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Eight months after the catastrophic earthquake, Haiti has fended off a second-wave disaster of epidemics and unrest, but the impoverished nation’s political, social and economic situation will remain fragile, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report.

With millions of homes and livelihoods in flood-hit Pakistan washed away, disease spreading in affected areas and large swathes of the country still under water, the top United Nations relief official today warned that the emergency there is not yet over.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today concluded a visit to Rwanda during which he spoke with President Paul Kagame and other Government officials about their concerns regarding the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) human rights report compiled by the United Nations.

The United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today said it was extending by another week an operation designed to enhance the protection of civilians in the eastern areas of the country where members of illegal armed groups raped some 240 people recently.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is distributing rations to more than 100,000 Guatemalans who need emergency assistance after recent torrential rains in the Central American country brought deadly landslides and floods.

While the overall security situation in Liberia is stable, it also continues to be fragile, and further progress is needed in a number of areas to truly consolidate the peace, the top United Nations envoy to the West African nation said today.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging stronger partnerships between the United Nations, governments, regional organizations and civil society in an effort to implement provisions of the UN global strategy against terrorism to enhance international peace and security.

Top United Nations officials called today for more funding and advocacy to improve literacy rates among the world’s women, who comprise two out of every three adults who cannot read or write.

A major distribution of school supplies got under way today across Zimbabwe in an effort by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Government and international donors to ensure that every primary school student receives a textbook for all core subjects.

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) reported today that the recent outbreak of polio in Angola is spreading into other, previously polio-free parts of the country and the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The United Nations agency tasked with promoting environmentally and socially sustainable cities and towns has declared the winners of this year’s Scroll of Honour, the UN awards for excellence in human settlements development.

The top United Nations envoy to Afghanistan today voiced his outrage over the threat by a religious group in the United States to burn copies of the Koran, warning that it could endanger the lives of those working to further peace and development in the Asian nation.

The agreement reached on the final list of voters for next month’s long-delayed presidential polls signals a major breakthrough in Côte d'Ivoire’s electoral process, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the West African nation said today.

Top United Nations officials called today for more funding and advocacy to improve literacy rates among the world’s women, who comprise two out of every three adults who cannot read or write.

A senior United Nations official today urged nations to double their efforts to implement all four pillars of the world body’s Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, emphasizing the need to shore up ‘soft’ power measures to combat terrorism.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has taken several measures to improve the protection of civilians in the east of the country following the recent incidents of mass rape, but establishing State authority in conflict-affected areas would be the most effective way to end lawlessness and violence, a senior UN official said today.

Cape Verde’s Government took full ownership of its free meals programme for schoolchildren today after more than three decades of collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP), with the United Nations agency voicing hope that it will set an example for other developing countries to follow.

The head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is visiting Montenegro and Moldova to highlight the two countries’ poverty reduction and social development efforts ahead of the UN summit to review global progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The national police of Timor-Leste have resumed primary responsibility for the conduct of operations in another district of the South-East Asian nation, where it will be led by the country’s first female district commander.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived today in Kigali, where he plans to meet with Rwandan leaders to discuss the soon-to-be-released United Nations report on serious human rights violations committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between 1993 and 2003.