Donors make initial pledges of $857 million to fund UN refugee agency’s work in 2018
Dec 06, 2017, at 03:16 pm
New York, Dec 6(Just Earth News): Donor governments on Tuesday pledged an initial $857 million to fund the United Nations refugee agency’s work to help some 67 million displaced or stateless people worldwide in 2018.
Amid alarming spike in violence, looming famine, Yemen gripped by uncertainty – UN officials
Dec 06, 2017, at 03:15 pm
New York, Dec 6(Just Earth News): Yemen remains gripped by uncertainty after the assassination of the former president and a spike in brutal violence in and around its capital, Sana’a, the United Nations envoy for the war-torn country said on Tuesday.
Dec 06, 2017, at 03:14 pm
New York, Dec 6(Just Earth News): Growing antimicrobial resistance linked to the discharge of drugs and some chemicals into the environment is one of the most worrying health threats on Tuesday, according to new research from the United Nations that highlights emerging challenges and solutions in environment.
Caring for the planet starts with ‘the ground we walk on;’ UN says on World Soil Day
Dec 06, 2017, at 03:14 pm
New York, Dec 6(Just Earth News): Soil is a major carbon storage system, essential for sustainable agriculture and climate change mitigation, the United Nations agriculture agency said on Tuesday, launching on World Soil Day a comprehensive global map showing the amount of carbon stocks contained in soil.
Young students getting better at reading, finds international study
Dec 06, 2017, at 03:12 pm
New York, Dec 6(Just Earth News): Reading literacy levels are on the rise across the globe, giving young students a set of strong skills to serve them in their futures as well as contributing to the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular those related to inclusive and quality education.
Dec 06, 2017, at 04:50 am
New York, Dec 5(Just Earth News): The United Nations human rights chief on Tuesday called for an international criminal probe into the perpetrators of the widespread and brutal attacks that have driven more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar since August, noting that “elements of genocide” against the minority could not be ruled out.
Central African Republic: UN chief condemns killing of ‘blue helmet’ in country’s east
Dec 05, 2017, at 05:53 pm
New York, Dec 5(Just Earth News): Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the killing on Monday of a Mauritanian peacekeeper and the wounding of three others of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) by anti-Balaka militia in Bria in the country’ s east.
Iraq: Ambiguity over legal age of marriage could devastate childhoods, warn UN officials
Dec 05, 2017, at 05:42 pm
New York, Dec 5(Just Earth News): Voicing concern over proposed amendments to laws governing marriage in Iraq – in particular the ambiguity over the legal age of marriage – senior United Nations officials called on the country to ensure adequate protection for children across Iraq.
UN chief proposes ‘sweeping’ management reform to budget committee
Dec 05, 2017, at 05:40 pm
New York, Dec 5(Just Earth News): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday proposed sweeping management reform to Member States in the General Assembly’s main administrative and budgetary body, including the adoption of an annual budget cycle, the granting of the power for him to redeploy resources within the approved budget, and the elimination of duplicate functions currently undertaken by different departments.
Dec 05, 2017, at 05:35 pm
New York, Dec 5(Just Earth News): Noting that the movement of people across borders is a global reality, a senior United Nations official stressed that policy decisions governing migration must be based on fact and not on perception or myth.
Urgent action needed to address rising global hunger, says UN agency head
Dec 05, 2017, at 05:28 pm
New York, Dec 5(Just Earth News): Immediate action is needed to address the rise in global hunger, the head of the United Nations food security agency has urged, highlighting the need to build resilience in poor and vulnerable communities.
Dec 04, 2017, at 01:31 pm
New York, Dec 4(Just Earth News): Persons with disabilities, as both beneficiaries and agents of change, can fast track the process towards inclusive and sustainable development, and for the 4030 Agenda to truly live up to its promise to 'leave no one behind,' all physical and cultural barriers must be removed to create societies that provide real opportunities for everyone everywhere, the United Nations has said.
Dec 03, 2017, at 01:43 pm
New York, Dec 3 (Just Earth News): Top officials from across the United Nations system called on Saturday for the Saudi-led coalition to fully lift its blockade of Yemen's Red Sea ports, warning that unless commercial imports are resumed, “the threat of widespread famine in a matter of months is very real.”
Migration compact must balance regional, global realities, says UN envoy
Dec 02, 2017, at 02:02 pm
New York, Dec 2(Just Earth News): A Global Compact on migration has to be “truly global” but it also has to take into account the regional specificities given the very diverse nature of the phenomenon, a senior United Nations official on international migration has said.
UN chief condemns terrorist attack against college dormitory in Pakistan
Dec 02, 2017, at 02:01 pm
New York, Dec 2(Just Earth News): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday condemned the terrorist attack against a university dormitory in northern Pakistan that killed at least nine people and injured many others.
A survivor’s journey for justice: HIV advocate and UN retiree Eric Sawyer
Dec 02, 2017, at 02:00 pm
New York, Dec 2(Just Earth News): "I contracted HIV before the discovery of the virus," Eric Sawyer began, as he told his story to an audience of nearly 50,000 gathered in New York’s Central Park earlier this year. The cheers and applause his heartfelt speech received would have been unimaginable three decades ago.
Central African Republic: ‘Restoring hope,’ UN agriculture agency helps ex-fighters start anew
Dec 02, 2017, at 01:59 pm
New York, Dec 2(Just Earth News): Over 1,000 ex-fighters in the conflict-riddled Central African Republic (CAR) have traded their weapons for farming equipment, as part of a United Nations initiative, according to the UN agriculture agency.
Media coverage frames public thinking on migrants and migration – UN report
Dec 02, 2017, at 01:58 pm
New York, Dec 2(Just Earth News): Changes in traditional media and growing use of social media are offering new avenues for “migrant-led” media and journalism as well as a unique opportunity for migrants to highlight their concerns and contributions – in their own words – the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said.
Massive underfunding hampering relief efforts for the displaced in DRC and Zambia – UN agency
Dec 02, 2017, at 01:58 pm
New York, Dec 2(Just Earth News): With millions displaced within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and thousands more forced to flee across the border into Zambia, the United Nations refugee agency is appealing for urgent resources to make sure that relief programmes – hanging on by threads – do not collapse.
UN relief wing appeals for record $22.5 billion in aid for 2028
Dec 02, 2017, at 06:31 am
New York, Dec 2(Just Earth News): A record level of aid funding – more than $22.5 billion – is needed to deliver lifesaving assistance around the world in 2028, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator said on Friday.
World AIDS Day: If everyone, everywhere realizes right to health, epidemic can be defeated, says UN
Dec 02, 2017, at 06:30 am
New York, Dec 2(Just Earth News): The world will not achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – which include the target of ending AIDS by 2030 – without people attaining their right to health, the United Nations said Friday, marking World AIDS Day with a strong appeal for the full realization of this fundamental right by everyone, everywhere.
From thorny to tasty: UN agriculture agency looking at cactus as climate resilient food
Dec 01, 2017, at 02:29 pm
New York, Dec 1(Just Earth News): With the reality of climate change becoming more real by the day, including its impact on food sources, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is urging communities around the world not to take the prickly cactus for granted.
Syria: UN-supported talks in Geneva extended until mid-December
Dec 01, 2017, at 02:28 pm
New York, Dec 1(Just Earth News): Previewing what he said will be “not just a normal round of talks,” Staffan de Mistura, the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, insisted Thursday there should be no preconditions heading into the current round of discussions aimed at resolving the over six-year-long Syrian conflict that has resulted in immense human suffering.
Dec 01, 2017, at 02:27 pm
New York, Dec 1(Just Earth News): The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday focused its attention on global efforts to stop the traffic in and destruction of cultural property, with the head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) laying out steps to protect cultural heritage and ensure that it can serve “as a source of belonging and peace for all people in times of conflict.”
New funding provides much needed boost for Yemen aid operations, but needs outstrip means
Dec 01, 2017, at 06:02 am
New York, Nov 30(Just Earth News): A United Nations-managed humanitarian emergency fund has allocated $70 million to strife-ridden Yemen, enabling critical life-saving relief operations across large parts of the country.
One in 10 medicines in developing countries substandard or falsified – UN health agency
Nov 30, 2017, at 03:01 pm
New York, Nov 30(Just Earth News): Substandard or fake medicines that fail to prevent and cure disease – and could even cause death – are becoming more and more prevalent, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned, calling on Governments to take urgent actions to tackle this global problem.
Four billion people have no social security protection - UN labour agency
Nov 30, 2017, at 03:00 pm
New York, Nov 30(Just Earth News): More than half of the global population – some four billion people – have no social security protection, UN labour experts said on Wednesday.
Libya’s planned transit centre would keep migrants from risky Mediterranean crossing – UN agency
Nov 30, 2017, at 02:59 pm
New York, Nov 30(Just Earth News): The United Nations refugee agency has welcomed the decision by the Libyan authorities to set up a “transit and departure facility” in Tripoli for refugees and migrants in need of international protection – an initiative that offers viable alternatives to their dangerous journeys along the Central Mediterranean route.
South Sudan: UN envoy condemns ‘horrific’ killings of civilians in Jonglei
Nov 30, 2017, at 02:58 pm
New York, Nov 30(Just Earth News): The most senior United Nations official in South Sudan has condemned the “horrific” killing of some 45 civilians in the Jonglei region on Tuesday when a Murle ethnic group attacked a Dinka village.
On Day of Solidarity, UN reaffirms two-state solution as only answer to ‘question of Palestine’
Nov 30, 2017, at 02:58 pm
New York, Nov 30(Just Earth News): The Question of Palestine is inextricably linked with the history of the United Nations and is one of the longest-standing issues on the Organization's agenda, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message commemorating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.