The United Nations envoy in Somalia, Augustine P. Mahiga, today expressed concern over recent violent clashes in the northern city of Hargeisa, located in Somaliland, between Somaliland security forces and citizens which allegedly resulted in the deaths on both sides.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met today with the Foreign Minister of France, Laurent Fabius, for talks which covered a range of issues on the global agenda.

The Security Council today imposed a travel ban against five military officers who seized power from the civilian government in Guinea-Bissau last month, and urged Member States to ensure that the sanctioned individuals do not enter or transit through their territories.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that efforts to revive the global economy must be based on a long-term vision of sustainable and inclusive development, stressing that the current financial difficulties make it imperative that the world seeks balanced growth for future generations.

A record number of African migrants fled to Yemen this year, with 43,000 people having reached the Middle Eastern country in only four months, the United Nations refugee agency said today, adding that it is concerned with the rise in insecurity and trafficking in the region.

The United Nations independent expert on torture today said he was encouraged by recent legal changes in Tajikistan, including the introduction of a new provision defining torture and specifying penalties, but noted that mistreatment of suspects remains common.

As a powerful global information resource, the Internet must be accessible to everyone and measures to ensure this must be taken, a United Nations independent expert said today.

The top lawyer of the United Nations today exhorted new law graduates of New York University (NYU) to help usher in a new era of accountability across the world and never to allow cynicism to erode their commitment to the cause of justice.

Amid ongoing violence in parts of Syria, the presence of UN military observers on the ground has had an overall calming effect in their areas of deployment in the Middle Eastern country, the head of the UN observer force said today.

Latvian authorities must ensure that vulnerable groups are not disproportionately affected by austerity measures and other economic policies, a United Nations independent expert said today.

The United Nations food agency and Libya today signed an agreement to collaborate in a joint programme that seeks to increase food production while protecting the country’s natural resources.

As part of the United Nations’ ongoing efforts to ensure the full restoration of constitutional rule in Mali and Guinea-Bissau, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa, Said Djinnit, will participate in an upcoming regional meeting on the political crises in the two countries.

The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom today denounced the murders of two Pakistani journalists and expressed alarm over the continued deteriorating security of journalists in the country.

The United Nations entity mandated to promote gender equality today announced the members that will be part of a group that will facilitate dialogue between civil society and the agency.

In a new resolution, the Security Council today extended by six months the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping force for Abyei, an area contested by South Sudan and Sudan, and demanded that the two countries finalize the establishment of an administration for the area in line with an agreement signed last year.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today asked young people from all over the world to "make some noise" to help accelerate progress on the negotiations of the United Nations Sustainable Development Conference (Rio+20) which will take place in Brazil next month.

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) today welcomed Saudi Arabia’s contribution of $66 million to implement its technical assistance projects in the country, which aim to benefit small-scale agricultural producers and fishermen.

The United Nations entity mandated to promote gender equality today announced the members that will be part of a group that will facilitate dialogue between civil society and the agency.

United Nations senior officials today stressed the importance of establishing a new paradigm for growth that ensures social inclusiveness, job opportunities for all, and more accountability from the financial sector to tackle the ongoing global economic crisis.

The President of the General Assembly, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, today hailed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted five years ago, as a landmark document that has inspired positive changes in the protection of the rights of indigenous communities.