In the 10 years since its creation, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) had helped countries improve their agriculture, infrastructure and health sectors, and future priorities now centred on working with regional economic communities to further increase the continent’s engagement with the international community, top United Nations and regional officials said today at a Headquarters press briefing.

Deeply saddened by the loss of life in Cairo last night, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today appealed to all Egyptians to remain united and to preserve the spirit of the historic changes of early 2011. He called on transitional authorities to guarantee the protection of human rights and civil liberties for Egyptians of all faiths.

Much progress had been made in establishing normative and legal frameworks required to fight discrimination and violence against women, but implementation of those frameworks, as well as necessary social transformation, lagged far behind, United Nations experts told correspondents at Headquarters this afternoon.

The Head of the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur, Ibrahim Gambari, has strongly condemned the attack, yesterday night, that killed three peacekeepers and injured six others. Three peacekeepers where killed last night when a patrol came under attack by armed assailants in Zam Zam internally displaced persons camp.

Despite the prevailing global financial woes, the financial situation of the United Nations had undergone an overall improvement in 2011, with all its funds enjoying positive cash balances and a drop in the debt it owed to Member States expected by year’s end, the world body’s top management official said at Headquarters today.

The World Food Programme warned today that more people in Yemen are slipping into hunger as the country faces a serious humanitarian situation. Citing rising prices, fuel shortages and political instability, WFP is scaling up programmes to feed 3.5 million vulnerable people in the country’s northern and southern regions.

The new head of United Nations peacekeeping said this afternoon that partnership — between the Security Council, troop-contributing countries, host Governments and other stakeholders — would be his guiding principle in meeting the complex challenges of peace and security in the twenty-first century. “I have no preordained plan,” Herve Ladsous, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, told correspondents in his first press conference since taking up his duties 10 days ago.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that the situation in Yemen continues to be extremely volatile. The price of bread is 50 per cent higher than it was a few months ago, which is very damaging for the poorest families. The World Food Programme is increasing its assistance in the country.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed deep dismay at the worsening situation in Syria, calling on the international community to take immediate measures to protect the country’s people. With more than 3,000 people killed since March, the Syrian Government has manifestly failed to protect its population, she said.

Announcing the launch of a book project that aimed to help establish libraries in refugee camps, a human rights activist and a United Nations refugee agency official said this afternoon that literature and education were critical for giving hope to children in dire straits.