GENEVA (Issued as received) – The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has reminded the Australian authorities that, under the terms of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Australia is a party, the best interests of the child should be a primary consideration when taking any...

Arabic versionGeneva (3 February 2016)- The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, has announced a recess in intra-Syrian talks as of the end of Friday, 5 February. The talks are to resume in Geneva no later than 25 February, and possibly much earlier. In the interim period...

Today, the U.N. Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, will issue invitations to Syrian women and civil society representatives, to contribute to the United Nations-facilitated talks, being held in Geneva between representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition. Both women...

The U.N. Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, paid a courtesy visit today to the delegation of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) at their hotel in Geneva following their arrival last night. The short informal meeting was useful in addressing issues relating to the Intra-Syrian talks...

The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon concluded its seventy-first session after adopting its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Benin, Brunei Darussalam, France, Haiti, Iran, Ireland, Kenya, Latvia, Maldives,...

The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, has addressed invitations to the Syrian participants today, 26 January 2016, in accordance with the parameters outlined in Security Council resolution 2254 (2015). The intra-Syrian talks will start as of 29 January 2016 in Geneva...

Today, Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura briefed the press on preparations for launching intra-Syrian talks. He will address invitations to the Syrian participants tomorrow, 26 January 2016, in accordance with the parameters outlined in Security Council resolution 2254 (2015). In line with...

Thank you very much. I am happy to be back in Switzerland. We just had a very meaningful session at the Annual Conference of Swiss International Cooperation. As I said in my speech, Switzerland is a very valuable Member State of the United Nations supporting the United Nations, the global values...

The United Nations is still aiming for the Intra Syrian Talks to start in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday 25 January, but it is likely that this date will slip by a few days for practical reasons. The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, will assess progress over the weekend. We hope...

21 January, 2016 - The Secretary-General of the United Nations and the President of the World Bank jointly announce their intention to form a new panel to mobilize urgent action towards the sustainable development goal for water and sanitation (SDG 6) and related targets. Sustainable Development...