The United Nations marked the first World Autism Awareness Day in an effort to highlight the need to help improve the lives of children and adults who suffer from the complex brain disorder.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid tribute to the courage of children with autism and their families, who strive every day "to confront the disability with a powerful combination of determination, creativity and hope."

Autism impedes the ability to communicate and develop social relationships, and is often accompanied by extreme behavioral challenges.

In his message marking the day, Secretary-General Ban stressed the need to build enabling environments for children with disabilities so they can prosper as future members of their communities, citizens of their countries and as fully-fledged members of the global community.

Secretary-General Ban noted that throughout its history, the UN has promoted the rights and well-being of the disabled, including children with developmental disabilities.

"It is especially fitting that this inaugural day falls in 2008 -- the year in which we celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the United Nations Declaration for Human Rights, and expect to see the entry into force of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted by the General Assembly in 2006," he added.

The final joint report by the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal) finds peaceful campaigning in many constituencies while others have been faced with election-related violence and intimidation incidents.

"The Young Communist League and other Maoist cadres continued to be involved in the largest proportion of these incidents," the report notes, urging the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) to stop the intimidatory behavior of its members and supporters.

"The CPN-M leadership should ensure that its stated readiness to abide by the outcome of the election authenticated through the established procedures is not undermined by contradictory statement," the report recommended.

The report stated that while the number of abductions by armed groups had fallen slightly, there had been a considerable increase in the detonation of improvised explosive devices in acts clearly intended to disrupt the electoral process.

In addition, the report warned of mounting evidence that state resources were being deployed for partisan ends and of attempts to buy votes through "donations" of food, clothing and other goods to some communities.

The report also identifies several positive developments including a recommitment by the three major parties of the governing Seven-Party Alliance to campaign peacefully and cooperate at the district level, and the restraint shown in the wake of the bombing of a mosque in Biratnagar that caused the deaths of two people.

Once elected, the Constituent Assembly will be tasked with drafting a new constitution for Nepal, which has emerged from a decade-long civil war that claimed an estimated 13,000 lives until the government and the Maoists signed a peace accord in 2006.