Incidents of modern-day slavery are “only likely to increase” as a result of some of biggest challenges facing the world today, a UN expert outlined in a report for the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday.

A recap of Monday’s top stories: Someone dies by suicide every 40 seconds says new report; UN rights chief highlights climate change threat, and “devastating toll” on Venezuela; deputy chief Amina Mohammed says halting desertification is a key part of climate action; health agency pledges millions to Hurricane Dorian response.

Events commemorating the recent International Day against Nuclear Tests serve as an “important and stark reminder…of the disastrous consequences of nuclear testing on human health and the environment”, a top UN official told the General Assembly on Monday.

While peacekeeping is an “essential tool” for preventing conflict and reducing the risk of relapse, “political solutions are a prerequisite to sustainable peace”, the United Nations peacekeeping chief told the Security Council on Monday.

Despite progress in national prevention strategies, one person dies by suicide every 40 seconds, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director-General lamented on Monday, highlighting key findings of the agency’s latest report on global suicide estimates.

The Human Rights Council opened in Geneva on Monday with a warning from the UN’s top rights official that, with forest fires raging in the Amazon, “we are burning up our future, literally”.