NEW YORK, May 21 (IPS) - The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons must not be allowed to collapse under the weight of geopolitical cynicism, the preparatory committee at the UN heard.

KAMPALA, May 21 (IPS) - Political instability and conflicts in the Great Lakes, the Horn of Africa, Sudan, and South Sudan have led to massive displacements and civilian suffering, and because the whole region is in crisis, the civilian population has few places to find refuge.

NICE, France, May 21 (IPS) - The United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) takes place every three years and in just a few weeks, the international community will gather in Nice, France, at a time when the International Science Council has called for the world to address the new reality of a disrupted Earth system.

Armed violence and insecurity in Haiti have exposed already vulnerable children to sexual violence and exploitation, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on Wednesday.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on countries to radically rethink their relationship with nature, warning that biodiversity loss is a global crisis no nation can ignore.

An “horrific” attack on a school bus in Pakistan’s Baluchistan Province on Wednesday which left six dead – including four children – has been condemned by the UN children’s agency.

Football unites fans worldwide – but on Wednesday it matched the sport’s global reach with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the lead-up to World Football Day, marked on 25 May.

The UN has called for an investigation following reports that Israeli forces opened fire on a diplomatic delegation near the Jenin camp in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday.

After years of stalemate and suffering, Syria is beginning to see renewed international engagement.

Noor, a 16-month-old toddler, is from the Lahj governorate in the southwest corner of Yemen. A UN-partner volunteer diagnosed her with severe malnutrition – and her story became headline news when the UN relief chief recounted it to the Security Council during an impassioned briefing last week.