The mid-year report on the protection of civilians, produced by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), documented 1,319 civilian deaths and 2,533 injuries – a total of 3,852 civilian casualties – in the first half of 2013.

This marks an increase of 14 per cent in deaths and 28 per cent in injuries over the same period in 2012, the Mission stated in a news release. The increase reverses the decline recorded in 2012, and marks a return to the high numbers of civilian deaths and injuries documented in 2011.

“The violent impact of the conflict on Afghan civilians marked by the return of rising civilian casualties in 2013 demands even greater commitment and further efforts by parties to the conflict to protect civilians who are increasingly being killed and injured in the crossfire,” said the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of UNAMA, Ján Kubiš.

“The increase in the indiscriminate use of IEDs and the deliberate targeting of civilians by anti-Government elements is particularly alarming and must stop,” he added.

The second biggest cause of civilian deaths and injuries were “ground engagements” between Afghan security forces and anti-Government elements, which UNAMA said poses an increasing threat to Afghan children, women and men.

“The growing loss of life and injuries to Afghan women and children in 2013 is particularly disturbing,” said UNAMA’s Director of Human Rights, Georgette Gagnon. “Deaths and injuries to women and children increased by 38 per cent in the first half of 2013 reflecting a grim reality of the conflict today in Afghanistan.”

In a telephone call with Egyptian Interim Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei, Ban called on the interim authorities to assume full responsibility for the peaceful management of the demonstrations and to ensure the protection of all Egyptians, regardless of party affiliation.

“The Secretary-General renewed his calls for the interim authorities to launch a genuinely inclusive, peaceful political process for going forward,” according to a readout of the conversation provided by a UN spokesperson in New York.

“He underlined that with every new death this long-term reconciliation becomes harder,” the readout continued.

During the phone conversation, Ban also appealed to all Egyptian leaders to urge their supporters to show restraint. He urged Egyptians to put the interest of their country above individual, group and political interests in order to start a meaningful reconciliation process.

The UN chief also reiterated his call that deposed president Mohammed Morsi and other Muslim Brotherhood leaders to be released by the interim authorities, or to have their cases reviewed in the fullest transparency.

Ban also discussed the situation in Egypt with the Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Qatar, and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States. In these telephone discussions, Mr. Ban shared his deep alarm about the situation in Egypt, and the unacceptable loss of life over the past two days, according to his spokesperson.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay added her voice to the widespread condemnation of two days of violence and urged for a second time in a month that “credible, independent and prompt” investigation be launched into the large-scale killings in which the security forces appear to be heavily implicated and the responsible brought to justice.

Citing the latest “uncompromising announcement” from Ministry of Interior Mohammad Ibrahim – who vowed today that security forces would deal “firmly and strongly” with anyone who threatens national stability – Pillay warned that the confrontational approach by both sides “is leading to disaster.”

“Despite all the warnings, all the calls for restraint, more than 150 Egyptians have died during protests over the past month, not just in Cairo but in other cities as well,” she said in a statement issued by her office (OHCHR).

“I fear for the future of Egypt if the military and other security forces, as well as some demonstrators, continue to take such a confrontational and aggressive approach. Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood have the right to protest peacefully like anyone else,” Pillay stressed.

The High Commissioner said she was extremely alarmed by “the increasingly dangerous polarization that is gripping the country.”

“Egypt stands at a crossroads. The future of this great country that gave so much to civilization, depends on how its citizens and authorities act over the following days and months,” she noted.

“I urge all parties to set aside their grievances and engage in urgent national dialogue with the aim of restoring constitutional order through free and democratic elections and to end the violence and all hate speech,” Pillay said.

“Given what has happened in recent days, further protests are inevitable, and the onus is clearly on both the security forces and the protestors to ensure there is no repetition of yesterday’s terrible and deeply tragic events,” she cautioned.

“More than 100,000 people have been killed, and millions of people have either been displaced or become refugees in neighbouring countries. We have to bring this to an end,” Mr. Ban told reporters ahead of closed-door talks between the two officials and a ministerial-level Security Council meeting on Africa’s Great Lakes region, which Mr. Kerry will chair.

“Military and violent actions must be stopped by all the parties and it is thus imperative to have a peace conference in Geneva as soon as possible, as initiated by Mr. Kerry and Mr. Lavrov,” the Secretary-General underscored, adding that he and Joint Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi would spare no effort to convene this meeting as soon as possible.

In May, following talks in Moscow between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Mr. Kerry, the two countries announced they would work together to achieve a political solution to the Syria crisis, and agreed to convene an international conference aimed at achieving this goal

However, a date for the conference has not yet been set and talks are continuing on the best time for it to be held, who should participate, how it should be structured and some of the questions to be discussed.

“There is no military solution to Syria, there is only a political solution and that will require leadership to bring people to the negotiating table,” Mr. Kerry said, adding that he and Mr. Lavrov remain committed to make the Geneva meeting happen.

As for the private meeting between the two officials, Mr. Ban said he and Mr. Kerry would discuss not just the situation in Syria, but also the situation in the Middle East.

“Journalists must be able to carry out their work safely as they play an essential role in ensuring that a well-informed public can exercise its democratic rights,” stated Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), who deplored the killings and voiced deep concern about the safety of media professionals in these countries.

On Tuesday, Akhmednabi Akhmednabiyev, deputy editor of the Novoye Delo weekly newspaper, was shot dead in his car near his home on the outskirts of Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan province.

Akhmednabiyev, the second journalist to be killed in Russia this year, survived an assassination attempt in January and had received numerous threats to his life, UNESCO said in a news release.

“Using violence to silence journalists who inform society about the problems it is facing does not make those problems go away; it simply reduces a society’s ability to tackle them,” said Ms. Bokova. “I therefore trust that the authorities will spare no effort to bring to justice those responsible for a crime against a man and a profession that is important for democracy.”

The killing of Liban Abdullahi Farah on 7 July has once again highlighted concerns about the safety of journalists in Somalia, which continues to be one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a media professional.

“This killing marks another black day for journalists trying to carry out their professional duties in Somalia,” stated Ms. Bokova. “All too many media workers in the country have paid with their lives for our right to be kept informed. I pay tribute to their dedication and call on the authorities to spare no effort to stop these killings.”

Farah, a reporter for Bossasso-based Somali Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) and London-based Kalsan TV, was killed when three unidentified assailants opened fire on him in the Barahley neighborhood of Galkayo town.

Bokova also called on the Mexican authorities to investigate the death of Mario Ricardo Chávez Jorge, a journalist for El Ciudadano newspaper. His body was found in the state of Tamaulipas near the United States border on 26 June – two weeks after he was abducted as he was leaving a cinema with his family in Ciudad Victoria.

“It is important that the authorities investigate this killing and bring those responsible for it to trial,” said the Director-General.

According to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA), Mohammad Al-Khateeb,14, was killed by a bullet as he was returning home on foot after buying bread from a bakery in his neighbourhood in Dera’a on 14 March.

On Tuesday, Hisham Mahmoud, 10, and Farhat Mubarak, 11, were killed at the crossroad of Yazour and Safad Streets in Yarmouk, Damascus. They were returning home from classes at a community-run learning centre when an explosive shell detonated nearby, killing them instantly.

In a separate incident on the same day, two brothers, Ali Mijel and Abdullah Mijel were killed along with their aunt and cousin when an explosive shell hit their home on Hittin Street in Sbeineh Camp. They were 14 and 15, respectively.

“The death of these children occurred in the context of escalating armed violence throughout Syria, including in Palestinian camps and residential areas,” UNRWA said in a news release.

“The tragic deaths illustrate the devastating effect of the conflict on children, both Syrian and Palestinian. On a daily basis, many people, including children, are killed, maimed, displaced and deeply traumatized as a result of the unrestrained conduct of armed conflict in urban areas. The conflict-related deaths of parents have left many children without the support and nurturing essential for their normal development.”

UNRWA reiterated its call for all parties to the conflict in Syria to comply with international humanitarian law, to respect the neutrality of Palestinians and Palestinian camps, and to desist from conducting military operations in civilian areas.

More than 70,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed and more than three million displaced since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011. Some 500,000 of those internally displaced are Palestinian refugees.

Of these 140 million girls, 50 million will be under the age of 15, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which added that young girls who marry before the age of 18 have a greater risk of becoming victims of intimate partner violence than those who marry later.

“Child marriage is an appalling violation of human rights and robs girls of their education, health and long-term prospects,” said UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin. “A girl who is married as a child is one whose potential will not be fulfilled. Since many parents and communities also want the very best for their daughters, we must work together and end child marriage.”

Child marriage is increasingly recognized as a violation of the rights of girls as it interferes with their education, blocks their opportunity to gain vocational and life skills, and increases their risk to sexual violence as well as their chances to contract HIV.

“No girl should be robbed of her childhood, her education and health, and her aspirations. Yet today millions of girls are denied their rights each year when they are married as child brides,” said the Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), Michelle Bachelet.

In addition, child marriage also exposes girls to the risks of child-bearing at an early age, which can have fatal consequences. According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), complications from pregnancy and childbirth are the leading causes of death for girls aged 15-19 years in developing countries. Still births and newborn deaths are also 50 per cent higher among mothers under 20 than in women who get pregnant in their 20s.

“Child marriage makes girls far more vulnerable to the profound health risks of early pregnancy and childbirth – just as their babies are more vulnerable to complications associated with premature labour,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake.

While 158 countries have set the legal age for marriage at 18 years, laws are rarely enforced since the practice of marrying young children is upheld by tradition and social norms. The practice is most common in rural sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

These issues are the focus of a special session on child marriage being held today by the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York. Strategies to be discussed include supporting and enforcing legislation to increase the minimum age of marriage for girls to 18 years; providing equal access to quality primary and secondary education for girls and boys; mobilizing girls, boys, parents and leaders to change practices that discriminate against girls; providing girls who are already married with options for schooling, employment and sexual and reproductive health information and services; and addressing the root causes of child marriage, including poverty, gender inequality and discrimination.

Currently, the 10 countries with the highest rates of child marriage are: Niger, Chad, the Central African Republic, Bangladesh, Guinea, Mozambique, Mali, Burkina Faso, South Sudan, and Malawi. However, in terms of absolute numbers, because of the size of its population, India has the most child marriages – in 47 per cent of all marriages there, the bride is a child.

Since April 2012, 60 victims of explosive remnants of war have been reported – 53 people injured, including 38 children and 15 adults, and 7 people killed, including 5 children and 2 adults, UNICEF said in a press release.

“The danger is now at every corner in communities from central and northern Mali where heavy fighting took place,” said Françoise Ackermans, UNICEF Representative in Mali.

“Explosions can happen anywhere and anytime – when children are on their way to school or when a woman goes to the market. Our teams on the ground report charred remains of war vehicles and a lot of abandoned ammunition.”

Nineteen-year-old Amadou lost a finger on his left hand when he threw a stone on an apparent toy children were playing with in his courtyard. “When I woke up, there was blood everywhere. My two brothers, 4 and 16, were injured. My niece died. She was only 18 months old. I feel sad and guilty.”

To better inform civilians about the dangers of potential explosives, UNICEF-supported partners have held public events over the past five months in schools, markets and workplaces that have raised the awareness of an estimated 27,000 people.

The agency has used national and community-based radio stations to disseminate life-saving messages in five languages, and produced posters and other materials using Malian artists.

“We are not always with adults,” said 13-year-old Adidiatou, after attending a UNICEF-sponsored educational session. “If children don’t know, they may pick up a grenade or another explosive thing as if it was a toy. They may not realize it can hurt.”

Unexploded ordinance – including unexploded and abandoned ammunition such as artillery shells, mortars, rockets, grenades, bullets and aircraft bombs – is believed to be linked to the recent armed conflict. There is also historic landmine contamination closer to the border with Algeria predating the recent French intervention, according to the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS).

Fighting between Government forces and Tuareg rebels broke out in northern Mali last January, after which radical Islamists seized control of the area. The conflict uprooted thousands of people and prompted the Malian Government to request military assistance from France to stop the progression of extremist groups.

UNMAS is wrapping up a five-week training programme on clearing landmines and unexploded ordinance for 30 members of the Malian Security and Defense Forces (MDSF), Police, Gendarmerie, Garde Nationale du Mali and national civilian protection office.

“A day without news may seem unthinkable in this connected and globalized world. Yet every day, the voices of the news are being silenced,” the Secretary-General said.

A journalist is killed every week, and 9 out of 10 of those cases go unpunished, Mr. Ban noted.

The head of the UN agency mandated to promote and protect freedom of expression and press freedom, Irina Bokova, condemned a record 121 killings of journalists, media workers and citizen reporters last year.

As part of an effort to combat this violence, the Paris-based UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.

The goal, Mr. Ban said, is simple: “to ensure that every journalist can do her or his job safely.”

Every year on 3 May, the UN marks World Press Freedom Day – an opportunity to speak out for the safety of journalists, and for combating impunity, in the real and digital worlds.

The Secretary-General’s video is hosted on adaywithoutnews.com. According to the site, the ‘Day Without News’ campaign originated during a panel discussion with journalists at UN Headquarters, and aims to raise awareness of the hostile and dangerous conditions that many reporters and photographers work under around the world.

The Day is marked symbolically on 22 February – the anniversary of the 2012 killings of The Sunday Times correspondent, Marie Colvin, and freelance photographer, Remi Ochlik, in Homs, Syria. According to reports, no one has been held accountable for their deaths.

Yves Debay, a French journalist reporting for the magazine Assaut, was shot by a sniper in Aleppo on 17 January. Mohamed Al-Messalma, a Syrian journalist also known as Mohamed Al-Horani, was killed the next day while covering fighting in Bousra Al-Harir, a suburb of the southern city of Deraa. He worked for Al-Jazeera.

Reporters Without Borders reiterates its concern about the deteriorating security conditions for reporters in Syria. “Journalists are being targeted with increasing frequency and the rate of deliberate killings is accelerating dangerously,” the media freedom organization said.

Debay was a former soldier who created two magazines specialized in military matters, Raids in 1986 and Assaut in 2005.

Al-Jazeera said Al-Horani was killed by a regular army sniper. Aged 33, he had worked for the Qatar-based TV news channel for more than a year. He had previously been an anti-government activist.

According to the Reporters Without Borders tally, at least 21 journalists and 49 citizen-journalists have been killed in connection with their reporting in Syria since the start of the uprising and the ensuing crackdown in March 2011.

Reporters Without Borders is also concerned about Mosaab Al-Hamadi, the Syria correspondent of Al-Arabiyya, Sky News Arabic and other TV stations, who is being held by an opposition group.

In a press release, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, denounced the killing of community radio journalist Elisabeth Blanche Olofio, who lost her life when rebels stormed her radio station, Radio Be Oko, on 8 January in the town of Bambari in CAR.

“I condemn the killing of Elisabeth Blanche Olofio and feel grave concern about the safety of her colleagues,” said Ms. Bokova, while also urging all the fighting factions in the African country to “respect the civilian status of journalists.”

Over the past month, CAR has experienced a flare-up of violence, with a number of cities reportedly falling under the control of armed groups, which, in turn, has led to thousands of people fleeing areas where fighting has taken place.

Following the attack on Radio Be Oko, press freedom associations operating in the area reported receiving no news regarding the safety of Ms. Olofio’s colleagues and the radio station has had to cease its broadcasts.

Ms. Bokova underlined the importance of community-based media, noting that journalists like Ms. Olofio provided news for most of the population and contributed to “the well-being and development of ordinary citizens.”

In a separate press statement released today, the UNESCO chief condemned the killing of another radio reporter, Tanzanian journalist Issa Ngumba, who was also found dead on 8 January.

Mr. Ngumba had been missing for three days before his body was discovered in Tanzania’s Kajuhuleta Forest, exhibiting signs that he had been strangled or hanged, according to media reports. He is the second journalist killed in Tanzania in recent months.

Ms. Bokova deplored the killing and appealed to local authorities to investigate the crime as thoroughly as possible.

“It is essential that attacks on media workers be prosecuted so as to uphold the basic human right of freedom of expression,” she declared. “Safety contributes to journalists’ ability to inform public debate, the bedrock of democracy.”

Turning her focus onto Pakistan, where a series of bombings in Quetta last Friday reportedly killed at least 100 people and injured at least 200 more, including three reporters, Ms. Bokova also expressed her condolences to the people of the Asian nation.

“The bomb attacks in Quetta last Friday, which targeted civilians as well as rescue services and media, were particularly shocking,” she stated, adding that the attacks violated democratic values and human rights.

“I urge the Government of Pakistan to do everything within its power to bring those responsible to justice,” she continued.

According to independent accounts, three journalists were killed in the second wave of bombings which struck the Pakistani city as they rushed to report from the site of the first blast.

Imran Shaikh, a news cameraman for Samaa TV, and Mohammad Iqbal, a photographer with the news agency News Network International (NNI) were killed instantly while Saif-ur-Rehman, a Samaa News reporter, was transported to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries.