Haiti: Seeking to fend off cholera threat, UN agencies deliver aid, call for risk reduction
Oct 12, 2016, at 02:53 pm
New York, Oct 12 (Just Earth News): One week after Hurricane Matthew slammed into Haiti, United Nations agencies are continuing the massive relief effort under way on the ground, scrambling to fend off the threat of cholera, delivering life-saving supplies and rehabilitating damaged infrastructure, such as schools.
Oct 11, 2016, at 01:43 pm
New York, Oct 11 (Just Earth News): Recent unrest in the Central African Republic (CAR) demonstrates that the situation there remains fragile, and “spoilers are still active, on both sides,†the United Nations peacekeeping chief said on Monday, telling the Security Council that the international community must stand firm and support the Government’s efforts to ensure lasting peace.
In Malawi, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson spotlights efforts to end child marriage
Oct 11, 2016, at 01:42 pm
New York, Oct 11 (Just Earth News): Thanks to growing implementation of a law passed last year, child marriage may soon be a relic of Malawi’s past, and on the eve of the International Day of the Girl Child, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson visited the country to celebrate the achievements of UN Women, the Malawian Government, local chiefs and girls who have returned to school after having their marriages annulled.
New UN manual gives more say to indigenous peoples in development projects that affect them
Oct 11, 2016, at 01:33 pm
New York, Oct 11 (Just Earth News): The United Nations agricultural agency on Monday unveiled a new manual that seeks to ensure that indigenous peoples, custodians of more than 80 per cent of global biodiversity, are able to freely give or deny their consent in development interventions that affect their natural resources or their way of life.
South Sudan: Alarmed by violence in Yei, UN mission calls for immediate end to hostilities
Oct 11, 2016, at 01:25 pm
New York, Oct 11 (Just Earth News): Extremely concerned by the continuing deterioration of the security situation in the South Sudanese town of Yei, where an estimated 100,000 people are trapped, the United Nations mission in the African country on Monday called on warring factions to immediately end all hostilities.
Oct 10, 2016, at 06:38 am
New York, Oct 10 (Just Earth News): Senior United Nations officials, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, have condemned an attack in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, that killed more than 140 people and injured at least five hundred more. They also called for swift and impartial investigations into the incident.
Oct 10, 2016, at 06:36 am
New York, Oct 10 (Just Earth News): Marking World Post Day, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) has stressed that putting customers at the heart of its service and adjusting to rapid technological modernization remains the top priority of the postal services worldwide.
In Iceland, UN chief highlights that fate of Arctic and that of the world are intertwined
Oct 09, 2016, at 12:18 pm
ew York, Oct 9 (Just Earth News): Drawing attention to the melting of the Arctic ice cap, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday underlined the urgency of implementing the Paris Agreement on climate change and the need to help developing countries in their efforts to combat climate change.
UN condemns deadly attack on ‘refugee hosting area’ in western Niger
Oct 08, 2016, at 10:48 am
New York, Oct 8(Just Earth News): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the attack against a security post at a refugee hosting area in Tazalit, in the Tahoua region of Niger, bordering Mali, on 6 October, in which at least 22 members of Niger’s security forces were killed and several others were injured.
Stalled peace process, fresh ceasefire violations risk Mali’s stability – UN peacekeeping chief
Oct 07, 2016, at 02:31 pm
New York, Oct 7(Just Earth News): Citing a lack of progress on the peace process in Mali, the United Nations peacekeeping chief on Thursday warned that the UN mission there would not be able to fully carry out its mandate as long as the signatories to the peace agreement do not resolutely engage in its implementation.
After disclosure on Bahamas tax havens, UN experts urge governments to take action
Oct 07, 2016, at 02:29 pm
New York, Oct 7(Just Earth News): In the wake of the recent disclosure of leaked Bahamas tax haven data, United Nations human rights experts on Thursday urged governments to work together on liquidating offshore tax avoidance and establishing tougher financial regulations.
With record harvests, world’s food import bill expected to fall 11 per cent – UN agency
Oct 07, 2016, at 02:28 pm
New York, Oct 7(Just Earth News): With prices for most of the internationally-traded agricultural commodities, especially for the staple grains remaining relatively ‘low and stable,’ it is expected the global food import prices will fall to a six-year low, the United Nations agricultural agency said on Thursday.
Libya: As situation worsens, UN envoy calls for pause in fighting near Benghazi
Oct 07, 2016, at 02:22 pm
New York, Oct 7(Just Earth News): Expressing deep concern over the plight of civilians caught in the cross-fight in a Benghazi neighbourhood, a senior United Nations official in Libya has called for a humanitarian pause to allow aid to reach those in urgent need and as well as a safe passage for those who wish to leave.
Oct 06, 2016, at 02:08 pm
New York, Oct 6 (Just Earth News): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced on Wednesday that the Paris Agreement on climate change signed by world leaders this past April is set to enter into force on 4 November, as enough countries have signed onto the landmark accord to bring it to the emissions threshold that will trigger its implementation.
UN-backed treaty concludes summit with ‘game changing’ outcomes for wildlife protection
Oct 06, 2016, at 02:06 pm
New York, Oct 8 (Just Earth News): The triennial conference of the parties to a United Nations-backed wildlife treaty concluded yesterday with actions that are expected to go a long way in ensuring protection for some of the most vulnerable plants and animals on the planet.
‘Sad of state affairs’ in Iraq as last month’s surge in violence leaves more casualties – UN
Oct 06, 2016, at 02:04 pm
New York, Oct 6 (Just Earth News): The United Nations in Iraq has reported that civilians continue to bear the brunt of the conflict in the country, with a more than 28 per cent spike in fatalities and a 17 per cent increase in injuries from August to September this year.
UN food relief agency to scale up emergency operations in southern Madagascar
Oct 06, 2016, at 02:03 pm
New York, Oct 6 (Just Earth News): Following a visit to Madagascar, the Executive Director of the United Nations’ food relief agency has announced plans to scale up humanitarian operations in response to rising levels of hunger and malnutrition as a third consecutive year of drought deepens the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people in the south of the island nation.
‘Keep Afghanistan on the path towards stability,’ Ban tells Brussels Conference
Oct 06, 2016, at 04:59 am
New York, Oct 5 (Just Earth News): Addressing a conference aimed at charting a way forward for conflict-ravaged Afghanistan, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday urged the international community to sustain its commitment to support the country and its people, while stressing the importance of holding both donors and the Afghan Government accountable for aid effectiveness.
Investing in early childhood development helps communities thrive – UN-backed report
Oct 06, 2016, at 04:58 am
New York, Oct 5(Just Earth News): An estimated 43 per cent – or 249 million – of children under five in low- and middle-income countries are at an elevated risk of poor development due to extreme poverty and stunting, according to a new United Nations-supported series from The Lancet.
As Hurricane Matthew makes landfall in Haiti, UN relief agencies on standby to provide assistance
Oct 05, 2016, at 02:14 pm
New York, Oct 5(Just Earth News): Hurricane Matthew has made landfall in Haiti, bringing strong winds and torrential rains to the tiny island, the United Nations weather agency reported on Tuesday, while UN relief agencies announced that they are mobilizing to assist, if requested, countries that are in the path of the dangerous Category 4 storm that is pummelling the Caribbean region.
Jailing teen blogger in Singapore sends wrong message on free expression–UN expert
Oct 05, 2016, at 02:13 pm
New York, Oct 5(Just Earth News): After a Singaporean teenage blogger was sentenced to jail for his social media posts, a United Nations human rights expert on Tuesday warned that it is “exactly the wrong kind of message that any government should be sending to anybody, but especially to young people.â€
‘The best humanitarian relief is to end the conflict,’ UN aid chief says in war-torn Yemen
Oct 05, 2016, at 02:06 pm
New York, Oct 5 (Just Earth News): Concluding a three-day mission to Yemen, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator on Tuesday called on all warring parties to grant humanitarian access and uphold their responsibilities to protect civilians in a conflict that has injured and killed thousands of innocent civilians, and displaced some three million people.
Oct 05, 2016, at 02:05 pm
New York, Oct 5(Just Earth News): Welcoming on Tuesday’s decision to postpone Palestinian municipal elections, the United Nations senior official coordinating efforts towards the peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict called on all Palestinians to work together to resolve differences.
Yemen: UN says shelling in Taiz leaves dozens of civilian casualties
Oct 05, 2016, at 02:04 pm
New York, Oct 5 (Just Earth News): The United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) is reporting that casualties continue to mount in war-torn Yemen, including after an incident yesterday evening in the central city of Taiz, where artillery fire on a busy street next to a market in Bir Basha, Al Mudhaffar district, left six children dead, six wounded and more than a dozen other casualties.
Oct 05, 2016, at 04:59 am
New York, Oct 4(Just Earth News): The human rights calamity unfolding in Syria’s eastern Aleppo city demands bold new initiatives, including proposals to “limit the use of the veto†by the permanent members of the Security Council, the top United Nations human rights official declared on Tuesday.
FEATURE: Political differences, a dozen peacekeepers and two new wells in northern Haiti
Oct 05, 2016, at 04:58 am
New York, Oct 4(Just Earth News): Residents in Pilate, a remote town of some 40,000 inhabitants located on a mountain in northern Haiti, were treated to an unusual site recently: uniformed, foreign men hard at work laying concrete foundations for a well near the local hospital and school.
In Geneva, Ban reiterates call to end Syrian conflict; reflects on tenure as UN chief
Oct 04, 2016, at 01:49 pm
New York, Oct 4(Just Earth News): Speaking at a press conference in the United Nations Office in Geneva on Monday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon once again called for the political will to end the Syrian conflict, while also sharing his reflections on the nearly 10 years he spent as the top UN official.
Inequalities exacerbate climate impacts on poor and vulnerable people – new UN report
Oct 04, 2016, at 01:47 pm
New York, Oct 4(Just Earth News): Evidence is increasing that climate change is taking the largest toll on poor and vulnerable people, and these impacts are largely caused by inequalities that increase the risks from climate hazards, according to a new report launched by the United Nations on Monday.
‘Bunker-buster’ bombs in eastern Aleppo mean children not even safe underground, UN experts warn
Oct 04, 2016, at 01:45 pm
New York, Oct 4(Just Earth News): The killing and maiming of children in eastern Aleppo by the Syrian Government and its allies is not only a brutal abdication of international human rights obligations, it will have a long-lasting impact on the young victims for generations to come, United Nations child rights experts warned on Monday.
Selecting the next UN Secretary-General: Informal briefings reopen
Oct 04, 2016, at 01:44 pm
New York, Oct 4(Just Earth News): The latest candidate for the position of the next United Nations Secretary-General was heard by UN Member States on Monday, answering questions on how she would promote sustainable development, improve efforts to create peace, protect human rights, and deal with huge humanitarian catastrophes should they be selected to lead the 193-member Organization.