archive.
9 December 2008 – The Untied Nations must head up a cohesive global drive to tackle the scourge of terrorism, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council today.
9 December 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his “serious concern” today at the inactivity on recovering the remains of Kuwaiti and other nationals missing since the 1990 Gulf war, in a report made public today.
9 December 2008 – After nine and a half years of policing Kosovo, the United Nations mission has started phasing out its police component, handing over to European Union’s Rule of Law Mission known as EULEX.
9 December 2008 – The independent inquiry into the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri has acquired new information potentially implicating additional individuals to the network that carried out the suicide car bomb attack, according to a new report to the Security Council released today.
8 December 2008 – The United Nations will convene a two-day international conference in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss the rampant piracy off the coast of Somalia, it was announced today.
7 December 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the confirmation that inclusive political dialogue will kick off tomorrow in the Central African Republic (CAR), which has been beset by widespread fighting and armed banditry in recent years.
4 December 2008 – Two gunmen equipped with AK-47 assault rifles and a hand grenade stopped a humanitarian convoy in Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur region today, beat up the aid workers and stole money in the latest of a long series of such assaults that are impeding relief operations, the United Nations reported.
4 December 2008 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) announced today that almost 2 million people have been identified and registered to vote ahead of long-delayed elections, a key element in resolving a political crisis that in 2002 divided the West African country into a rebel-held north and Government-controlled south.
3 December 2008 – The ongoing talks between Israel and the Palestinians aimed at ending the long-standing conflict in the Middle East must be accompanied by improvements in living conditions and security on the ground, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has told a seminar on peace in the region today.
3 December 2008 – Both the Government and the rebels in Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur region bear responsibility for the immense humanitarian challenges there, while the rapid deployment of an enhanced United Nations force in neighbouring Chad is vital for improving the lot of refugees, the top UN relief official said today.
3 December 2008 – Somalia’s population faces total destitution next year without more effective aid, a United Nations humanitarian official cautioned today, as the many problems in the Horn of Africa country are exacerbated by extremely difficult political and security conditions.
3 December 2008 – The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) today called for concerted action by the Security Council to enforce any arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for allegedly committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur if the judges issue one.
2 December 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the decision by the Central African Republic (CAR) to hold an inclusive political dialogue shortly, but cautioned that the country continues to face political, security and socio-economic challenges.
2 December 2008 – Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders held further talks today as part of United Nations-sponsored negotiations aimed at reunifying the Mediterranean island, focusing their discussions this time on a federal public service.
2 December 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today reaffirmed his determination for the United Nations to play a lead role in dealing with the menace of terrorism as he stressed the need to bring the perpetrators of last week’s coordinated deadly attacks in Mumbai to justice.
2 December 2008 – The Security Council today called on all countries and regional organizations with the necessary capacity to deploy naval ships and military aircraft off the Somali coast to fight rampant piracy that is impeding United Nations efforts to feed millions of hungry civilians in the strife-torn country.
1 December 2008 – The international tribunal being set up to try those responsible for political killings in Lebanon, particularly the 2005 attack that killed former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, is on track to begin its work on 1 March 2009, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced on Sunday, following a meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
30 November 2008 – The top United Nations official in Afghanistan has joined the world body''s human rights and non-governmental organization (NGO) partners in condemning the murder of a female Afghan colleague in the volatile eastern province of Nangarhar and calling for an investigation into the killing.
28 November 2008 – The 18 United Nations peacekeeping operations worldwide are carrying out their work well under circumstances that are often extremely difficult and in areas where no other major organizations or countries are prepared to be involved, the head of the world body's missions says.
28 November 2008 – The United Nations Security Council has strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Mumbai that started on 26 November, which included the taking of hostages and caused numerous deaths and injuries in India’s financial capital.
28 November 2008 – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is voicing concern that security in the strife-torn north of the Central African Republic (CAR) has started to worsen, with fresh fighting between Government forces and rebels uprooting thousands more civilians in the deeply impoverished country.
27 November 2008 – A Security Council mission wrapped up a visit to Afghanistan today urging the country's leaders and its international partners to intensify their efforts in bringing stability and security to the war-torn country while expressing cautious optimism for its future.
26 November 2008 – The additional blue helmets that will be deployed to help quell the violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will create space for political and diplomatic peace efforts to press ahead, the top United Nations envoy to the vast African nation said today as he stressed the fragility of the situation.
26 November 2008 – The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission has called on Guinea-Bissau’s Government and other senior national figures to do all they can to maintain political stability and avoid violence in the wake of last weekend’s unsuccessful coup attempt by dissident elements of the military.
26 November 2008 – The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is re-orienting its field presence to concentrate in areas occupied by ethnic non-Albanians following Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia, the top United Nations official there said today.
25 November 2008 – The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has faced significant challenges over the past five months to its ability to perform the vast majority of its tasks after Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
25 November 2008 – The top United Nations political official today voiced regret that Israel and the Palestinians will probably not reach a peace agreement by the end of this year under the negotiating track launched last in the United States city of Annapolis, but noted that ongoing direct talks between the two sides are a positive sign.
25 November 2008 – Rebels in the strife-torn eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) launched new military attacks today under the cover of a so-called police and pacification operation, breaking the ceasefire and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis, the United Nations mission reported today.
25 November 2008 – While pleased that relative calm continues to prevail between Israel and Lebanon, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said he is disturbed by the repeated exchanges of threats between Israel and Hizbollah and believes greater progress should have been made since the adoption of the United Nations resolution that helped end fighting between them two years ago.
25 November 2008 – The Security Council today strongly condemned the attempted coup d’état in Guinea-Bissau over the weekend and urged all political groups in the fragile and impoverished West African country to resolve their disputes peacefully.
25 November 2008 – Violence against women is the least punished crime in the world, United Nations officials said today, urging governments to end the widespread impunity and to take measures to ensure that the laws and policies that aim to protect women and girls are enforced.
25 November 2008 – Members of the Security Council continued their visit to Afghanistan today by meeting with President Hamid Karzai and his Cabinet, as well as other senior national and international officials, as part of their efforts to assess the country’s progress in nation building.
24 November 2008 – Encouraging dialogue between the Congolese Government and rebels is critical to securing peace in the war-torn far east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the crisis and former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo said today.
24 November 2008 – A Security Council team landed in the Afghan capital, Kabul, today to assess the war-torn country’s progress towards peace and rebuilding, as well as to underscore the importance of regional cooperation for governance, security and development.
24 November 2008 – The top United Nations envoy to Iraq has strongly condemned the series of bombings that struck Baghdad today, killing and injuring innocent civilians on their way to work.
24 November 2008 – Two United Nations disarmament events kick off today in the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Brazil as part of the world body’s efforts to promote the non-proliferation of weapons across the globe.
23 November 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned this morning's attack on the residence of the Guinea-Bissau President by elements of the armed forces, just one week after legislative elections were held in the troubled West African country.
22 November 2008 – The top United Nations official in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has condemned last night's killing of a journalist working for a UN-sponsored radio station in the troubled Great Lakes country, the second assassination of its kind in the same city in 17 months.
21 November 2008 – The security situation in war-torn east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is calm, with the recent ceasefire apparently holding, the United Nations peacekeeping mission to the country reported today.
20 November 2008 – The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) today presented evidence against three rebel commanders for their role in last year’s deadly attack against peacekeepers in the war-ravaged Sudanese region of Darfur, vowing that he “will not let such attacks go unpunished.”
20 November 2008 – The Security Council today authorized a temporary increase of more than 3,000 blue helmets serving with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to deal with the violence in the country’s east, which has displaced an estimated 250,000 civilians in recent months.
20 November 2008 – The Security Council today gave a year-long extension to the European Union stabilization force (EUFOR) that is tasked with ensuring the continued compliance of all sides with the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement that ended fighting in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
20 November 2008 – The Security Council today welcomed last weekend’s legislative elections in Guinea-Bissau and called on the political parties in the troubled West African country to respect the results.
20 November 2008 – The recent agreement on political cooperation signed between the Somali Government and an Islamic opposition alliance has given the peace process in the strife-torn country renewed impetus, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today.
20 November 2008 – National parliaments are natural allies for the United Nations in confronting global crises, from conflict prevention and peacekeeping to the current economic meltdown and climate change, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
19 November 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged all sides to the Darfur conflict to refrain from hostilities as the United Nations tries to verify “troubling reports” of aerial bombings by Sudanese military forces and renewed fighting in recent days across the war-torn region.
19 November 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the announcement of a military pullback by a rebel militia and the opening of humanitarian corridors to allow unfettered access to vulnerable people in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where recent conflict has uprooted a quarter of a million people.
19 November 2008 – The deteriorating security situation in Somalia poses a serious threat to the delivery of humanitarian aid to millions of desperate people in the Horn of Africa country, the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned in his latest report to the Security Council today.
19 November 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced his concern at new acts of piracy off the Somali coast this week amid reports of a series of attacks or attempting hijackings in recent days in a region already notorious for the practice.
19 November 2008 – The Security Council today provided details of its mission later this month to Afghanistan, where it will reaffirm support for the Government and its people as they rebuild their strife-ridden country.
19 November 2008 – Underscoring the key role of collective security in preventing conflicts, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for greater transparency in the drive to curb armaments and boost confidence among nations.
18 November 2008 – The top United Nations envoy to Sudan today welcomed the approval by the vast African nation’s National Assembly of the independent and impartial body responsible for organizing and conducting elections.
18 November 2008 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is increasing its food distributions in the war-ravaged east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in a bid to reach almost 100,000 people uprooted by the conflict.
17 November 2008 – The top United Nations official in Iraq today welcomed the country’s establishment of an independent commission to promote and protect human rights in the troubled Middle East country.
14 November 2008 – Iraq is entering a critical period as it prepares for upcoming provincial polls, which provide an opportunity to shape a new political landscape in the fledgling democracy, a top United Nations envoy said today, while cautioning that the potential for election-related violence and instability remains.
14 November 2008 – A senior United Nations envoy met with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora today and conveyed to him Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s strong support for the establishment of diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria.
13 November 2008 – The top United Nations envoy to Somalia has welcomed the decision by the European Union (EU) to dispatch ships to combat piracy off the Horn of Africa nation’s coast.
12 November 2008 – The heads of the three subsidiary bodies set up under the Security Council to deal with counter-terrorism have stressed the vital role that outreach activities play as they seek to assist States in strengthening their responses to the global scourge of terrorism.
12 November 2008 – A top United Nations military official is in Chad today for consultations with Government officials on the next stage of operations to bring stability to strife-ridden eastern Chad and the northeast of the neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR).
11 November 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today warned that the perpetrators of recent targeted killings of civilians, looting and rape in the war-torn east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will face justice, as United Nations aid agencies combat the spread of diseases among people uprooted by the conflict.
10 November 2008 – The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has opened its newest office in Pul-i-Khumri, the capital of the country’s northern Baghlan province, bringing the total number of its field offices to 18.
10 November 2008 – Cooperation among Nepal’s key parties remains “critical” to the success of the peace process, which has made important progress but still faces difficult issues such as the integration of the former Maoist combatants, the top United Nations envoy to the country said today.
10 November 2008 – Jordan has become the first country to pledge an additional unit to United Nations police in Liberia, answering Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s call for extra forces to support their Liberian counterparts as the West African State continues its recovery from a disastrous decade-long civil war.
10 November 2008 – The top United Nations official in Iraq has condemned the double bombings that struck Baghdad’s Kasra district today, killing dozens of innocent civilians and wounding many others.
7 November 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for urgent measures to contain the crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), stressing to a United Nations-backed summit in Nairobi that neither the vast African nation nor the surrounding region can afford to be dragged back into conflict.
7 November 2008 – The Security Council today urged Nepal’s new Government and its other major political parties to cooperate in a spirit of compromise to ensure the peace process in the South Asian country continues.
7 November 2008 – Another delay in the holding of elections in Côte d’Ivoire – the third consecutive one since the signing of the north-south peace pact last year – could have serious repercussions for the West African nation’s entire peace process, the Security Council said today.
7 November 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has spotlighted in two new reports to the General Assembly how Israeli practices impinge upon the rights of Palestinians through the continued building of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory and other means.
7 November 2008 – African leaders meeting at a United Nations-backed summit in Nairobi have urged an immediate ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and the establishment of a humanitarian corridor to ensure that the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the recent crisis can get the assistance they need.
6 November 2008 – The General Assembly and the Security Council today elected five judges to serve nine-year terms on the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, starting early next year.
5 November 2008 – Progress is being made in putting into place the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the long-running north-south civil war in Sudan, but obstacles such as the holding of elections remain, a senior United Nations official said today.
4 November 2008 – United Nations agencies are stepping up their efforts to assist hundreds of thousands of people displaced by violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), amid reports that fighting has resumed in rebel-held territory in North Kivu while the ceasefire seems to be holding in the provincial capital of Goma.
4 November 2008 – The United Nations official overseeing support for the world body’s various peace operations is in Chad to assess the deployment of the force tasked with bringing stability to the eastern part of that strife-torn nation and to the northeast of the neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR).
31 October 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been heavily engaged in discussions with leaders in Africa, the European Union (EU) and the United States in an effort to stabilize the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), while calling for a continued halt to the fighting which has uprooted hundreds of thousands of people.
30 October 2008 – The ceasefire in the volatile eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced by Laurent Nkunda, the leader of a rebel group, is holding, with United Nations blue helmets being stretched to the limit in trying to protect civilians escaping fighting, an official with the world body said today.
30 October 2008 – Lebanon has made “no tangible progress” towards disbanding and disarming militias operating on its territory, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, warning that the continued activities of these groups could undermine the staging of parliamentary elections scheduled for next year.
30 October 2008 – United Nations Messenger of Peace and award-winning actor George Clooney has called on the international community to step up its efforts to resolve the worsening conflict currently engulfing the far east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
30 October 2008 – United Nations staff in Somalia are mourning the loss of two of their colleagues who were killed in yesterday’s explosion at the UN compound in Hargeisa, which also seriously injured six others and was part of a wave of attacks in the north of the strife-torn nation.
29 October 2008 – The Security Council voted today to renew for another year a ban on diamonds and an arms embargo against Côte d’Ivoire, as well as targeted sanctions restricting the travel of individuals.
29 October 2008 – The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), which settles the damage claims of those who suffered losses because of Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, today announced that it will make $889 million available to 16 successful claimants.
29 October 2008 – A comprehensive and sustainable peace is not possible in post-conflict situations unless women’s security and participation is a primary objective for peacekeepers, senior United Nations officials told the Security Council today.
28 October 2008 – The top United Nations envoy to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has stressed that diplomacy – and not military action – is the only solution to the fighting that has engulfed the volatile far east of the country, as the UN humanitarian wing voiced concern over the impact of the latest violence on civilians.
28 October 2008 – A lack of mutual trust between the signatories remains the main challenge to implementing the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the long-running north-south civil war in Sudan, says a new United Nations report released today.
28 October 2008 – The United Nations and African Union are making good progress in the deployment of their joint peacekeeping force in Darfur but the war-wracked region of western Sudan remains beset by deadly fighting, the displacement of civilians, banditry and human rights abuses, the head of UN peacekeeping told the Security Council today.
27 October 2008 – Increasing delays in the dual identification and electoral processes is imperilling the hard-won peace in Côte d’Ivoire, which is rebuilding after a brutal 14-year civil war, the top United Nations envoy to the West African nation cautioned today.
24 October 2008 – Countries need to take more action to increase the role of women in the search for peace and justice and enhance their input in decision-making, even though positive steps have been made in recent years, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon writes in a report made public today.
24 October 2008 – A 15-member United Nations inter-agency mission arrived today in the Central African Republic (CAR) to study how to improve the coordination and coherence of the world body’s work in the impoverished and strife-torn country.
24 October 2008 – Lebanon is taking important steps forward after the deadly sectarian violence earlier this year, but a worrying series of political assassinations and explosions continues to plague the country, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report.
24 October 2008 – Acknowledging that obstacles to nuclear disarmament are daunting, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said that it is more imperative than ever to make it a reality given the twin economic and financial crises the world is currently facing.
23 October 2008 – The Security Council heard calls today for the peaceful resolution of the current border dispute between Djibouti and Eritrea, which flared into fighting in the Horn of Africa in June that killed at least 35 people and left dozens of others wounded.
22 October 2008 – The senior United Nations political official expressed his hope today that talks between Israel and Palestine will both continue and intensify – in spite of the transition under way in the former country – in line with the peace process launched last year in the United States city of Annapolis.
21 October 2008 – The security conditions in Darfur remain so poor that the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping operation cannot operate effectively, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in his latest report on the mission, urging the parties to the conflict in western Sudan to stop fighting immediately and start working towards a peaceful settlement.
21 October 2008 – The United Nations peacebuilding arm is making steady progress and has produced concrete results in the four post-conflict countries placed under its direction in the two years since its work started, the Security Council was told in a briefing today.
21 October 2008 – The Security Council today voiced deep concern over the recent resurgence of violence in the easternmost provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), warning of its potential to undermine the wider Great Lakes region of Central Africa.
20 October 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on Myanmar’s Government and opposition to increase dialogue as the Asian country proceeds on the path toward national reconciliation and democratization, once again stressing the need for a credible and inclusive political process.
20 October 2008 – Côte d’Ivoire’s fragile political stability and security situation are at risk as the country struggles to make progress in reaching benchmarks agreed to in the peace pact signed last year, according to a group of United Nations experts in a report made public today.
20 October 2008 – Over 100 Nepalese police officers have arrived to serve with the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID), the operation has announced, as it continues to deploy uniformed personnel across the war-wracked Sudanese region.
17 October 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced plans today to reassign two key military posts involving United Nations peacekeeping operations in Liberia and in India and Pakistan.
17 October 2008 – The General Assembly today elected Austria, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda to serve as non-permanent members of the Security Council for two-year terms starting on 1 January next year.
16 October 2008 – The pre-trial chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has given prosecutors one month to submit additional materials related to their request for an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes, including genocide, in the strife-torn Darfur region.
15 October 2008 – Bangladeshi police officers serving with the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) have started conducting night patrols at a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) that was the scene of deadly clashes with Sudanese police less than two months ago.
15 October 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the move by Syria and Lebanon to establish full diplomatic relations with each other, calling it a “landmark event” that will benefit both Middle East countries.
15 October 2008 – The Security Council today welcomed the commitment of Guinea-Bissau to hold parliamentary elections next month and called on all political parties, the security forces and civil society to ensure free, fair and transparent voting.
15 October 2008 – Today’s high-level talks on Georgia have wrapped up with the parties deciding to continue their discussions next month and to create “breathing space” to address some outstanding procedural points, a senior United Nations envoy said.
15 October 2008 – The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) has almost completed its withdrawal from the Horn of Africa region, with the last group of blue helmets having returned to their home country.
14 October 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Geneva today for talks on the role of the United Nations mission in Georgia after the August conflict with Russia in the Caucasus country.
14 October 2008 – The Security Council today extended the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) through mid-October 2009, recognizing the impact that the civil disturbances in April and the current devastating hurricane season have had on the country’s stability and security.
14 October 2008 – The number of violent attacks in Afghanistan in the last few months has been the highest since 2002 as the insurgency spreads beyond the south and east of the country, the top United Nations envoy told the Security Council today.
14 October 2008 – The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) has held talks with top officials in Jordan on the latest developments in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, especially the ongoing efforts to negotiate a two-State solution.
13 October 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has transmitted to the Security Council the last report issued by the independent commission on Ethiopia and Eritrea’s common boundary.
13 October 2008 – United Nations peacekeepers have provided 21 escorts to humanitarian agencies in the field in North Kivu, the scene of heavy fighting in recent weeks, in the volatile east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
13 October 2008 – The newly appointed United Nations representative for Lebanon arrived today in Beirut charged with implementing Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the armed group Hizbollah, as well as coordinating all UN work in the country.
10 October 2008 – The recovery and humanitarian relief efforts in Haiti – an impoverished country devastated recently by four successive storms in as many weeks – will not succeed unless the international community addresses the nation’s social and economic crisis, a senior United Nations official stressed today.
10 October 2008 – The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) today urged European Union (EU) Member States to take practical steps in preventing sexual violence against women in conflict and post-conflict situations.
9 October 2008 – United Nations auditors have reported that the total income generated by the escrow account for Iraq made up of funds related to the expired oil-for-food programme have dropped by over one third between 2005-2006.
9 October 2008 – The Security Council today extended for another four months the 14-year-old United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) entrusted with overseeing the ceasefire accord between the Government and Abkhaz separatists in the country’s north-western region.
9 October 2008 – The Yearbook of the United Nations, the basic reference book on the work of the Organization, went online today, placing 60 years of UN activities at the disposal of the public.
8 October 2008 – A former top Rwandan official facing charges of genocide was transferred today from Frankfurt, Germany, to Arusha, Tanzania, to the United Nations war crimes tribunal set up to deal with the 1994 mass killings in the small Great Lakes nation.
8 October 2008 – The need to overcome obstacles in Haiti in the wake of a series of devastating hurricanes and storms has propelled a political breakthrough in the Caribbean nation, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today.
7 October 2008 – Rising banditry across eastern Chad has forced several aid organizations to temporarily suspend their work, the United Nations humanitarian wing reported today, warning of the effect this is having on internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region.
7 October 2008 – The “severely stretched” United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, which has struggled to find enough countries willing to supply troops and equipment, should now reach two-thirds of its full deployment by the end of this year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
7 October 2008 – The impact of the illicit drug trade on Guinea-Bissau should not be underestimated, the top United Nations political official said today, warning that the scourge threatens to undo the important progress achieved by the post-conflict nation.
7 October 2008 – The Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called today for more international air and naval forces off the pirate-ridden coast of Somalia to ensure that United Nations food aid gets through to more than 3 million people threatened with starvation.
6 October 2008 – Dramatic changes due to the Russian-Georgian conflict in South Ossetia have cast a veil of uncertainty over the future function of the 14-year-old United Nations mission entrusted with overseeing the ceasefire accord between the Government and Abkhaz separatists in north-western Georgia, according to the latest UN report on the region.
3 October 2008 – The top United Nations envoy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today asked for additional peacekeepers beyond the nearly 19,000 uniformed personnel already there to prevent the vast country from slipping back into “horrendous” conflict.
3 October 2008 – The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) today reopened the courthouse in north Mitrovica, which ceased operations after it was stormed and occupied on 14 March by a mob of opponents to Kosovo’s independence.
2 October 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern over the volatile security and political atmosphere in Guinea-Bissau, where crucial elections are slated to take place next month, in his latest report to the Security Council on the West African country.
1 October 2008 – Calling for the democratization of the United Nations, General Assembly President Miguel D’Escoto today stressed the need to restore power “usurped” by the Security Council to other organs of the world body.
1 October 2008 – A new United Nations peacebuilding office opened in Sierra Leone today to assist in the continued recovery following the civil war that wracked the West African country during much of the 1990s.
29 September 2008 – Africa has been devastated by conflicts perpetuated by small arms and light weapons, Nigeria’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate today, calling for a global pact to rid the continent of the scourge.
29 September 2008 – The Foreign Minister of Chad today called for a strengthened United Nations peacekeeping mission in his country and for the reinforcement of the hybrid UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) in the neighbouring war-torn Sudanese region.
29 September 2008 – The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today called for United Nations peacekeepers to be given a clear mandate and the resources necessary to impose peace by force if necessary on a rebel group that is the sole holdout on a disengagement plan in the east of the vast country.
29 September 2008 – Much-delayed presidential elections in Côte d’Ivoire are on track to be a success now that the penultimate phase of the lead-up process – the identification and registration of voters – has begun, the country’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today.
29 September 2008 – Mauritania’s armed forces intervened last month to overthrow the elected government because it had allowed the social, economic and security conditions to deteriorate so badly that it threatened the country’s foundations, the General Assembly heard today.
29 September 2008 – The President of the General Assembly today proclaimed the need to end “business as usual” in global affairs, issuing a call at the conclusion of the 192-member body’s annual high-level debate for urgent action to address challenges ranging from the twin food and financial crises to United Nations reform.
29 September 2008 – The Security Council today extended the terms of office of a number of judges serving on the United Nations tribunal set up to deal with the worst war crimes committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s to help the court to finish its caseload at the earliest.
29 September 2008 – The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) through September 2009, and authorized Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to proceed with the planned reduction of the operation’s personnel.
29 September 2008 – The lack of a permanent African member on the Security Council, even though the continent represents a large amount of the 15-member panel’s work, “remains a travesty of justice,” South Africa’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today.
29 September 2008 – The United Nations atomic watchdog agency urgently needs greater funds and resources to carry out its multifaceted tasks, from verifying that Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons and preventing terrorists from acquiring radioactive materials to spurring advances in medicine and agriculture, its chief warned today.
29 September 2008 – Human rights must be at the heart of all United Nations activities, especially conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peacebuilding activities, Sweden’s Permanent Representative told the General Assembly’s annual General Debate tonight.
29 September 2008 – The principles and the work of the United Nations are needed more than ever as the world confronts an array of major challenges and crises, several countries told the final day of the General Assembly’s annual General Debate today, urging stronger global leadership from individual States and continued UN reform.
27 September 2008 – The United Nations needs to play a continuing role in Kosovo – which declared its independence from Serbia in February – to ensure that there is stability across the Balkans, top officials from two European countries told the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate today.
27 September 2008 – The world’s estimated 1.1 billion Muslims deserve specific representation on an expanded Security Council, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister said today, calling for any reform of the 15-member body United Nations body to consider the need for a variety of constituencies as well as greater geographic distribution.
27 September 2008 – The Security Council today called on Iran to comply fully and immediately with its previous resolutions ordering the country to stop uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities and to cooperate with inspectors from the United Nations atomic watchdog.
27 September 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council have strongly condemned today’s terrorist bombing on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, Damascus, which has reportedly claimed the lives of at least 17 civilians.
27 September 2008 – Indirect talks under way with Israel could pave the way towards peace, Syria’s Foreign Affairs Minister said at the General Assembly’s annual high-level segment today, but he cautioned that their outcome hinges on several factors.
27 September 2008 – A radical overhaul of policies focusing more on economic and social assistance rather than military strength is needed if Afghanistan is to ever achieve peace and stability, Uzbek Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov told the General Assembly today.
26 September 2008 – As the newest United Nations Member State, Montenegro is imbued with a strong sense of political responsibility and committed to multilateralism, the South-East European nation’s leader told the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate today.
26 September 2008 – Pacific Island States spoke out at the General Assembly today on the issue of climate change, promising to table a draft resolution during the climate session that will call on the United Nations to investigate the threat posed by global warming to international peace and security.
26 September 2008 – The decision of International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors to seek an arrest warrant for Sudan’s President over alleged war crimes in Darfur will only undermine existing efforts to bring peace to the region, the country’s Vice-President has told the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate.
26 September 2008 – The President of Haiti today told leaders gathered at the United Nations to “break the paradigm of charity in our approach to international cooperation” and invest instead in helping poor countries develop their own potential through such steps as a genuine liberalization of trade.
26 September 2008 – Morocco’s proposal for autonomy for Western Sahara is the result of broad international consultation and should end the stalemate on the issue at the United Nations, the country’s Prime Minister told the General Assembly today.
26 September 2008 – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the General Assembly’s annual high-level gathering today that an Arab-led peace proposal provides a “historic opportunity” to bring peace and security to the region.
26 September 2008 – The United Nations and the European Union (EU) share a responsibility to show that multilateralism works, that it delivers results and can address current and future crises, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
25 September 2008 – The soaring cost of fuel and basic foods over the past year has left many countries in sub-Saharan Africa unable to adequately fund critical activities, such as health care and the provision of safe drinking water, their leaders told the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate today.
25 September 2008 – Small island developing nations, which contribute least to climate change but are under imminent threat of inundation due to rising sea levels, appealed to the United Nations today for immediate measures to be taken to ensure their survival.
25 September 2008 – Timor-Leste has entered a new phase of peace, economic growth and reduced crime since the unsuccessful assassination attempts against the leaders of the small South-East Asian nation in February, the country’s President told the United Nations today.
25 September 2008 – The United Nations is the only hope for millions of people around the world, the Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis told the General Assembly today, saying he was confident that the world body can successfully defend the rights of the poor against the often narrow national interests of UN Member States.
24 September 2008 – President François Bozizé of the Central African Republic (CAR) today called for a strengthened United Nations peacekeeping mission in his country, which has suffered from violence and instability in several regions, in the face of the imminent departure of a European Union force (EUFOR).
24 September 2008 – China is pursuing a path of peaceful development, building its military strength only to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the General Assembly’s high-level debate was told today.
24 September 2008 – The United Nations plays a crucial role in helping the Mediterranean island of Cyprus move forward towards a “bizonal, bicommunal federation” through its assistance in inter-Cypriot negotiations and its definition of the framework of the future Cypriot State, President Demetris Christofias told the General Assembly today.
24 September 2008 – President Leonel Fernández of the Dominican Republic today called on the world’s richest countries to provide the same emergency funding to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aimed at slashing global poverty, hunger and other social ills as they have to bailing out failed financial institutions.
24 September 2008 – The presidents of three Eastern European countries today spoke out at the General Assembly against the recent conflict between Georgia and Russia, warning that the United Nations’ role in international peace and security has been undermined by what happened last month.
24 September 2008 – A former prosecutor was sentenced to life in prison today after being found guilty of genocide, extermination and murder by the United Nations war crimes tribunal set up in the wake of the 1994 killing spree in Rwanda.
24 September 2008 – Mexico’s President today appealed to wealthy countries to contribute to the setting up of its proposed Green Fund, which would be managed by the United Nations and aim to help poor nations combat the effects of climate change.
24 September 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed Iraq’s new provincial election law, which followed months of intense discussions and will now facilitate the holding of elections in the fledgling democracy.
24 September 2008 – The leaders of Portugal and Slovenia today called for the membership of the Security Council to be expanded, saying broader representation is needed to ensure effective multilateralism in dealing with the biggest global challenges.
24 September 2008 – The Security Council today condemned in the strongest terms recent deadly terrorist attacks in Spain and urged all States to cooperate with the Spanish authorities in bringing the culprits to trial.
24 September 2008 – The Security Council today put off until December a decision on the size of a military component to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Chad, for which Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has proposed 6,000 troops.
24 September 2008 – A new United Nations entity that has authority for ecological protection around the world should be set up, Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko told the annual high-level debate of the General Assembly today.
24 September 2008 – Afghan ownership of its military, police and development operations are essential to allow the country to counter terrorism and further its reconstruction efforts, the South Asian nation’s President told the General Assembly’s high-level segment today.
24 September 2008 – In the 21st century where communications are instantaneous, 90 per cent of world trade still reaches its destination via the commercial shipping industry, which has been shaped over the last six decades by the practices and standards set by the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO).
23 September 2008 – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today pointed the finger at “corrupt powers” for provoking or maintaining problems in global hotspots such as Iraq, the Middle East and Afghanistan, noting that the United Nations is often paralyzed and unable to take effective action.
23 September 2008 – Stressing the importance of mediation in both resolving and avoiding conflict, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for proper funding and requisite resources to build up the United Nations’ capacity to carry out this vital role.
23 September 2008 – The membership of the Security Council and other key international institutions must be urgently broadened if the world is to overcome its most acute crises, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told the General Assembly’s high-level debate today.
23 September 2008 – Kosovo’s declaration of independence earlier this year directly contravenes international law and threatens the duty to respect State sovereignty and territorial integrity which underpin the United Nations Charter, Serbia’s President told the General Assembly today.
23 September 2008 – Lebanon still faces many urgent risks and challenges, including Israeli acts of aggression and the threats posed by terrorist groups, as it tries to establish prosperity and stability, the Middle East country’s President, Michel Sleiman, told the General Assembly today.
23 September 2008 – United Nations efforts to resolve conflicts and crises around the world are being blocked by States that avoid punishment by claiming national sovereignty, Lithuania’s President told the annual high-level debate of the General Assembly today.
23 September 2008 – The role of the United Nations has become increasingly more essential in confronting the global threat of terrorism, with multilateralism having the potential to usher in a more secure and more prosperous era, United States President George W. Bush said today.
23 September 2008 – The presence of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Liberia has been critical to the West African country’s progress in revitalizing its economy, rebuilding basic infrastructure, tackling corruption and consolidating peace and security after years of civil war, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf told the General Assembly today.
22 September 2008 – The United Nations Security Council today unanimously extended the mission of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan for another year and called for it to be strengthened in the face of increased violence and terrorism from the Taliban, Al-Qaida and drug smugglers.
22 September 2008 – The head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today called on Iran to be fully transparent about its nuclear activities, six years after the agency began efforts to clarify those activities.
22 September 2008 – The Security Council today strongly condemned the weekend’s terrorist attack in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, which claimed dozens of lives and injured many others.
19 September 2008 – The head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, known as UNMIK, today unveiled details of the its reconfigured role, noting that the mission must evolve in line with realities on the ground.
19 September 2008 – The situation in Chad remains fragile and there has been no notable progress towards implementing a year-old agreement between the Government and the main rebel groups, a senior United Nations official said today.
19 September 2008 – Zimbabwe's power-sharing deal is a “delicate compromise” that will be painful and time-consuming to implement but still offers the impoverished country's people an opportunity for much improved lives, a senior United Nations political official said today.
18 September 2008 – The situation on the Djibouti-Eritrean border remains volatile after a flaring of tensions on the border in June left over 35 dead and dozens wounded, a United Nations fact-finding mission reported today.
18 September 2008 – The peace process between Israel and the Palestinians is at a crossroads and needs to make decisive advances in the months ahead, as disturbing developments counter-balance recent positive steps, a senior United Nations official said today.
17 September 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today proposed that the Security Council consider sending 6,000 United Nations troops to replace a European Union force in eastern Chad and north-eastern Central African Republic (CAR), which have both been wracked by violence and civilian displacement in recent years.
17 September 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council have strongly condemned today’s terrorist bombing outside the United States embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, which has killed at least 16 people and wounded many others.
17 September 2008 – The United Nations envoy for children and armed conflict today praised the United States for the introduction of new legislation that aims to tackle the recruitment and use of the estimated 250,000 child soldiers worldwide.
17 September 2008 – The head of the United Nations atomic watchdog has circulated his latest report on Iran’s nuclear programme to the agency’s Board of Directors.
16 September 2008 – The new President of the General Assembly today kicked off the 63rd session of the 192-member forum with a call to democratize the United Nations so that it can deal more effectively with the world’s most pressing problems and ensure that the voices of a few do not overwhelm the views of the majority of others.
16 September 2008 – The consensus achieved by Member States on the issue of Security Council reform was nothing less than a “breakthrough” and marked a dramatic finish to the 62nd session of the General Assembly, former president Srgjan Kerim said today.
15 September 2008 – The top United Nations envoy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has joined a group of international officials in calling for stepped-up efforts to restore peace to the country’s volatile eastern region, the scene of recent fighting between the Government and rebel groups.
13 September 2008 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) said today that its forces in the volatile far east of the country remain on high alert, despite the relative calm in the region since this morning.
12 September 2008 – Former Italian prime minister Romano Prodi will head a new joint panel set up to support African Union (AU) peacekeeping missions established under a United Nations mandate, the world body announced today.
12 September 2008 – The Security Council today voiced serious concern at the recent fighting between Government forces and rebel groups in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), some of the worst violence since the signing of a January peace deal.
11 September 2008 – Myanmar has not experienced the political progress as anticipated and its Government should take real measures towards setting up a more inclusive political process that promotes human rights, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
11 September 2008 – The head of the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme today updated the 15-member body on the panel’s latest work, including the efforts of States to implement those measures.
11 September 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned last night’s car bombing in Lebanon that claimed the life of a senior politician and wounded six others, saying it highlights the need for political reconciliation in the Middle East country.
10 September 2008 – A top United Nations envoy is in Turkey today for talks with the country’s senior officials regarding the recently-launched UN-backed negotiations aimed at reunifying Cyprus.
9 September 2008 – Progress in fortifying Lebanon’s border with Syria has been minimal, the independent United Nations team assessing the monitoring of the boundary said in a new report made public today.
9 September 2008 – The top United Nations representative in Iraq is visiting Tehran today for consultations with senior officials in the Iranian Government as part of his efforts to promote regional dialogue.
8 September 2008 – The top United Nations envoy to Cyprus is holding talks today in Athens with senior Greek Government officials as part of the UN’s efforts to support recently launched negotiations aimed at reunifying the Mediterranean island.
5 September 2008 – The top United Nations envoy to Somalia today said that he is extremely alarmed by the rise in piracy off the Horn of Africa nation's coast and deplored the destabilizing effects of the attacks in the region.
4 September 2008 – The Security Council today warmly welcomed the launch of full-fledged negotiations between the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, aimed at the reunification of the island.
4 September 2008 – The Security Council today welcomed the recent signing of a peace and reconciliation agreement by Somalia’s warring political groups and urged the two sides in the troubled Horn of Africa nation to fully implement their commitments under the accord.
3 September 2008 – Efforts to stabilize Haiti have suffered serious setbacks in the past six months as a result of ongoing political disturbances, the delay in selecting a new prime minister and spiralling food prices, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report.
3 September 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed today’s launch of full-fledged negotiations between the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities that are aimed at reunifying the island of Cyprus.
29 August 2008 – The United Nations refugee agency says that some 2,300 people from villages in the buffer zone between the Georgian town of Gori and the breakaway region of South Ossetia have registered in Gori as internally displaced people.
28 August 2008 – The overall situation in and around Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia remains tense, senior United Nations officials warned the Security Council today during a meeting on the latest developments in the Caucasus country.
27 August 2008 – The Security Council’s “increasingly complex responsibilities in the maintenance of international peace and security” means it is vital that the 15-member panel continue to try to improve its working methods, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
27 August 2008 – The United Nations refugee agency has welcomed the news that the head of its office in Somalia has been released today unharmed after two months in captivity in the war-torn Horn of Africa country.
27 August 2008 – The Security Council today extended until the end of August 2009 the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), stating that the deployment of the mission together with the country’s armed forces has helped to establish “a new strategic environment in southern Lebanon.”
27 August 2008 – The head of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) set up meetings today with the residents of a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in a bid to ease tensions after dozens of people were shot dead there earlier this week during clashes with Sudanese security forces.
26 August 2008 – The question of recognition of States is a matter for sovereign States to decide, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today after Russia announced that it had recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two separatist regions in Georgia.
26 August 2008 – The Security Council today welcomed the recent agreement by Government forces and rebels in Burundi to try to dismantle any roadblocks to the revised ceasefire agreement they signed in June.
25 August 2008 – United Nations reform, climate change and food security have topped the agenda during official talks today in Seoul between General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim and Han Seung-soo, the Republic of Korea’s Prime Minister.
22 August 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked the Security Council to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) by another 12 months until the end of August next year.
21 August 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council have condemned today’s double suicide bombing in the north-eastern Pakistani town of Wah, near the capital Islamabad, which has claimed numerous civilian lives and injured many others.
20 August 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the terrorist attacks which have struck Algeria in the past 24 hours, stressing that violence will not deter the country’s people from the path of peace and reconciliation.
20 August 2008 – Israel and the Palestinians are continuing their negotiations aimed at devising a durable settlement to their long-running conflict, but intra-Palestinian violence has spiked over the past month, the top United Nations political official told the Security Council today.
19 August 2008 – The Security Council has strongly condemned today’s suicide bombing at a gendarmerie training academy in Algeria that has left dozens of people dead and injured many more.
19 August 2008 – The full implementation of the principles enshrined in last week’s peace plan that ended fighting in Georgia remains the best way to defuse tensions, find a lasting solution to the conflict and allow humanitarian assistance to those in need, the top United Nations political official told the Security Council today.
19 August 2008 – The Security Council today condemned the recent overthrow of the Mauritanian Government by the country’s military and demanded the immediate release from detention of the national president and the restoration of democratic institutions.
19 August 2008 – The Security Council today commended Timor-Leste’s Government and public institutions for their quick and effective response in the wake of the February attempts on the lives of the leaders of the tiny nation that the United Nations helped shepherd to independence in 2002.
19 August 2008 – Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and an opposition group have formally agreed to end all armed confrontation between them in a peace deal mediated by the top United Nations envoy to the war-ravaged Horn of Africa nation.
19 August 2008 – As the United Nations today remembers the colleagues killed and injured in the attack on its headquarters in Baghdad in 2003, the world body’s top political official said there is no better tribute to the fallen than continuing the vital work they began in Iraq.
18 August 2008 – The committee tasked with monitoring the Security Council resolution about the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction has substantially raised awareness about the dangers posed by the links between such weapons and non-State groups since it was formed, its chairman said today.
18 August 2008 – The struggle with the rule of law and competition over natural resources threatens Liberia’s fragile stability despite its economy showing significant improvement, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a report to the Security Council today.
18 August 2008 – The foundations for a durable peace in Sudan remain fragile in spite of progress in a number of areas covered by the 2005 peace agreement which ended the country’s long-running north-south civil war, a senior United Nations official said today.
18 August 2008 – The United Nations and its humanitarian partners today appealed for $58.6 million to meet the needs for the next six months of almost 130,000 people affected by the recent crisis in Georgia.
16 August 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today in New York met with his top advisers regarding the United Nations' approach to the current situation in Georgia.
15 August 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today warmly congratulated Pushpa Kamal Dahal – who goes by the name Prachanda – on his election as Nepal's first Prime Minister since the South Asian nation abolished the monarchy and declared itself a republic.
15 August 2008 – The reconfiguration of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) will lead to a major reduction in staff levels, among other changes, a senior official with the world body said today.
14 August 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the results of the summit between Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad which was held in Damascus.
14 August 2008 – The United Nations mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) today launched a $5 million project to speed the reintegration of ex-combatants from the country’s civil war, as well as young people at risk.
14 August 2008 – The top United Nations envoy to Sudan says that recent violent clashes in the town of Abyei as well as the attack by a rebel group on the city of Omdurman have put the country’s 2005 peace agreement to the test and created challenges over the past months.
14 August 2008 – Two more battalions of national troops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have completed training on military tactics, weapons handling, logistics and professional ethics, provided by the United Nations peacekeeping force in the vast African nation.
13 August 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council today condemned this morning’s bombing in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, voicing hope that it will not impede recent political progress in the Middle Eastern nation.
12 August 2008 – Children continue to be the primary victims of the conflict in Chad, whether they are recruited as soldiers, killed or hurt by landmines or denied humanitarian access, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon writes in a report made public today.
12 August 2008 – A senior United Nations humanitarian official has urged the parties to the conflict in Georgia, where fierce fighting in recent days has uprooted nearly 100,000 people, to do their utmost to protect civilians and ensure access for aid agencies.
11 August 2008 – The United Nations mission in Côte d'Ivoire has handed over 150 electoral kits to the Government to assist in preparations for presidential elections slated for November this year.
11 August 2008 – United Nations agencies have begun providing emergency aid to thousands of people affected by the escalating conflict in Georgia, as a senior UN official told the Security Council today that Russian forces have now entered Georgian areas outside the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
10 August 2008 – The Security Council met today for the fourth time in less than three days to discuss the crisis engulfing Georgia, where large numbers of casualties have been reported as a result of fierce fighting between Georgian and Russian forces and thousands of civilians have been displaced from their homes.
9 August 2008 – The deadly conflict in Georgia seems to be spreading outside the South Ossetia region and into Abkhazia, a senior United Nations peacekeeping official told the Security Council today, warning that the number of casualties from the fighting is already substantial.
8 August 2008 – Senior United Nations official Nicholas Haysom held talks today in Pristina with the Kosovo leadership on issues relating to the evolving role of the world body’s mission there, which has had to adjust to a new reality on the ground since Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in February.
8 August 2008 – The United Nations and Timor-Leste’s Government have embarked on a five-year programme to reduce poverty, consolidate democracy and provide basic social services for the people of the nation which the UN helped shepherd to independence in 2002.
8 August 2008 – The Security Council met this afternoon for the second time in 24 hours to discuss the deadly violence wracking South Ossetia, Georgia, where hundreds of people are reported to have been killed and thousands of others are now on the move, seeking shelter from the fighting.
7 August 2008 – The top United Nations official in Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) is convening two days of international talks starting today that are aimed at finding ways to help support the nascent UN peacekeeping mission being deployed to the strife-torn African countries.
7 August 2008 – Assistant Secretary-General in the Department of Field Support (DFS) Jane Holl Lute has been tapped to head the United Nations office tasked with assisting countries around the world to stabilize and rebuild their economies and societies after armed conflicts, it was announced today.
7 August 2008 – The United Nations Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) says it regrets that an opportunity was missed yesterday when the country’s parliament adjourned without reaching agreement on a new provincial elections law.
6 August 2008 – A civilian convoy with seven vehicles was attacked on Monday, leaving six dead and 28 wounded, the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) reported today.
6 August 2008 – The President of the General Assembly held discussions on climate change, development and the food crisis with officials in Brazil, the last stop on a three-nation visit to South America that also took him to Chile and Argentina.
6 August 2008 – Iraqis must focus on political dialogue, reconciliation and bread-and-butter economic issues now that they are seeing improved security, the top United Nations political official told the Security Council today.
5 August 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has outlined options for resolving outstanding issues involved in winding up the oil-for-food programme for Iraq.
5 August 2008 – Christoph Flügge has been appointed to serve on the United Nations war crimes tribunal dealing with the worst offences committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s after the Security Council indicated its support for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s intention to select the German jurist.
5 August 2008 – The military chief of the United Nations-African Union (AU) mission in Darfur (UNAMID) today paid a condolence visit to members of the Nigerian company operating in Foro Baranga in West Darfur state following the loss of their commanding officer three weeks ago.
4 August 2008 – The Security Council today authorized the creation of a new peacebuilding office in Sierra Leone to assist the country’s continued recovery following the civil war that wracked the West African nation during much of the 1990s.
4 August 2008 – Senior officials from the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur have received reassurances from the Sudanese Government that it will facilitate the full deployment of the mission in the strife-torn region.
1 August 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced plans today to reassign several key leadership posts involving United Nations operations in Lebanon and Georgia.
1 August 2008 – A combination of political and military efforts has led to continued improvements in security across Iraq in the past three months, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon writes in his latest report to the Security Council on the United Nations Assistance Mission to the country (UNAMI).
1 August 2008 – The top United Nations relief official today called for full respect for humanitarian principles in the face of continuing attacks on aid workers in Darfur, a troubled region in western Sudan.
31 July 2008 – A fact-finding mission dispatched by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has arrived in the Horn of Africa to assess the political, security and humanitarian situation along the border between Djibouti and Eritrea, in light of the recent tensions there.
31 July 2008 – The Security Council tonight extended by one year the mandate of the joint United Nations-African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in the strife-torn western Sudanese region of Darfur.
31 July 2008 – The independent United Nations team dispatched by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to assess the monitoring of the Lebanese border with Syria has wrapped up its two-week mission to Lebanon.
30 July 2008 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) today dismantled the last military post along the so-called Green Line between the Government-controlled south and the north of the country, where former Forces Nouvelles rebels are based, in line with a peace agreement signed last year.
30 July 2008 – Climate change, development and the food crisis were among the issues discussed by the President of the General Assembly and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet in Santiago, the first stop on a three-nation tour for the head of the 192-member body.
30 July 2008 – Public guided tours of United Nations Headquarters in New York will be modified as of this Friday, as the world body prepares for the five-year, $1.9 billion overhaul of the historic complex.
30 July 2008 – The Security Council today voted unanimously to terminate the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), after restrictions placed on the peacekeeping operation by the latter country undermined its ability to carry out its mandate.
29 July 2008 – Lasting peace after armed conflicts can only be achieved when there is genuine political will applied by the parties involved, and not simply when a United Nations force has intervened, the outgoing chief of the world body’s peacekeeping operations said today.
29 July 2008 –
The outlook for resolving the long-running dispute on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus looks promising given recent events, including last week’s announcement by the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders that they will hold full-fledged talks in early September, a senior United Nations envoy said today.
29 July 2008 – The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) by another six months, stressing the importance that much delayed presidential elections now slated for November are conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner.
29 July 2008 – The head of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) says he concurs with a report by a group of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that the operation faces critical shortages in troops, personnel, equipment and logistics.
28 July 2008 – A joint team of military, police, human rights and civil affairs officers should be set up to investigate reports of Sudanese Government bombings of former rebel positions in Darfur, the military chief of the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission to the strife-torn region said today.
28 July 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on the Georgian and Abkhaz sides to preserve the integrity of their ceasefire regime, noting that the last four months have witnessed a resurgence of tensions between the two sides.
25 July 2008 – Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat today announced that they would meet for full-fledged talks under United Nations auspices on 3 September, in a move aimed at ending the long-running dispute in Cyprus.
25 July 2008 – The situation in Kosovo has changed fundamentally in the past few months and events on the ground have contributed to creating a “profoundly new operating reality” for the United Nations Interim Administration Mission there (UNMIK), the world body’s top official in Kosovo told the Security Council today.
23 July 2008 – Security Council reform topped the agenda during talks between General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim and Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, held in New York yesterday.
23 July 2008 – The incoming senior United Nations representative in Cyprus is in New York today for talks with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and briefings with UN officials about the situation in the Mediterranean country.
23 July 2008 – The United Nations envoy to Kosovo travelled to Belgrade today to meet with two senior Serbian Government ministers for talks on resolving the dispute over Kosovo’s status.
23 July 2008 – The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has been extended for another six months to allow the mission to complete its monitoring and management of the arms and personnel of the Nepal army and the former Maoist combatants from the civil war.
23 July 2008 – The United Nations envoy to Somalia told the Security Council today that there were limited choices for bringing peace to the violence-wracked Horn of Africa country, but that the time had come to make a final decision on the best possible option.
22 July 2008 – The top United Nations political official today welcomed recent positive moves towards peace that have been made in the Middle East, but sounded the alarm on the lack of progress in the West Bank.
22 July 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated Ram Baran Yadav on his election as the first President of the Republic of Nepal, and called on all parties in the Asian country to cooperate in forming a new government.
18 July 2008 – The independent United Nations team tasked with assessing the monitoring of the Lebanese border with Syria has begun its second mission to Lebanon, it was announced today.
18 July 2008 – The main political actors in Nepal have agreed that a scaled-down United Nations presence is necessary for at least another six months to help advance peace and development in the country, the world body’s top official there said today.
18 July 2008 – The Security Council today extended the tenure of the judges serving on the United Nations war crimes tribunal set up to deal with the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, so as to ensure that all remaining cases can be completed by the deadline set for the court’s work.
18 July 2008 – Last month’s peace agreement between the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) and an opposition group is an important step towards peace, but the country’s deteriorating security situation is a matter of serious concern, according to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
17 July 2008 – The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said today that attacks against peacekeepers in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region will be investigated by the Court.
17 July 2008 – Protecting children in armed conflict is a moral issue, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed today, calling for increased action to safeguard young people caught up in violence.
17 July 2008 – In light of developments since Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in February, the United Nations mission there is unable to perform its usual functions and must adjust to the new reality on the ground, says Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
16 July 2008 – A peacekeeper serving with the joint African Union-United Nations force in Darfur (UNAMID) was killed today while on patrol in the strife-torn region, just one week after seven blue helmets with the mission were slain.
16 July 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed today’s long-anticipated prisoner exchange between Israel and the Lebanese group Hizbollah, following months of United Nations-backed mediation efforts.
16 July 2008 – The top United Nations official for Somalia has praised the strife-torn nation’s parties for working quickly to advance the peace deal reached last month in neighbouring Djibouti.
15 July 2008 – The two United Nations peacekeeping missions in Sudan have reported that the situation there is calm, following yesterday’s announcement by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that he is seeking an indictment against President Omar Al-Bashir for war crimes committed in Darfur.
14 July 2008 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that states have made considerable progress in combating the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, but cautioned that many challenges still remain.
14 July 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the Union for the Mediterranean, a new initiative aimed at boosting ties across the region which was launched at a high-level summit in Paris over the weekend.
14 July 2008 – Three years after the United Nations Security Council requested him to investigate atrocities committed in Darfur, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court today presented evidence against Sudan’s President for alleged war crimes in the strife-torn region, including genocide.
14 July 2008 – The Chief Prosecutor of the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), which is trying former Liberian President Charles Taylor for war crimes and crimes against humanity, says many commentators refer to the court as a model for international justice.
14 July 2008 – While Nepal’s interim Government has requested that the United Nations continue its presence there – albeit in a smaller form – to help the South Asian nation consolidate its hard-won peace, the world body is seeking clarification on the scope of any future support, according to a new report made public today.
13 July 2008 – Comments by the Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe questioning Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's impartiality toward events in the Southern African nation are “highly inappropriate and unacceptable,” the spokesperson for the United Nations chief has stated.
11 July 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced his intention to appoint former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer as his new Special Adviser on Cyprus.
11 July 2008 – A draft resolution calling for sanctions on Zimbabwe, including a travel ban and assets freeze on President Robert Mugabe and 12 other individuals, was not adopted by the Security Council today.
11 July 2008 – The Security Council has endorsed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s recommendations to strengthen the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) so that it can better assist the people of the strife-torn nation rebuild their country and their lives.
10 July 2008 – The United Nations has launched an initial enquiry into Tuesday’s attack on its joint peacekeeping force with the African Union (AU) in the war-torn region of Darfur, which resulted in the deaths of 7 blue helmets, while Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the Sudanese Government to bring the perpetrators to justice quickly.
10 July 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed deep concern over the impact of rebel activity in eastern Chad, which has thwarted access of humanitarian workers to the hundreds of thousands of people uprooted from their homes by violence.
10 July 2008 – The Security Council has strongly condemned yesterday’s terrorist attack on Turkish police protecting the United States Consulate General in Istanbul, which caused death and injury to Turkish police personnel.
10 July 2008 – The United Nations Security Council today lifted an arms embargo originally imposed after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and dissolved the committee tasked with monitoring compliance with the sanctions.
9 July 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned a deadly attack on the joint United Nations-African Union force in Darfur that killed seven peacekeepers and wounded twenty-two, seven of them critically.
9 July 2008 – Climate change, reform of the United Nations Security Council and the global food crisis have been top priorities for the General Assembly during its 62nd session, according to its President Srgjan Kerim.
9 July 2008 – The commitments made recently in Paris to help Afghanistan must be met to prevent the erosion of support for the United Nation’s efforts, the world body’s top envoy to the strife-torn South Asian nation said today.
9 July 2008 – While the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah has held up since the passage of the Security Council resolution that ended their 2006 conflict, the situation in Lebanon remains “fairly fragile,” the United Nations political chief said today.
9 July 2008 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has sent a report from the chief mediator between the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels to the Security Council on efforts to resolve their long-running conflict.
8 July 2008 – The United Nations Security Council today strongly condemned recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan which claimed numerous lives and wounded many others, calling on those behind these “reprehensible” incidents to be brought to justice.
8 July 2008 – The Security Council has strongly condemned the killing of the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Somalia, who was gunned down by unidentified assailants in the strife-torn nation’s capital.
8 July 2008 – The crisis in Zimbabwe, which has been beset by months of deadly violence and witnessed the recent holding of tarnished elections, not only represents a “moment of truth” for democracy on the continent but also poses a “challenge to the world,” Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said today.
7 July 2008 – A surge in recruitment of child soldiers, the maiming and killing of children, child detention and a serious humanitarian situation are all posing major threats to children in Afghanistan, according to the United Nations envoy on children and armed conflict who has recently returned from a five-day visit to the country.
7 July 2008 – The top United Nations official in Afghanistan has condemned today’s suicide attack outside the Indian Embassy in Kabul, which reportedly killed over 40 people and injured more than 100, as a “cowardly and heinous crime.”
7 July 2008 – Helping the people of Afghanistan to rebuild the strife-torn nation and improve their daily lives will require strengthening the United Nations mission there in a number of key areas, including increased staffing and possible structural changes, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report.
3 July 2008 – Although West Africa has made strides towards shoring up peace, the region must still overcome such obstacles as youth unemployment, rapid urbanization and irregular migration, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a new report made public today.
3 July 2008 – Tackling the current food crisis requires a unified global response, United Nations General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim said today in Rome.
3 July 2008 – The ongoing violence in Afghanistan is taking a heavy toll on the nation’s children, who continue to be the victims of attacks, recruited and used as combatants and sexually abused, the United Nations envoy for children and armed conflict said today at the end of a five-day visit.
2 July 2008 – Reform of the United Nations, the global food crisis and rising energy prices were among the highlights of discussions today between General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim and senior Italian officials in Rome, where Mr. Kerim has begun the fourth leg of a five-country official tour.
1 July 2008 – The United Nations expects China to be at the forefront of efforts to tackle the world’s biggest challenges, such as the global food crisis, climate change and the quest to slash poverty, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, calling on the Asian nation to step up its contribution in international affairs.
1 July 2008 – The leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities have agreed in principle on the issues of single sovereignty and citizenship during a meeting today as part of United Nations-backed discussions on the possible reunification of Cyprus.
1 July 2008 – Southern Lebanon has witnessed the longest period of relative stability in many years as the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah following their 2006 war continues to hold, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stated, while voicing concern about the presence of armed groups and record levels of Israeli overflights in the area.
30 June 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed recent progress on resolving the humanitarian aspects of the Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 conflict between Israel and the Lebanese group Hizbollah.
30 June 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met Japanese leaders in Tokyo on Monday and praised the “immense contribution” Japan has made to the work of the United Nations.
30 June 2008 – The Security Council today extended by 18 months the mandate of the monitoring team set up in 2004 to help track the application of the world body’s sanctions against the Taliban, Al-Qaida and their operatives.
27 June 2008 – The recent “fragile but real” steps forward in the Middle East peace process will not turn into real progress unless Israeli and Palestinian negotiators can find common ground on the core issues, a senior United Nations political official told the Security Council today.
27 June 2008 – The United Nations advocate for the protection of children caught up in armed conflict will leave tomorrow for a six-day visit to Afghanistan during which she will launch a system to monitor and report on violations of child rights in the battle-scarred nation.
27 June 2008 – The Security Council today welcomed the recent peace agreement reached by authorities in the Central African Republic (CAR) and two rebel groups operating in the impoverished and strife-torn country.
27 June 2008 – The Security Council today extended for another six months the United Nations force observing the more than three-decade-old ceasefire between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights.
27 June 2008 – A United Nations envoy is continuing to hold talks with Southern African leaders about the troubled political and humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe, where the run-off round of presidential elections is being held today despite international objections.
26 June 2008 – The top United Nations official in Kosovo said today that the plan put forward by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to reconfigure the world body’s presence there was set to begin.
25 June 2008 – The overall political, security and economic situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) remains fragile and is characterized by widespread poverty, insecurity and a disturbing cycle of human rights violations and impunity, according to the latest report submitted by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the Security Council.
25 June 2008 – Applauding recent efforts by Guinea-Bissau to bring drug traffickers to justice, the Security Council today urged the West African country’s Government to strengthen its international and regional cooperation to fight the narcotics trade and organized crime.
25 June 2008 – The Security Council has called on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to send a fact-finding mission to the border between Djibouti and Eritrea, where several days of fighting earlier this month led to several deaths and dozens of wounded.
25 June 2008 – The Security Council today said that recent identifications of human remains provided reason to hope for further progress in determining the fate of Kuwaitis and other nationals missing since Iraq’s 1990 invasion, but lamented the lack of progress in finding the Kuwaiti national archive.
25 June 2008 – Although the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) does not seem to be recruiting children in Uganda, women and children are still present in its ranks, and the rebel group is allegedly enlisting young people from neighbouring countries, according to a United Nations report released today.
25 June 2008 – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has welcomed the Security Council’s call for an immediate end to all acts of sexual violence against women and girls in conflict situations.
24 June 2008 – There is reason to seriously question whether the parties to the Darfur conflict are ready to negotiate and make the compromises necessary for a peace deal to end the brutal five-year conflict in western Sudan, a senior United Nations envoy told the Security Council today.
24 June 2008 – The newly appointed United Nations envoy to Sierra Leone is travelling around the West African country to assess the level of preparations for upcoming local government elections next month.
24 June 2008 – The new United Nations envoy for Kosovo, Lamberto Zannier, has arrived in Pristina to take up his duties amid what he called “a moment of transition” for the world body’s presence there.
24 June 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for renewed efforts by all parties towards recovering the remains of Kuwaiti and other nationals missing since the 1990 Gulf war, in a report detailing the activities of his new envoy on the issue.
24 June 2008 – The Security Council today welcomed the recent joint plan unveiled by the Sudanese Government of National Unity’s main parties to resolve their dispute over the situation in the oil-rich area around Abyei, which lies close to the boundary between the north and south of the country.
24 June 2008 – The United Nations human rights office in Nepal has urged the Government to do more to punish perpetrators of sexual crimes committed during the country’s decade-long armed conflict and to support the rights of victims.
23 June 2008 – The United Nations refugee agency has restored 134 primary schools in northern Uganda, allowing thousands of children to return to classes, after the damage and destruction caused by two decades of conflict between Government forces and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
23 June 2008 – The President of the United Nations tribunal set up to deal with the worst war crimes committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s has reported Serbia to the Security Council for failing to cooperate with the court.
23 June 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged authorities in Zimbabwe to postpone the presidential run-off election slated for Friday, in light of ongoing violence and the “understandable decision” by the opposition candidate to withdraw from the polls.
20 June 2008 – The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is continuing to commit atrocities in Central Africa, and the countries of the region are growing impatient with the rebel group’s actions and its failure to sign a peace deal ending its long-running conflict with Uganda, a senior United Nations envoy told the Security Council today.
20 June 2008 – The leaders of the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities, Demetris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat, will meet again on 1 July for further talks on possible reunification, the United Nations envoy to the Mediterranean island said today.
20 June 2008 – The proposal to reconfigure the United Nations' presence in Kosovo is “a practical and workable solution” to one of the world's most intractable issues, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, warning that reaching a mutually acceptable settlement will not be easy.
20 June 2008 – Senior United Nations political aide Haile Menkerios met with South African President Thabo Mbeki in Pretoria today, following a five-day visit to neighbouring Zimbabwe, which has been beset by deadly political violence since the first round of the presidential election on 29 March.
19 June 2008 – Noting that an increasing number of women and girls are falling victim to the “silent war” of sexual violence in conflict areas, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today led a chorus of United Nations officials in urging greater efforts to combat the scourge.
19 June 2008 – The Security Council today demanded that all sides to armed conflicts around the world stop using violence against women as a tactic of war and take much tougher steps to protect women and girls from such attacks.
19 June 2008 – The United Nations envoy to Cyprus says that much hard work still needs to be done to reach a comprehensive settlement of the long-running dispute that has divided the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities on the Mediterranean island.
18 June 2008 – The Security Council has asked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to renew the mandate of the United Nations panel looking into the issues of diamonds, timber, sanctions, arms and security in Liberia for another six months.
18 June 2008 – The head of the Security Council’s recent mission to Sudan today urged the 15-member body to press the parties to the 2005 peace accord which ended the country’s long-running north-south civil war to fulfil their commitments, stressing that the landmark deal is vital to ensuring stability throughout the vast African nation.
18 June 2008 – The top United Nations political official says he is optimistic that the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities are making real progress in their discussions on possible reunification and could soon move into substantive talks on resolving the issue.
17 June 2008 – The top United Nations political official today met with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders on the Mediterranean island as part of the world body’s support of discussions between the two communities on possible reunification.
17 June 2008 – The top United Nations envoy for Somalia met today with the country’s international partners to discuss how best to support the war-torn nation in carrying out the peace deal reached last week in neighbouring Djibouti.
16 June 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council today condemned the series of attacks by armed rebels in eastern Chad over the past week, warning that the renewed fighting between Government forces and the Chadian Armed Opposition Group will only worsen an already grave humanitarian situation.
16 June 2008 – The Security Council today urged the Sudanese Government and all other parties to the conflict in Darfur to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to ensure that those responsible for crimes committed in the war-wracked region are held to account.
16 June 2008 – The Security Council has welcomed the renewed commitment expressed by more than 80 countries and international organizations last week in Paris to advance peace, security and development in Afghanistan.
13 June 2008 – The chairman of the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions imposed against Iran today updated the 15-member body on the number of countries which have reported on their implementation of these measures, and the work carried out by the panel during the past three months.
13 June 2008 – The health of hundreds of thousands of Zimbabwean children is in jeopardy because of last week's decision by the country's authorities to ban non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from distributing aid, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned today.
13 June 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that while his proposal to reconfigure the world body's presence in Kosovo, giving the European Union an enhanced role, may not please everyone, it was the “least objectionable” option.
13 June 2008 – The Security Council agreed today to extend the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Cyprus (UNFICYP) by another six months and the top UN political official announced plans to visit the Mediterranean island next week as discussions continue on possible reunification.
13 June 2008 – The Security Council has called on Djibouti and Eritrea to agree to a ceasefire after several days of fighting along their joint border that has led to several deaths and dozens of wounded.
13 June 2008 – The United Nations representative on the international body monitoring the handling of more than $100 billion in proceeds from sales of Iraqi oil says financial controls are “deficient” although progress has been made in some areas.
12 June 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon unveiled plans today to reconfigure the structure and profile of the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) in the wake of Kosovo’s decision earlier this year to declare its independence from Serbia.
12 June 2008 – The United Nations mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) has confirmed that coordinated security arrangements will be in place with the aim of providing conditions for a successful presidential election in Côte d’Ivoire which is scheduled for November.
12 June 2008 – The head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) today congratulated the Afghan authorities for finding and destroying what is believed to be the world’s largest seizure of drugs, with the support of NATO troops.
11 June 2008 – General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim and Argentina’s External Relations Minister Jorge Enrique Taiana have held talks today on issues ranging from the global food crisis to Security Council reform to key regional challenges.
11 June 2008 – The number of grave human rights violations against children in Somalia, from acts of murder and rape to the recruitment of child soldiers to the denial of humanitarian access to those in need, have all increased in the past year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today in a new report to the Security Council.
11 June 2008 – The Security Council, concerned at the “high level of opium cultivation, production and trafficking” in Afghanistan, today called on States to bolster cooperation to counter this illicit practice which is thwarting the country’s security and development.
11 June 2008 – The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs opened a workshop today in Rio de Janeiro to help governments trace illicit small arms and light weapons.
10 June 2008 – United Nations inspectors monitoring weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq have submitted a final report after the shutdown of their operations last year, nearly two decades after they first started work on the issue.
9 June 2008 – The Security Council mission touring Africa met today with officials in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, where they discussed the ongoing peace process in the West African nation and the presidential election slated for later this year.
6 June 2008 – Welcoming recent progress, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on Cypriots to build on the momentum and make great strides towards reunification.
6 June 2008 – A visiting Security Council delegation and Sudanese President Omar al Bashir discussed the country’s north-south peace process, the situations in Abyei and Darfur, as well as the African nation’s non-cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC), during a meeting in the capital, Khartoum, a United Nations spokesperson said today.
5 June 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged Sudan to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to ensure justice for the victims of crimes committed in the war-torn Darfur region after the Court’s Prosecutor reported that the country is “deliberately” attacking civilians.
5 June 2008 – A Security Council mission visiting Africa is expected to meet with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir today in Khartoum, the country’s capital.
4 June 2008 – The senior United Nations official tasked with coordinating the world body’s work in Lebanon arrived today in the capital Beirut to take up his duties.
4 June 2008 – Senior officials from the United Nations tribunals established to try those responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide and atrocities committed during the Balkan wars of the 1990s today called for scaled-up support and cooperation from Member States to bring perpetrators of these crimes to justice.
4 June 2008 – The Security Council delegation visiting Africa said today that it was encouraged by talks between representatives from north and south Sudan following the recent violence in the disputed town of Abyei.
3 June 2008 – The first 71 Chadian police and gendarmerie commanders graduated today from a United Nations programme aimed at ensuring the safety and security of an estimated 250,000 refugees and 180,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in the east of the country.
3 June 2008 – The Security Council has condemned the deadly bombing that took place outside the Danish Embassy in Islamabad yesterday and reiterated its determination to combat all forms of terrorism.
3 June 2008 – The Security Council delegation visiting Africa held talks today in southern Sudan on recent violence there, while the top United Nations envoy to Darfur concluded a three-day visit to Khartoum in a bid to advance peace negotiations over the troubled region.
3 June 2008 – The United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) has welcomed a new Security Council resolution which aims to curb piracy along Somalia’s coast by allowing ships to enter the country's territorial waters to prevent attacks by armed robbers.
2 June 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the return by Israel of a released prisoner to Lebanon and Hizbollah’s release of remains of Israeli soldiers killed during the 2006 war.
2 June 2008 – The top United Nations human rights official has praised the progress made so far in the new system of examining the performance of the world body’s 192 Member States, as she delivered her final address in the post to the Human Rights Council today.
2 June 2008 – The Security Council today extended through the rest of this year the mandate of the independent probe into the February 2005 assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri and a series of other recent killings in Lebanon.
2 June 2008 – The Security Council today deplored acts of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia which impede the delivery of vital relief supplies, calling on States to cooperate more to tackle the problem.
2 June 2008 – Members of a Security Council delegation currently touring Africa met today with Somali leaders in Djibouti, where talks are being held between representatives of the Government and the opposition in the neighbouring strife-torn nation under the auspices of the United Nations.
29 May 2008 – Albania’s experience as one of the pilot countries in the United Nations programme to streamline the world body’s development activities in individual States topped the agenda of talks today between General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim and Government officials in Tirana.
29 May 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will attend the International Conference on Afghanistan being staged in Paris on 12 June as part of international efforts to help with reconstruction and development in the Asian country.
29 May 2008 – The United Nations envoy to Cyprus said today that he was encouraged by the “initiative and commitment” shown by the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders so far during discussions this year on possible reunification.
29 May 2008 – From solemn wreath-laying ceremonies honouring those who died in service to a peace march, a fun run, concerts and multimedia exhibitions, United Nations offices and missions around the world are today observing the International Day of UN Peacekeepers – 60 years to the day after the first blue helmets were authorized by the Organization.
28 May 2008 – A senior United Nations official today welcomed recent political progress in Lebanon and the start of indirect talks between Israel and Syria, but cautioned that there are still serious challenges to achieve a wider peace in the Middle East.
28 May 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is heading today to Sweden to attend the annual review conference of the Iraq Compact, the five-year plan to promote peace and development in the violence-wracked nation.
28 May 2008 – A Security Council delegation will this weekend begin a five-country visit to Africa to obtain a first-hand assessment of the crises engulfing Somalia, Sudan’s Darfur region and neighbouring Chad and to help with efforts to promote peace and reconciliation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Côte d’Ivoire.
28 May 2008 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim today warned of the consequences resulting from the loss of biodiversity, including the impacts on the economy, development and efforts to mitigate climate change.
27 May 2008 – Millions of civilians worldwide are still victims of armed conflicts – losing their lives, being forced to flee their homes and becoming victims of physical and sexual violence – despite recent progress in some countries, the top United Nations humanitarian official told the Security Council today.
27 May 2008 – Climate change, biological diversity and United Nations reform have been high on the agenda during official talks so far on the current three-day visit to Germany by General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim.
27 May 2008 – The United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) has concluded in a report that a Georgian reconnaissance drone aircraft that crashed in Abkhazia last month was shot down by the Russian air force.
27 May 2008 – On the eve of the first meeting of Nepal’s Constituent Assembly, the top United Nations envoy to the country said that challenges still lie ahead, despite last month’s successful country-wide elections.
27 May 2008 – United Nations officials will commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of peacekeeping by gathering later this week at the world body’s headquarters in New York for a wreath-laying ceremony to honour the more than 2,400 blue helmets – including 90 last year – who have died in service.
26 May 2008 – The head of the United Nations atomic watchdog today circulated his latest report regarding Iran's nuclear programme to both the Security Council and the agency's Board of Directors.
25 May 2008 – The best means to address the problems Africa faces can be found in the continent's people, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today on the occasion of Africa Day.
25 May 2008 – United Nations Secretary-General today congratulated the Lebanese people on the election of President Michel Suleimane, ending the deadlock that has endured in the Middle Eastern nation since last November.
23 May 2008 – A high-level commander of an armed Rwandan group has laid down his arms and voluntarily returned to his own country, the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported today.
23 May 2008 – The Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders have held “genuine and fruitful” talks in Nicosia under United Nations auspices, their second round of formal discussions on possible reunification this year, it was announced today.
22 May 2008 – The political parties in Nepal will have to reach agreement on how to form a new government and then successfully draft a new constitution to give the country a chance of lasting stability and economic development, according to the United Nations’ top envoy to the country.
22 May 2008 – The Security Council today expressed concern at the recent confrontation between rebels and Government forces in Burundi and called for both parties in the small African country to end their hostilities and fully implement the 2006 comprehensive ceasefire agreement.
22 May 2008 – The Security Council has welcomed this week’s accord to resolve the long-running political stand-off in Lebanon and called for the agreement, which paves the way for a president to finally be elected and a national unity cabinet to be established, to be implemented fully.
21 May 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed today’s agreement among Lebanon’s political leaders on a deal to resolve their prolonged stand-off over the presidency and the direction of the country.
21 May 2008 – The Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders will meet at the official residence of the United Nations Envoy to Cyprus this Friday for the second round of talks aimed at reuniting the two communities on the Mediterranean island, it was announced today.
20 May 2008 – Calling for the United Nations to play a lead role in coordinating international efforts to help countries recovering from conflict stabilize and eventually prosper, the Security Council stressed the need today for greater funding to assist in peacebuilding and to lay the groundwork for longer-term reconstruction and development.
20 May 2008 – To help countries in their struggle to stabilize and prosper after years of conflict, the United Nations must become more coherent in coordinating its activities, increase its capacity on the ground and build up its civilian expertise, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council today.
20 May 2008 – The fresh outbreak of fighting in Burundi could roll back valuable progress made since a peace agreement was reached in 2000, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon cautioned in a new report made public today.
19 May 2008 – The head of the United Nations tribunal set up to deal with the worst war crimes committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s will arrive in Bosnia and Herzegovina today to discuss the country’s participation with the court.
16 May 2008 – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has provided aid to more than 40,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Somalia who live in precarious conditions in dozens of makeshift settlements west of the capital, Mogadishu.
15 May 2008 – The Security Council today called on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to continue contingency plans to deploy a possible United Nations peacekeeping operation in strife-torn Somalia and to relocate its political office from neighbouring Kenya.
14 May 2008 – The Darfur conflict could lapse soon into another major cycle of violence and large-scale human displacement unless the parties retreat from their recent state of confrontation, the top United Nations peacekeeping official told the Security Council today.
14 May 2008 – Political parties in Sierra Leone have underscored their commitment to holding peaceful local council elections in July at an inter-party dialogue meeting hosted by the United Nations.
13 May 2008 – Ongoing military activities by Darfur’s rebel groups as well as reprisal actions by the Sudanese Government and its allied militia are costing lives and limiting humanitarian operations in the strife-torn region, the United Nations Secretary-General says today.
13 May 2008 – The Security Council today deplored the weekend attacks by a Darfurian rebel group against the Sudanese Government on the outskirts of the country’s capital, Khartoum, but urged restraint from all sides and warned that no retaliatory action should be taken against civilians.
12 May 2008 – The global food crisis, Security Council reform and the most recent developments in the Middle East have topped the agenda during talks in Cairo between General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
12 May 2008 – Deploring the violence that has engulfed Lebanon over the past week, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on all parties in the fractured country to resume dialogue as part of a process that should culminate in the election of a president and a solution to the prolonged political crisis.
12 May 2008 – United Nations support for security sector reform in countries attempting to rebuild after suffering through conflicts must become more coherent and streamlined if it is to be successful, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council today.
9 May 2008 – The United Nations Secretary-General has expressed his deep concern at the continuing violence in Lebanon and has called on all parties to exercise restraint.
8 May 2008 – The stalled political process in Lebanon, combined with the current violence on the streets and the “defiant manoeuvres of militias,” is leaving the country struggling to function as a sovereign, democratic State, United Nations Special Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen told the Security Council today.
7 May 2008 – Sierra Leone’s prospects of moving forward and boosting its socio-economic situation is “hopeful,” a senior United Nations peacekeeping official told the Security Council today.
6 May 2008 – As of the end of April, more than half of United Nations Member States have submitted assessments to the Security Council regarding efforts to keep nuclear, chemical and biological weapons out of the hands of terrorists and black marketeers, it was announced today.
2 May 2008 – The United Nations peacekeeping chief travels today to the Balkans for a fact-finding mission on Kosovo, which earlier this year declared its independence from Serbia.
2 May 2008 – The Security Council today stressed the need for the upcoming referendum and elections in Myanmar to include the full participation of all political actors and respect for fundamental political freedoms.
1 May 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met today in London with senior officials who will take part in tomorrow’s meeting of the Middle East diplomatic Quartet – comprising the United Nations, the European Union, Russia and the United States – being held as part of efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
1 May 2008 – Recalling its prior condemnation of Eritrea's hindrances, the Security Council said the country's ongoing obstruction of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) has dealt a blow to the blue helmets' mandate.
30 April 2008 – The head of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur, known as UNAMID, said today that he is just as anxious as people on the ground are for progress.
30 April 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will chair a meeting of the diplomatic Middle East Quartet – comprising the United Nations, the European Union, Russia and the United States – later this week in London.
30 April 2008 – The Security Council today extended until 30 April 2009 the mandate of the United Nations mission in Western Sahara (MINURSO), tasked with monitoring the ceasefire between Morocco and the Frente Polisario and organizing a referendum on self-determination.
30 April 2008 – The threat to international peace and security posed by the uncontrolled trade in small arms and their excessive accumulation and proliferation cannot be overemphasized, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today.
30 April 2008 – The Security Council today voted to extend the United Nations mission set up to support a 2005 accord that ended the long-running civil war between north and south Sudan, and called on the parties to fully their commitments to achieve lasting peace.
29 April 2008 – The first official of the United Nations-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon to take up his functions, the registrar Robin Vincent, began his duties yesterday as the court continues to make progress in its start-up phase.
29 April 2008 – The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), which settles the damage claims of those who suffered losses because of Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, today announced the disbursement of some $972.4 million to 26 successful claimants.
29 April 2008 – The Security Council today extended the mandate of an expert group monitoring the arms flow to Somalia.
29 April 2008 – The Security Council today welcomed the news that Côte d’Ivoire will be holding previously delayed presidential elections on 30 November, and urged the West African nation to redouble its efforts to meet that vital goal on the path to peace.
29 April 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has informed the Security Council of his plan to appoint an experienced Slovak diplomat as the head of the new United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA).
29 April 2008 – The United Nations stands ready to support regional diplomacy to help end the political crisis in Zimbabwe, where violence has flared after last month’s presidential elections, the world body’s political chief, B. Lynn Pascoe, said today.
28 April 2008 – Lebanon's people “have a unique opportunity to open a new chapter in their difficult history” and they and their political representatives must rise to the occasion and elect a president without any preconditions other than those outlined in the national constitution, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in his latest report on the troubled country.
28 April 2008 – The Security Council has strongly condemned yesterday’s terrorist attack on an official ceremony in the Afghan capital, Kabul, which was attended by President Hamid Karzai and other dignitaries, and urged that those responsible for this “reprehensible” act be brought to justice.
28 April 2008 – The international community has a duty and an interest in showing sustained commitment to helping to bring peace and prosperity to Iraq as the country undergoes “a painful transition,” the senior United Nations political official told the Security Council today.
26 April 2008 – Despite an arrest warrant being issued for him one year ago by the International Criminal Court (ICC), a Sudanese minister accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes in the war-ravaged region of Darfur is free and is a "fugitive," the body's Prosecutor said today.
26 April 2008 – The top United Nations envoy to Iraq today expressed hope that an agreement can be reached in the Council of Representatives on the list of candidates for the Baghdad governorate election offices (GEOs) for the upcoming elections.
25 April 2008 – Although some initial steps toward national reconciliation in Iraq have begun, more needs to be done to help the communities resolve the fundamental issues that divide them, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in his latest quarterly report.
25 April 2008 – The Security Council today issued a three-year extension to the mandate of a United Nations committee which works to halt the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
25 April 2008 – The Security Council has condemned the recent deadly spate of violent confrontations between Burundi’s National Defence Forces and the Palipehutu-FNL rebel group in and around the capital, Bujumbura.
25 April 2008 – The United Nations atomic watchdog pledged today to conduct an investigation after receiving information from the United States alleging that a Syrian installation destroyed by Israel last year contained a nuclear reactor.
23 April 2008 – Member States need to increase their collection, maintenance and sharing of data on small arms as part of measures to encourage disarmament, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report made public today.
23 April 2008 – Israelis and Palestinians are currently engaged in the most intensive negotiations on issues pertaining to final status since the political process broke down almost eight years ago, a senior United Nations official told an open meeting of the Security Council today.
22 April 2008 – Five years after fighting first erupted in Darfur between Sudanese Government forces and rebel groups, the world has still not found a durable solution to the suffering of millions of people in the region, the United Nations humanitarian chief told the Security Council today, warning the situation will only deteriorate unless urgent measures are taken.
22 April 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today pledged the continued assistance of the United Nations to Liberia, which he said has made great strides in recovering from a brutal decade-long civil war, but still faces daunting challenges in areas such as security, rule of law and development, as he wrapped up a visit to the West African nation.
22 April 2008 – Ethiopia and Eritrea are primarily responsible for settling their border dispute and must follow up on the commitments they made in an accord in 2000, the top United Nations peacekeeping official stressed today.
22 April 2008 – The United Nations political chief today urged further dialogue and stronger support by Iraq’s neighbours for stabilizing the strife-torn country, including through the opening of embassies in Baghdad.
21 April 2008 – Representatives of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda met in New York in United Nations-chaired talks to review progress in dealing with armed groups.
21 April 2008 – The United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) has stepped up its monitoring but said today that it has not seen anything so far to confirm recent media reports of a build-up of either Georgian or Abkhaz forces along the ceasefire line or in the Kodori Valley.
21 April 2008 – The Security Council today congratulated the people of Nepal on the “largely peaceful” Constituent Assembly election held on 10 April, and urged them to abide by the outcome of the historic polls.
21 April 2008 – The senior United Nations envoy on the Middle East and Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister have underscored the continued importance of the Arab Peace Initiative during a meeting in Riyadh on the latest developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
21 April 2008 – The top United Nations political official has just wrapped up a three-day visit to Baghdad, expressing confidence that the world body is doing its part to help build a peaceful and prosperous Iraq, and praising UN staff on the ground for their dedication under difficult conditions.
18 April 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the intention of Sudan's Government of National Unity to proceed with a delayed national census as from 22 April in preparation for elections next year.
18 April 2008 – Welcoming a guest he invited to the United Nations a year ago, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed to Pope Benedict XVI today the fundamental goals that unite the world Organization and the Roman Catholic Church.
18 April 2008 – Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot working groups today launched sessions designed to pave the way for full-fledged negotiations under United Nations auspices on a comprehensive and durable settlement for the reunification of the Mediterranean island.
17 April 2008 – General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim has held talks today with senior Government ministers from Gabon and the United Kingdom, discussing issues ranging from peace and security in Africa to Security Council reform to financing for development in poor countries.
17 April 2008 – The senior United Nations counter-terrorism official is in Tokyo today for a meeting to discuss how the world body and the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations can better coordinate their efforts on the issue.
17 April 2008 – Welcoming the recent agreement between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, the Security Council today voiced hope that the two sides can build enough trust and momentum in their peace process to lead eventually to the reunification of Cyprus.
17 April 2008 – An independent United Nations human rights expert has called on the United Nations to do its utmost to protect the lives of both Palestinians and Israelis, after some two dozen people were reportedly killed in the latest round of violence to engulf the Gaza Strip and southern Israel.
16 April 2008 – Preventing and resolving conflicts peacefully must remain high on the shared agenda of the United Nations and the African Union, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a high-level Security Council meeting today at UN Headquarters, calling for deeper cooperation between the two institutions.
16 April 2008 – The drive to reunite the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities in Cyprus is set to take an important step forward this week with the start of substantive talks among new working groups, according to the United Nations mission on the Mediterranean island.
16 April 2008 – Consolidating the status quo is not an acceptable outcome to the current process of negotiations over Western Sahara, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in his latest report on the long-running dispute between Morocco and the Frente Polisario.
15 April 2008 – The United Nations political chief told the Security Council today that he was optimistic that Cyprus could soon be reunified, but he also cautioned that the upcoming negotiations between the two communities on the Mediterranean island would not be easy.
15 April 2008 – The United Nations-African Union hybrid peacekeeping force in Sudan’s war-wracked Darfur region said today that it has opened an investigation into allegations by local authorities that one of its staff has engaged in misconduct.
15 April 2008 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has made solid progress in trying to stabilize the volatile east of the country, but the continued presence of armed rebels and militias means the region will remain the overwhelming focus of its operations for some time, its chief told reporters today.
15 April 2008 – The Security Council today called for greater progress on the outstanding issues needed to reach a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hizbollah in southern Lebanon following their war in mid-2006.
15 April 2008 – The Security Council today extended until 15 October the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG), established in 1993 to verify compliance with a cessation of hostilities and separation of forces accord following the armed conflict between the Georgian and Abkhaz sides.
14 April 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Security Council and the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti have joined together to strongly condemn Saturday’s execution-style killing of a Nigerian police officer serving with the operation in the impoverished Caribbean country.
14 April 2008 – Challenges related to security, rule of law and economic development must be addressed if Liberia is to solidify the progress made so far and the United Nations is to successfully draw down its presence there, the world body’s top official in the West African nation said today.
14 April 2008 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) today welcomed the announcement that the country’s much delayed presidential elections will now be held on 30 November this year.
11 April 2008 – Pope Benedict XVI will address the General Assembly and staff of the United Nations in separate events at UN Headquarters next Friday during the first day of a visit by the head of the Roman Catholic Church to New York.
11 April 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has outlined four options for the future of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), including the possibility of axing the mission, because of restrictions imposed by Eritrea on its side of the disputed border.
11 April 2008 – Security Council reform must be about more than just changing the composition of its membership, General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim says, calling on the body to be “based on an equilibrium of interests rather than a balance of power.”
10 April 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on Russians to expand their country’s already substantial partnership with the United Nations in tackling the range of global challenges from peacekeeping to AIDS to climate change.
10 April 2008 – General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim today called on United Nations Member States to show “effective flexibility” during negotiations on reshaping the Security Council’s size and membership and to remember that without compromises by all sides there will be no reform.
10 April 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has informed the Security Council of his intention to appoint Johan Verbeke of Belgium as the new United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, and Tayé-Brook Zerihoun of Ethiopia as the world body’s top official in Cyprus.
9 April 2008 – Improving coordination of international efforts to help bring peace and development to Afghanistan will be a key priority for the United Nations, the new Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the strife-torn nation pledged today.
9 April 2008 – Condemning continued armed activity of rebel groups in eastern Chad, members of the Security Council today expressed their concern over the humanitarian situation in that region and the neighbouring north-eastern Central African Republic (CAR), as the number of displaced persons continues to swell.
9 April 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon held cordial and wide-ranging talks today with Russian president-elect Dmitry Medvedev and President Vladimir Putin, during his ongoing visit to Moscow, a United Nations spokesperson said.
8 April 2008 – Haiti is facing a time of exceptional opportunity to escape the destructive cycles of the past, with real and significant gains on security, the economy and institution-building, but this progress remains extraordinarily fragile and could swiftly be reversed, according to the UN’s top envoy to the country.
8 April 2008 – The head of the independent probe into the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri today asked the Security Council to extend the inquiry’s mandate for another six months so it can continue its investigations into the February 2005 attack and a series of other recent killings in Lebanon.
8 April 2008 – The United Nations mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) is launching a programme tomorrow to train 77 Chadian police and gendarmerie commanders in law and order and respect for human rights.
8 April 2008 – The redeployment of United Nations peacekeepers to the far east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where critical steps are being taken to resolve long-standing conflict and instability, risks creating security vacuums and increased tensions in other parts of the country, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says.
7 April 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he plans to discuss the situation in Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia on 17 February, with Russian officials during his visit to Moscow this week.
4 April 2008 – Unlike the tensions that characterized much of the last two years, the past few months have witnessed a relatively stable security situation along the ceasefire line between the Georgian and Abkhaz sides, which could contribute to improving relations between the parties, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report.
4 April 2008 – Avowing that the situation in Sudan's Darfur region remains as grim, or worse, than it was four years ago when the Security Council first took up the issue, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for an immediate focus on the fundamentals of peace and the protection of civilians in the strife-torn region.
3 April 2008 – The flare-up of civil strife, cross-border tension and displacement involving Chad, the Central African Republic (CAR) and Sudan should be addressed in a unified manner that is outside the mandate of the mission currently being deployed by the United Nations, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a report released today.
3 April 2008 – The priority of the inquiry probing the 2005 assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri is to now gather more evidence about the criminal network responsible for the massive car bombing and determine its participants, the head of the investigation says in his latest report to the Security Council.
3 April 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today pledged the commitment of the United Nations to stay the course in Afghanistan to ensure peace, security and development in the strife-torn nation.
2 April 2008 – There is a “palpable sense of momentum” in Cyprus toward a lasting solution to the dispute between the Mediterranean island’s two communities, the top United Nations political official said today after wrapping up a visit.
2 April 2008 – Strengthening the relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations such as the African Union will be the focus of the programme of work at the Security Council this month, its current President told reporters today.
1 April 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has proposed a series of measures to strengthen the partnership between the United Nations and regional organizations to address common peace and security challenges, recognizing the vital role they play in preventing and resolving crises.
1 April 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be travelling to the Romanian capital, Bucharest, where, on Thursday, he will be joining other world leaders at an international meeting focusing on peace and development efforts in strife-torn Afghanistan.
1 April 2008 – The United Nations mission in Kosovo continues to operate on the assumption that the 1999 Security Council resolution that gave it administrative authority following ethnic bloodshed is still in force, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in his first report on the issue since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on 17 February.
31 March 2008 – The United Nations Security Council today extended until the end of the year its arms embargo and other sanctions meant to keep weapons out of the hands of militias in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which it said continue to threaten stability in the eastern part of the vast country.
31 March 2008 – The United Nations and non-governmental organizations working in Timor-Leste are seeking $33.5 million to help the country’s most vulnerable, including internally displaced persons (IDPs) and those most at risk from natural disasters.
28 March 2008 – Evidence shows that a criminal network was responsible for the massive car bombing that killed the former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri and 22 others in Beirut in February 2005, the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) says in a new report to the Security Council.
28 March 2008 – The United Nations’ top envoy for Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) has consulted with CAR President François Bozizé on deployment of an innovative peacekeeping mission in the two countries, a UN spokesperson said today.
28 March 2008 – Pledging to boost assistance to the Government of Afghanistan, the new Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for the war-ravaged nation touched down in Kabul today.
27 March 2008 – Nepal’s public security institutions such as the police need to show greater respect for human rights if they are to prevent a repeat of the deadly violence that roiled the Terai region of southern Nepal in February, United Nations human rights officials in the South Asian country said today.
27 March 2008 – The Security Council today welcomed this week’s announcement that Guinea-Bissau will hold legislative elections in November and called on the Government of the impoverished West African country to both speed up its preparations for those polls and to continue its efforts to consolidate peace.
27 March 2008 – Members of the Security Council today welcomed a report from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that showed he was making “substantial progress” in setting up an international tribunal to try those responsible for the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
26 March 2008 – General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim has held talks today in Rome with Pope Benedict XVI and Italian Government leaders, discussing issues including climate change, United Nations reform, inter-religious dialogue and the fight against poverty during the first leg of his official European trip.
26 March 2008 – Welcoming last night’s announcement by Guinea-Bissau’s President of the date of upcoming legislative elections, the top United Nations to the West African nation today said that the international community must remain engaged for peace to be consolidated.
25 March 2008 – The Liberian Government continues to make progress as it rebuilds after a devastating civil war, including the start of economic recovery and the restoration of basic services, but significant challenges such as poverty and high unemployment remain to be addressed, according to a United Nations report released today.
25 March 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today praised Palestinian and Israeli leaders for their commitment to the Middle East political process despite the recent spike of violence, and urged that the targets for a settlement that were set in last year’s talks be kept.
22 March 2008 – The United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) has signed a status of mission agreement with Chadian authorities that will establish the legal principles under which the operation will run in the strife-torn African country.
20 March 2008 – The top United Nations envoy in Somalia, where the new reconciliation strategy of the transitional Government has garnered wide support, today called on the Security Council to promote complementary action on security in the country, long beset by chaos.
20 March 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has recommended the Security Council transfer $100 million from United Nations Iraq Account, made up of funds related to the expired oil-for-food programme, to an account for the country’s development, a UN spokesperson said today.
20 March 2008 – Noting the progress Guinea-Bissau is making in its efforts to bring about political and economic stabilization, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the engagement of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) – which seeks to prevent countries emerging from war from sliding backwards – with the West African nation.
20 March 2008 – The Security Council today unanimously voted to extend the mandate of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), which is tasked with monitoring the efforts of countries to combat the global scourge of terrorism, until the end of 2010.
20 March 2008 – The Security Council today renewed the mandate of the United Nations political mission in Afghanistan and widened its scope to include leading international civilian efforts to provide political outreach, support reconciliation programmes and strengthen cooperation with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
19 March 2008 – Considerable progress has been made worldwide in the fight against terrorism, including the endorsement of important treaties and the sharing of information between law enforcement agencies, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today.
19 March 2008 – Blue helmets representing the 25 different national contingents that make up the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) today marked three decades of peacekeeping in the Middle Eastern nation.
18 March 2008 – It is in Myanmar’s interest to ensure that its upcoming referendum and elections are as credible and inclusive as possible and to engage without delay in dialogue with the detained pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the United Nations envoy to the Asian country told the Security Council today.
18 March 2008 – The international tribunal being set up to try those responsible for political killings in Lebanon, particularly the 2005 attack that killed former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, has moved into its start-up phase, according to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
18 March 2008 – The fourth and latest round of United Nations-led talks, bringing together representatives from Morocco and the Frente Polisario, wrapped up today on the outskirts of New York City, with both sides once again pledging to continue negotiations.
18 March 2008 – Improving the relationship between Sudan and Chad is crucial to achieving a durable solution to the conflict wracking Darfur, the United Nations and African Union envoys said today after wrapping up two days of consultations in Geneva with key members of the international community.
17 March 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today deplored attacks against personnel of the United Nations mission in Kosovo today as they re-established control over a courthouse in Mitrovica that a mob had forcibly occupied last week.
17 March 2008 – The chairman of the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions imposed against Iran said today that additional countries have reported on their implementation of these measures.
17 March 2008 – The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1559, which calls for free and fair presidential elections in Lebanon without interference from foreign influences and for the disbandment of all militia groups operating in the country, met with Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah in Riyadh yesterday.
16 March 2008 – Meeting with Serbia's Minister for Kosovo, a senior United Nations official today underscored that challenges – which violate Belgrade's pledges to the Security Council – to the mandate of the world body's mission, known as UNMIK, must come to an end.
14 March 2008 – The Security Council has called for Eritrea’s full cooperation in the temporary relocation of the personnel and equipment of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).
14 March 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the details of three new appointments to senior positions in the world body in positions ranging from peacekeeping to the new mission in Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) to the ombudsman’s office.
13 March 2008 – The Security Council today called on all Rwandan armed groups operating in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to surrender immediately to Congolese authorities and the United Nations peacekeeping mission known as MONUC.
12 March 2008 – The mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) must be sharpened given the challenges the country has faced in the past year, including a more resilient than expected insurgency and a booming drug industry, the world body’s top peacekeeping official said today.
12 March 2008 – A Roman Catholic priest in Rwanda who directed the demolition of a church where about 1,500 Tutsis were trying to take shelter during the 1994 genocide, killing those trapped inside, has been sentenced to life in prison after a United Nations war crimes tribunal today increased his jail term.
11 March 2008 – A veteran of numerous international court proceedings has been appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as the Registrar of the tribunal being set up to try those responsible for political killings in Lebanon, particularly the 2005 attack that killed former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.
11 March 2008 – More than 700 peacekeepers have been temporarily relocated to their home countries from Eritrea, the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) reported.
11 March 2008 – The international community's often faltering support for United Nations peacekeeping operations was making it difficult to maintain gains in key conflict areas, even though the UN has greatly boosted its operations in this field, top officials of the Organization have warned.
11 March 2008 – Recent fierce fighting in Sudan's devastated Darfur region makes it clear that the international effort to protect the population is at dire risk unless the parties are pressured to negotiate a peace, at top United Nations peacekeeping official said today.
11 March 2008 – The situation on the ground in Kosovo has deteriorated since its Provisional Institutions of Self-Government declared independence last month, Serbia’s Foreign Minister told the Security Council today, calling for Belgrade and Pristina to meet again to try to work out a different resolution to their dispute over Kosovo’s status.
10 March 2008 – The political transition in strife-torn Afghanistan continues to face a number of serious challenges, including terrorism and a booming drug industry, according to a new United Nations report, which urges an integrated approach among all international partners to stabilize the fledgling democracy.
10 March 2008 – A Latvian judge was today sworn in before the United Nations tribunal set up to deal with the worst crimes committed during the Balkan wars of the 1990s so that the court can handle more of its remaining workload.
7 March 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has informed the Security Council of his intention to appoint Kai Eide of Norway as his Special Representative and head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
7 March 2008 – The United Nations refugee agency said today that it has started to move Sudanese refugees who had fled a new wave of attacks in Darfur further inside Chad and away from the strife-torn frontier.
6 March 2008 – Eritrea's restrictions on the activities of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) breach the fundamental principles of peacekeeping and raise serious implications for the safety and security of blue helmets deployed around the world, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report made public today.
6 March 2008 – Ground breaking for the construction of a temporary venue for international meetings, the most visible piece of the intricate five-year renovation of the landmark United Nations Headquarters in New York, will take place in May, the head of the effort announced today.
6 March 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned today's shooting at a Jewish rabbinical seminary in west Jerusalem that has left at least eight people dead and many more injured, calling it a “savage attack.”
4 March 2008 – The first group of United Nations peacekeepers left Eritrea today, travelling by plane out of the capital, Asmara, as part of the temporary relocation of the mission personnel after the force’s operations were paralyzed when the Horn of Africa country cut off fuel supplies.
4 March 2008 – The Security Council, which yesterday imposed additional sanctions against Iran for its nuclear activities, will not support the use of force to deal with that issue, the 15-member body’s President for March stated today.
4 March 2008 – Although southern Lebanon is relatively stable at present, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expresses deep concern over the effects of the ongoing political crisis, arms smuggling and Israeli overflights there in a new report on compliance with the Security Council decision that helped end fighting between Israel and Hizbollah in 2006.
3 March 2008 – The United Nations envoy tasked with helping implement the September 2004 Security Council resolution that calls for free and fair presidential elections in Lebanon without interference from foreign influences and for the disbandment of all militia groups operating in the country has held talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
3 March 2008 – A former Rwandan local government official convicted and jailed by the United Nations genocide tribunal for failing to prevent the massacre of Tutsis seeking refuge in a church has been released from prison after completing his sentence.
3 March 2008 – The Security Council today imposed additional sanctions against Iran, including the inspection of cargo suspected of carrying prohibited goods, the tighter monitoring of financial institutions and the extension of travel bans and asset freezes, over its nuclear programme.
3 March 2008 – Three temporary judges were today sworn in before the United Nations war crimes tribunal set up to deal with the worst crimes committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s so that the court can handle more trials simultaneously.
3 March 2008 – The top United Nations human rights official, alarmed by the recent violence in Gaza and Israel, has called for an investigation into the reported killing of dozens of civilians, including children, by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF).
2 March 2008 – The Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have condemned the escalating violence in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel, which has claimed dozens of civilian lives in recent days.
29 February 2008 – The United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) has welcomed the arrest and detention of five people wanted in connection with the activities of the late rebel commander Alfredo Reinado, who was killed earlier this month during the attack on President Jose Ramos-Horta.
28 February 2008 – The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) is making progress again in relocating some of its personnel from the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) separating the two countries to the capital, Asmara, and the port city of Assab.
28 February 2008 – A journalist and presenter convicted by a United Nations war crimes tribunal for his work with a notorious Rwandan radio station that called for the killing of Tutsis during the country’s 1994 genocide will serve the remainder of his jail sentence in Italy.
28 February 2008 – The top United Nations envoy to Somalia will soon wrap up a three-day visit to the Horn of Africa nation where he has met with Government and local leaders, as well as with representatives of civil society.
27 February 2008 – No new restrictions have been reported today from Eritrea on the regrouping of the United Nations peacekeepers there in preparation for their temporary relocation to Ethiopia, though the vehicles blocked yesterday were unable to complete their tasks.
26 February 2008 – Eritrean soldiers have blocked the passage of eight United Nations vehicles in the past 24 hours as the world body’s peacekeeping mission in the region continued to regroup staff and assets in the capital, Asmara, ahead of its planned temporary relocation across the border to Ethiopia.
26 February 2008 – The Annapolis peace process deserves continued support but it will only be sustained if there are real changes on the ground, particularly in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, the senior United Nations envoy on the Middle East told the Security Council today.
25 February 2008 – International efforts to help Kenya recover from the unrest that started after election results were challenged in December should thoroughly address the root causes of the violence, but must first help resolve the political crisis as a matter of urgency, the United Nations’ top humanitarian official said today.
25 February 2008 – The Security Council today extended for one more year the mandate of the mission it sent to help stabilize the fledgling nation of Timor-Leste in the wake of violent clashes in 2006.
22 February 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has informed the Security Council of his plan to appoint Algeria’s Said Djinnit as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA).
22 February 2008 – With Eritrea still hindering the temporary relocation of United Nations peacekeepers to Ethiopia, the UN mission to the two countries said today that there were as yet no obstructions to its regrouping in the Eritrean capital of Asmara.
22 February 2008 – The head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today that it has made “quite good progress” in clarifying unresolved issues over Iran's past nuclear programme, but several hurdles remain.
22 February 2008 – Over 15 per cent of women and girls in the violence-ridden north of the Central African Republic (CAR) are victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today.
21 February 2008 – Eritrea is still blocking the temporary move of the United Nations peacekeeping mission across the border to Ethiopia, the mission to the neighbouring Horn of Africa countries reported today, as UN blue helmets and other personnel continued to regroup in Asmara to facilitate the relocation.
21 February 2008 – A former Rwandan government minister has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges during his first appearance before the United Nations war crimes tribunal set up to deal with the 1994 genocide in the small country.
21 February 2008 – Security Council members have condemned today’s mob attacks against embassies in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, which have endangered diplomatic personnel and resulted in damage to embassy buildings.
21 February 2008 – With no significant security incidents having occurred following last week’s attempts on the lives of both the President and Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, the top United Nations peacekeeping official today lauded the leaders and people of the tiny nation for remaining calm and displaying restraint.
20 February 2008 – The Security Council today authorized Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to appoint up to four extra judges to the United Nations tribunal set up after the Balkan wars of the 1990s to help that court better meet its target to try all defendants by the end of this year.
20 February 2008 – The Security Council today extended for another six months the African Union-led mission in Somalia, which has been helping the war-wracked country that has not had a functioning government since 1991 to achieve national reconciliation and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.
20 February 2008 – Two days of United Nations-backed talks on the Georgia-Abkhaz conflict have ended, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to a peace process led by the world body.
19 February 2008 – The Group of Experts dealing with illegal arms flows into and around the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has called for the strengthening of the monitoring capacity of the United Nations Mission in the vast African nation.
19 February 2008 – A former Rwandan government official has been arrested and handed over to the United Nations war crimes tribunal set up to deal with the genocide to face trial over his alleged role in the mass killings that engulfed the small African country in 1994.
19 February 2008 – While the situation on the ground in Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia on Sunday, remains calm overall, the United Nations mission there reported violent attacks today by Serb fringe groups on two boundary crossings in the north.
19 February 2008 – The top United Nations envoy to Sudan told the Security Council today that the implementation of the January 2005 comprehensive peace agreement ending the long-running north-south civil war remains on track, despite being behind schedule.
19 February 2008 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) will be regrouping its personnel and equipment in Asmara in a bid to facilitate its relocation because of Eritrea’s lack of cooperation in the efforts of blue helmets to temporarily move across the border to Ethiopia.
18 February 2008 – As the Security Council debated Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the need to ensure the stability of Kosovo, which the United Nations has run since 1999, and the safety and security of its population.
17 February 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned the suicide bombing in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar which killed some 80 people, stressing that no grievance or political purpose can justify such attacks.
17 February 2008 – At the request of Russia, the United Nations Security Council today held an emergency closed-door session to discuss Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia, with a formal meeting slated for Monday.
15 February 2008 – The Security Council today extended its arms embargo and other sanctions against militias operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) until the end of March, underlining that it remains deeply concerned about the presence of unauthorized armed groups, especially in the east of the vast and impoverished country.
15 February 2008 – Top United Nations officials and the Security Council today appealed to Eritrea to stop obstructing the temporary relocation of the personnel and equipment of the UN mission across the border to Ethiopia amid growing concern over rapidly dwindling food and fuel supplies for the blue helmets.
14 February 2008 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has established a Management Committee of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon being set up to try those responsible for political killings, particularly the February 2005 car bombing in Beirut that killed the former prime minister Rafiq Hariri and 22 others.
14 February 2008 – Marking the third anniversary of the Beirut bombing that killed Lebanon’s former prime minister Rafiq Hariri and 22 others, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed the United Nations’ solidarity for the country’s people and their Government, restating the world body’s longstanding determination to help bring the perpetrators to justice.
13 February 2008 – Security sector reform in any country will not succeed unless there is commitment, leadership and capacity from key figures and institutions in that State, a new United Nations report says.
12 February 2008 – The Security Council must “take concrete and targeted measures” against those parties that persistently use or abuse children during armed conflicts around the world, the United Nations envoy on the issue said today, urging that well-meaning words be transformed into effective actions.
12 February 2008 – A senior United Nations envoy today decried attempts on the life of the President of Timor-Leste, who was wounded yesterday in a shooting, and the Prime Minister, who escaped a separate attack on his motorcade, while praising the maintenance of calm in the country.
12 February 2008 – United Nations aid officials in Cameroon are preparing plans to deliver protection and assistance for some months to as many as 20,000 Chadian refugees who fled their homeland last week because of deadly fighting between Government forces and armed opposition groups.
11 February 2008 – The Security Council today joined Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in condemning the attempt to assassinate Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta during an attack on his residence in the fledgling Asian country’s capital, Dili, this morning.
9 February 2008 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today strongly condemned reported Janjaweed militia attacks supported by Sudanese forces on three towns in West Darfur resulting in the deaths of some 200 people.
8 February 2008 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d’Ivoire, known as UNOCI, is dismantling its observation posts in the former zone of confidence in the West African nation divided between the Government-controlled south and the rebel Forces Nouvelles-held north.
8 February 2008 – Recent unrest in Chad and the ongoing violence in the war-ravaged Sudanese region of Darfur are impeding progress towards peace and will negatively affect the under-resourced hybrid peacekeeping operation known as UNAMID, top United Nations officials said in New York today.
8 February 2008 – The engagement of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) in Guinea-Bissau comes at a “turning point” for the West African nation that is trying to consolidate peace after a brutal civil war in which thousands were killed, wounded or forced from their homes.
8 February 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Envoy for Darfur, Jan Eliasson, has received one of the Spanish Government’s highest honours for his diplomatic and humanitarian work.
7 February 2008 – A senior United Nations official today emphasized the importance of tackling the “twin challenges” peacekeeping faces regarding planning and speed.
7 February 2008 – The United Nations said today that security has improved slightly in Kenya, where the unrest sparked by December’s disputed elections has uprooted over 300,000 people from their homes and agencies are increasing efforts to aid those affected.
7 February 2008 – The top United Nations official in Cyprus today voiced the world body’s support for a settlement on the Mediterranean island.
6 February 2008 – The top United Nations humanitarian official voiced grave concern today that about 50,000 Central African refugees who have been living in Chad will be uprooted again because of the widespread violence in the impoverished African nation.
6 February 2008 – Despite the announcement of progress in negotiations between the Government and the opposition, the Security Council today expressed its concern over the continued violence in Kenya which first broke out after last December’s contested polls.
6 February 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has presented detailed proposals for reducing the number of staff at the United Nations Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL), which is due to be replaced by a leaner integrated political office in September.
5 February 2008 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced plans to dispatch his top humanitarian official to Kenya, where more than 300,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to violence which has torn through the East African nation following last December’s disputed elections.
5 February 2008 – With the crisis in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region continuing, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today appealed for more troops and vital equipment to support the critically under-strength joint UN-African Union force (UNAMID) stem the violence.
5 February 2008 – As civilians continue to flee fighting between rebels and government forces in Chad, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights today called on both sides to protect those caught in the crossfire.
5 February 2008 – The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) is moving to relocate as fuel stocks dwindle because of restrictions imposed by the Asmara Government, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
4 February 2008 – The deployment of the hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) to the strife-torn Sudanese region of Darfur will be among the major issues taken up by the Security Council this month, its President said today.
4 February 2008 – The Security Council today demanded an immediate end to the violence engulfing Chad and welcomed an African Union initiative to try to engage both the Government and the armed opposition groups to find a durable solution to the country's crisis.
4 February 2008 – Following a weekend of more killings and turmoil in various part of Kenya, efforts to resolve the post-election crisis resumed today under the leadership of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
4 February 2008 – Given the critical fuel levels impeding the work of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said the mission will start relocating from Eritrea if that country’s Government does not lift its restrictions by Wednesday.
4 February 2008 – The United Nations envoy for Western Sahara travels tomorrow to the region for a round of in-depth consultations with the parties ahead of the next round of scheduled talks between Morocco and the Frente Polisario.
3 February 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for an immediate end to the fighting engulfing Chad as the Security Council held emergency consultations to discuss the worsening situation inside the country, where heavy fighting between Government forces and opposition groups has reached parts of the capital, N’Djamena.
1 February 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced deep concern at the deteriorating security situation inside Chad, where fierce fighting has resumed between Government forces and opposition groups, and called on the parties to settle their differences peacefully.
1 February 2008 – Despite a wide range of tools available to the United Nations in the areas of preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and peacebuilding, a new United Nations report calls for measures to boost the world body’s capacity to prevent conflicts.
31 January 2008 – Noting that collaboration between the United Nations and the African Union has entered a historic phase with the establishment of a joint peacekeeping operation in Darfur, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that the year ahead will be a crucial one for the two bodies as they strive to achieve shared goals.
31 January 2008 – The United Nations refugee agency today evacuated most of its staff from its office in a town in eastern Chad after a series of armed attacks this week on the agency and other aid organizations operating in the troubled region.
30 January 2008 – Welcoming the peace agreement between the Government and armed groups in the violence-torn eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Security Council today urged all sides to respect the ceasefire and other agreements reached “in good faith.”
30 January 2008 – The recent troubles in the Middle East illustrate “the gap between the aspirations of the political process and the grim realities of the situation on the ground,” the United Nations political chief told the Security Council today, warning that the current crisis is overshadowing efforts to find a long-term peace settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
30 January 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir have agreed on the need to accelerate the deployment of the hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) to the war-wracked Darfur region and to finalize the status-of-forces agreement for the new missions.
30 January 2008 – The Security Council today heard a closed-door briefing on the situation in Kenya, where post-electoral violence has claimed hundreds of lives, including dozens in recent days, while forcing more than a quarter of a million others to flee their homes.
30 January 2008 – Expressing its deep concern over the ongoing dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the Security Council voted today for a six-month extension of the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission monitoring the 2000 ceasefire that ended the border war between the two countries.
30 January 2008 – While precise estimates are difficult to come by, some 250,000 children globally are being recruited to fight in armed conflicts in violation of international law, a United Nations official said today, reporting mixed progress in efforts to tackle the problem.
29 January 2008 – The recruitment and use of children in armed conflict is taking place in more than one dozen countries around the world, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon states in a new report, calling for further measures to combat the scourge.
29 January 2008 – The Security Council today condemned last Friday's terrorist bombing in Lebanon that took the life of a senior member of the country's Internal Security Forces and also killed and injured several others, pledging to help the Government pursue the case.
28 January 2008 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today held high-level talks in Bratislava with senior Slovakian officials before heading to Kigali for an official visit to Rwanda.
28 January 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has informed the Security Council of his intention to appoint Victor Da Silva Angelo of Portugal as his Special Representative for the new United Nations peacekeeping mission to Chad and Central African Republic (CAR).
28 January 2008 – The need for regional stability in South-Eastern Europe topped the agenda during talks today at United Nations Headquarters in New York between General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim and Albania’s Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha.
25 January 2008 – Eritrea’s fuel restrictions imposed on the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) is paralyzing the work of the mission and could force it to withdraw from that side of the disputed border between the two countries, a UN official warned today.
25 January 2008 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) will be unable to provide a full ration to 10,000 Palestinians on Sunday after all three crossings for goods from Israel into the Gaza Strip were closed today, UN aid officials reported.
25 January 2008 – Disinformation and misrepresentations is generating tensions between the Georgian and Abkhaz sides in their dispute and the communities on both sides of the ceasefire line should exercise restraint, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report to the Security Council.
24 January 2008 – Warning that the continuing military build-up by Ethiopia and Eritrea in their border areas, where the two countries fought a deadly two-year war that ended in 2000, creates the risk of reigniting hostilities, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging the neighbouring States to urgently de-escalate the situation.
24 January 2008 – The peace process underway in Côte d’Ivoire, where elections are planned for later this year, dominated talks between the top United Nations official to the West African country and the President of neighbouring Burkina Faso.
23 January 2008 – Despite an improvement in the overall security situation throughout Timor-Leste, the country the United Nations helped shepherd to freedom in 2002 continues to face enormous challenges that will require long-term support, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report issued today.
23 January 2008 – The top United Nations envoy to Nepal says he is optimistic that twice-delayed Constituent Assembly polls will be staged successfully on 10 April, given the desire of ordinary Nepalese for peace and democracy and the political leaders’ demonstrated capacity for dialogue.
22 January 2008 – The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is extremely fragile, the top United Nations political official told the Security Council today as he strongly urged Israel to allow the “regular and unimpeded” delivery of fuel and other basic necessities to the area.
22 January 2008 – The Chief Prosecutor of the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) today stressed the “historic” importance of the war crimes trial of former Liberian leader Charles Taylor in signalling an end to impunity, even at the highest level.
21 January 2008 – The international community should seize the opportunity offered by recent security and political improvements in Iraq to push ahead with stabilization and reconciliation efforts, the top United Nations official in the violence-torn country said today.
21 January 2008 – A senior Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) representative heads today to Guinea-Bissau for talks with Government officials, civil society groups, members of the private sector and international partners to help chart how the United Nations advisory body can help prevent the West African country from sliding back into war or chaos.
18 January 2008 – United States actor, filmmaker and human rights advocate George Clooney has been designated by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as a United Nations Messenger of Peace, to raise awareness of the world body’s peacekeeping efforts.
18 January 2008 – The Security Council today strongly condemned the terrorist attack that hit the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on 15 January, killing at least three people and wounding several others, and striking a diplomatic vehicle from the United States embassy.
17 January 2008 – The new top United Nations official for Liberia has arrived to take up her post with a pledge to help the West African country consolidate its transition from more than a decade of disastrous civil war to peace, stability and democracy.
17 January 2008 – Disappointed with the slow pace of change in Myanmar, the Security Council today said an early return to the country by United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari could help promote progress towards democratization and national reconciliation.
16 January 2008 – Although attacks in Iraq have decreased, insecurity continues to severely limit the activities of the United Nations mission there, while the political situation has not improved as much as had been hoped, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report.
16 January 2008 – The Security Council today discussed the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Kosovo – a Serbian province where ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs and other minorities by nine to one – with no agreement being reached over its future status.
15 January 2008 – The United Nations today called for a redoubling of efforts to bring stability to Afghanistan after yesterday’s deadly hotel suicide bombing targeting foreigners and Afghan civilians working together to help the violence-wracked country.
15 January 2008 – The Security Council today renewed the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) and French forces supporting it until 30 July so the world body can support the holding of free, open, fair and transparent elections.
14 January 2008 – The top United Nations official in Nepal has said that a credible Constituent Assembly election, which was postponed twice last year and is vital to the country’s peace process, is within reach.
14 January 2008 – Officials of the new United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and the Government of Sudan began negotiations in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, today to regulate deployment and operations of the force that is seeking to bring peace to the strife-torn Darfur region.
14 January 2008 – A visit by the head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to Iran to resolve outstanding issues over the country’s nuclear programme has concluded, with the agency and Tehran agreeing on the next steps.
13 January 2008 – Arriving today in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, the United Nations and African Union (AU) Special Envoys for Darfur began a weeklong mission to infuse new momentum into efforts to bring peace to the war-ravaged region.
11 January 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today strongly condemned the recent firing of rockets against Israel and the attack on a United Nations peacekeeping vehicle in Lebanon.
11 January 2008 – The Security Council today condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the attack by Sudanese army elements on a supply convoy of the new joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur (UNAMID) and voiced its readiness to act against any party impeding its deployment.
11 January 2008 – The United Nations is stepping up its efforts to help Somalis forced to flee their homes due to the violence engulfing the Horn of Africa nation, where security continues to deteriorate.
10 January 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has proposed extending the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) for another six months so that it can continue to support the country’s peace process, particularly the holding of a Constituent Assembly election by 12 April.
10 January 2008 – The Security Council today condemned the 8 January attack targeting the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which wounded two peacekeepers and damaged their vehicle.
10 January 2008 – The head of the United Nations atomic watchdog agency begins two days of talks with high-level Iranian officials in Tehran tomorrow in a bid to speed up a resolution of outstanding issues over the country’s nuclear programme.
9 January 2008 – The top United Nations peacekeeping official today warned the Security Council that the new, critically under-manned and under-equipped mission in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region faced “probably the greatest risk” to a UN operation in more than a decade.
9 January 2008 – A United Nations investigation team, including forensics and explosives experts, have inspected a site in northern Israel where two Katyusha rockets fired from southern Lebanon are reported to have landed and UN peacekeepers have combed locations for potential launching sites.
9 January 2008 – The latest round of United Nations-led discussions on Western Sahara wrapped up today, with Morocco and the Frente Polisario agreeing on the need to move into a more intensive and substantive phase of negotiations.
8 January 2008 – As the third round of United Nations-led talks on Western Sahara began today in Manhasset, just outside of New York City, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Personal Envoy urged the parties to negotiate in good faith.
8 January 2008 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Larry Rossin of the United States as his new deputy envoy for Kosovo, the Serbian province run by the United Nations since Western forces drove out Yugoslav forces amid inter-ethnic fighting in 1999.
8 January 2008 – Elements of the Sudanese army attacked a supply convoy of the new joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region last night, and a civilian Sudanese driver suffered seven gunshot wounds.
7 January 2008 – The current troop level of the new African Union-United Nations hybrid peacekeeping force seeking to end the violence in the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur is inadequate, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, appealing for resources to allow for full deployment.
7 January 2008 – On the eve of the third round of United Nations-led talks on Western Sahara, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged the parties to use the opportunity to enter into a more intensive and substantive phase of discussions.
7 January 2008 – After a delay of more than four months, the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor resumed today at the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL).
4 January 2008 – Expressing sadness that the United Nations and its staff have become targets of terrorist attacks, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has underscored that the world body stands for all the nations, people and faiths of the world.
4 January 2008 – The United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) launched a new programme today to train instructors for Chadian police to help victims in the country’s east of the crisis in Sudan’s war-wracked Darfur region.
3 January 2008 – The United Nations will lead a third round of talks on Western Sahara, bringing together representatives from Morocco and the Frente Polisario, next week outside of New York City.
3 January 2008 – In a race against time, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is appealing to United Nations Member States to speed up delivery of vital units and equipment for the newly launched but critically under-strength joint UN-African Union force (UNAMID) set up to stem the violence in Sudan’s Darfur region.
3 January 2008 – After chairing his first Security Council meeting today, Libya’s Ambassador said that being both a new member and president of the 15-member body at once is not an easy task, but is nonetheless very important for the North African nation, which was shunned by the international community for many years.
3 January 2008 – The loss of momentum in making progress towards resolving Kosovo’s future status could result in instability in the Serbian province and the greater region, even potentially endangering United Nations staff, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned in a new report made public today.
