Ban Ki-moon's latest update on the chaotic region of western Sudan comes as the UN begins meeting with Sudanese officials on plans for an exit strategy for the more than 20,000-strong peacekeeping mission.
Tensions have been high between the UN and Sudan, especially over a Human Rights Watch-documented mass rape of more than 220 women and girls in a Darfur village last year.
Ban's report says he deeply regrets that the UN has not been able to access the village.