Residents of Rutshuru Territory flee their homes to seek safety in Goma. [UN Photo/Sylvain Liechti]

The Secretary-General made the appeal in the country's capital, Kinshasa where he met with President Joseph Kabila as fighting government forces and M23 rebel fighters entered its third day.

The Secretary-General stressed said the framework for peace, security and cooperation that President Kabila and 10 other African leaders signed in February offers the best hope for peace in a generation.

"We are deeply concerned about the recent recurrence of violence by the M23. I have urged Kabila to give appropriate instruction to the FARDC army to strictly abide by the international humanitarian law and protect the lives of civilian population. This is very important. While addressing all this security situation we have to provide safety and security to the civilian population." (30")

The Secretary-General said that women and girls in particular, must be free from sexual violence.

Secretary-General Ban is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the President of the World Bank, Dr. Jim Yong Kim on the first joint UN-World Bank visit of its kind.

Donn Bobb, United Nations.

Duration: 1'15"

Ban Ki-moon visits Sansão Muthemba Secondary School in Mozambique (UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe)

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is currently on a five-country tour in Africa.

Mr. Ban' first stop was Mozambique, where he visited the Sansão Muthemba Secondary School in the capital, Maputo.

The Secretary-General highlighted a campaign to end violence against women, in addition to answering students' questions.

Alex King is travelling with the Secretary-General and filed this report.

Duration: 2’01″

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with Dr. Jim Yong Kim, President of World Bank. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

The World Bank Group will provide more than $1billion in additional funding to help improve the lives of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the countries in the Great Lakes region.

World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong Kim says this new funding will provide better health, education, nutrition, job training and other essential services for people in the region whose communities have suffered from conflict for far too long.

“The funding will increase cross-border trade, boost electricity supply and agriculture production, improve railroads and transport networks and help keep the peace and enable the Great Lakes region to revitalise their regional economy. The people of this region deserve to join so many others across the continent who are now benefitting from strong economic growth.”

The World Bank president who has joined the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on a visit to the region says they wanted to show as clearly as possible that the World Bank and the United Nations can join forces and have a formative impact in helping the region recover from conflict and insecurity.

He said they wanted to help with the Great Lakes Peace Agreement noting the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations – all are deeply grateful for the leadership of the Secretary-General in bringing about a framework for peace.

Dr. Jim Yong Kim says he believes they now have an historic opportunity to dramatically reduce extreme poverty and raise living standards for people not only in the region, but across the continent.

Donn Bobb, United Nations.

Duration: 1’22″

World Health Organization

The 194 Member States of the World Health Organization have begun their annual review of the activities of WHO, discussing topics such as noncommunicable diseases, universal health coverage, women and children's health.

Gerry Adams reports.

Duration: 3’03″

[Photo: Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity]

David Ainsworth spoke to UN Radio as the United Nations marked "International Day for Biological Diversity" on 22 May under the theme "Water and Biodiversity".

On the future supplies of water, which is used in large amounts for agriculture, Mr. Ainsworth says there are already water stresses in some regions of the world, including some parts of the Middle East.

He says even in areas that were supposedly very rich, such as parts of the American continent, there are areas where rivers don't even reach the sea anymore.

"So we know what's going to be the case. Now the other thing though is that we know there are ways to help increase and safeguard waters supplies without having to build convention infrastructure. We call that natural infrastructure. That's where we look at things like the protection of forests, the protection of wetlands, the overall management of river ecosystems so that we can have all this natural work that biodiversity and trees and other plants do for us help us ensure secure and clean water supplies." (27")

David Ainsworth says this year's International Day of Biological Diversity coincides with The International Year of Water Cooperation.

Donn Bobb, United Nations.

Duration: 1’15″

Even though the planet is about 70 per cent water, the UN Biodiversity Secretariat says only a tiny amount is available for consumption.

On the International Day for Biological Diversity, observed on 22 May, the UN is focusing on water security, particularly as supply often exceeds demand and water quality often fails to meet minimum requirements.

To find out more about this, Dianne Penn spoke to David Ainsworth, Information Officer at the Biodiversity Secretariat, which is based in Montreal, Canada.

Robert Serry addressing the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East

A senior United Nations diplomat has warned the international community about the danger of focusing on the Syrian crisis at the expense of finding a resolution to Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Robert Serry, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Process briefed the Security Council on Tuesday on the situation in the region.

He said the Middle East continues to undergo a period of "grave turmoil with tragic human consequences and an uncertain outcome."

Mr. Serry said regional tensions have mounted as the bloodshed continued in Syria, while the fighting also crossed borders and UN peacekeepers in the Golan area of separation found themselves in harm's way.

"Ending the conflict in Syria is a matter of great urgency and must be the top priority of the international community. At the same time, it would be mistaken, and dangerous, to assume that a resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is less important. Now is not the time to relent in our commitment to advancing the prospects for the resumption of meaningful talks towards the realization of a two-state solution. This is the time for concerted action in support of a substantive initiative lest we miss the slight opening that has been offered in recent months." (31")

Robert Serry said there are serious and determined quiet diplomatic efforts to break the political deadlock and bring Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

He added that the renewed effort by the United States and sustained personal engagement of the US Secretary of State John Kerry in these efforts is cause for encouragement.

Donn Bobb, United Nations.

Duration: 1'26"

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

We live in an increasingly water insecure world where demand often outstrips supply and where water quality often fails to meet minimum standards and under current trends, future demands for water will not be met, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a message marking International Day for Biological Diversity.

The Secretary-General says biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides are central to achieving the vision of a water secure world. He points out that ecosystems influence the local, regional and global availability and quality of water; forests help regulate soil erosion and protect water quality and supply; wetlands can reduce flood risks; and soil biodiversity helps maintain water for crops.

Secretary-General Ban says that although seemingly abundant, only a tiny amount of the water on our planet is easily available as freshwater.

He suggests that integrating nature-based solutions into urban planning can also help us build better water futures for cities, where water stresses may be especially acute given the rapid pace of urbanization.

The Secretary-General called on all Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity who have not already done so, to ratify the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization, and therefore help us all to work toward the future we want.

Donn Bobb, United Nations.

Duration: 1’20″

Avian influenza (WHO@PHOTO)

The outbreak of a new bird flu which has reportedly killed 36 people in China is causing concern at the World Health Organization (WHO).

That's what the head of WHO, Dr. Margaret Chan, said at a side event on the H7N9 flu virus held on Tuesday during the World Health Assembly taking place in Geneva.

She said any new influenza that infects people has the potential to become a health threat to the world and it is especially true for a virus like H7N9 that causes severe disease to humans.

Dr. Chan described H7N9 as a puzzling virus surrounded by mysteries.

"Most viruses of the H7 sub-type cause severe disease in poultry but only mild disease in humans. H7N9 does the oppose. At present, infected birds show no symptoms and appear perfectly healthy and this hides the source of infection and it takes away the early warning signal which is so important for health authorities to take appropriate action. And this characteristic of the virus makes targeted surveillance for human cases extremely difficult." (31")

Dr. Margaret Chan said this characteristic of the H7N9 flu virus makes targeted surveillance for human cases extremely difficult.

She added that there are many unanswered questions including why elderly men are disproportionately affected by the virus.

Dr. Chan also thanked Chinese authorities and scientists for the wealth of data they have quickly collected and for collaborating very closely with WHO.

Donn Bobb, United Nations.

Duration: 1'30"