The World This Week

26.02.2016 - This week's #PhotoFriday highlights some of the most important UN news stories from around the world.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with members of the UN Country Team and Humanitarian Country Team serving in Burundi. Photo: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

From 23 to 25 February, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was in Africa.  He first visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo where he met with President Joseph Kabila. The Secretary-General then headed to South Sudan where he met with President Salva Kiir. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the urgency of forming a Transitional Government, and visited a Protection of Civilians site for Internally Displaced Peoples in Juba. The Secretary-General's 'mission for humanity' will culminate in the first ever World Humanitarian Summit, taking place in Istanbul in May 2016.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon departs from the helipad at UN House bound for Juba International Airport, where he was scheduled to give a press conference before departing at the conclusion of his official visit to South Sudan. Photo: UN Photo

Mongolian boys shepherd their herd of goats in Khovd aimag.  Photo: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.

On 24 February the UN Development Programme (UNDP) celebrated its 50 year anniversary.  Since 1966 UNDP has played a transformational role in reducing poverty, empowering women, creating jobs, and protecting the environment in nearly 170 countries. UNDP works to empower local communities – in Mongolia, many herdsmen now develop their own land-use plans, conservation maps and sustainable practices for water, forest and pasture management.

An aerial view of camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs), in the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). UN Photo/Sylvain Liechti

From the 25 to 26 February, the 14th Coordination Meeting on International Migration took place in New York, US.  The focus of the meeting was protecting the human rights of migrants, at the meeting the Secretary-General’s roadmap to address the large movements of refugees and migrants was presented.

Photo: Nepalese peacekeepers in Juba from the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), to reinforce the military component of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). UN Photo/Isaac Billy

A Security Council open debate on peacebuilding was held in New York, US on 23 February 2016.  In his press briefing on the priorities for the Month of February, the Permanent representative of Venezuela (Venezuela holds the Presidency of the Council this month), noted that the open debate on the peacebuilding architecture would take up a topic currently under review by the General assembly. The aim was to start a Council discourse on the topic and synchronize discussions in the two bodies.

A warning sign on a barbed wire fence on the outskirts of the Chernobyl Militarized Zone. Photo credit: Zoriah

The International Conference on Human and Organizational Aspects of Assuring Nuclear Safety – Exploring 30 Years of Safety Culture was held Vienna, Austria from 22 to 26 February 2016. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) organized this conference to reflect on and share experiences related to the pivotal role that human and organizational aspects play in nuclear safety. The human and organizational capabilities for assuring safety have been developed over many years and have progressed thanks to the lessons learned from accidents such as Chernobyl.