As Colombian voters reject peace deal, Ban pledges UN support as country seeks way forward
Oct 04, 2016, at 01:43 pm
New York, Oct 4(Just Earth News): In the wake of a referendum that defeated the peace accord signed by the President of Colombia and the country’s largest rebel group just days ago, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended the parties for their determination, saying he believed peace could still be achieved and that all Colombians who had committed to ending the 50-year conflict should not be discouraged.
On World Habitat Day, UN calls for putting adequate housing at centre of urban policy
Oct 04, 2016, at 05:05 am
New York, Oct 3(Just Earth News): Adequate housing is a universal human right and should be at the centre of the urban policy and in the physical centre of the city, senior United Nations officials said on Monday, marking the 2016 edition of World Habitat Day.
Syria: Time running out to protect those trapped in eastern Aleppo, UN aid chief warns
Oct 03, 2016, at 01:31 pm
New York, Oct 3 (Just Earth News): Warning of an urgent humanitarian situation in Syria's eastern Aleppo city, the United Nations humanitarian chief today reiterated a call for a cessation of violence, medical evacuation of hundreds of patients in critical conditions, as well as safe, full, regular and unimpeded humanitarian access.
India ratifies Paris climate pact at UN, brings it ever closer to taking effect
Oct 03, 2016, at 04:11 am
New York, Oct 2(Just Earth News): Bringing the Paris Agreement on climate change ever closer to its entry into force, India on Sunday joined the new global accord at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and became the 62nd country to deposit its legal instrument of ratification.
Afghanistan: UN condemns killings of 19 civilians by explosive devices planted on roads
Oct 03, 2016, at 04:05 am
New York, Oct 2 (Just Earth News): The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has condemned two improvised explosive devices (IED) detonations on civilian vehicles that killed 19 people in Helmand and Badghis provinces in recent days.
UN refugee agency, African host countries agree on final steps on Rwandan refugees
Oct 01, 2016, at 01:45 pm
New York, Oct 1(Just Earth News): The UN refugee agency and delegations from African countries as well as the African Union (AU) agreed on Friday on final steps to end the protracted Rwandan refugee situation after seven years of negotiations.
Fewer than 30 doctors left in war-torn Aleppo, UN health agency warns
Oct 01, 2016, at 01:44 pm
New York, Oct 1(Just Earth News): There are now less than 30 doctors working in Aleppo city, down from 35 several days ago, a senior official of the United Nations health agency said on Friday, highlighting the deteriorating healthcare capacity in the war-battered area.
UN health agency calls for stronger measures against Zika as Thailand confirms disease-related cases
Oct 01, 2016, at 01:41 pm
New York, Oct 1(Just Earth News): The United Nations health agency on Friday urged countries across the South-East Asia region to continue to take decisive action to prevent, detect and respond to Zika virus, following news that Thailand has confirmed two cases of Zika-related microcephaly.
As carbon dioxide levels hit 15 million year high, UN urges action to curb greenhouse gas emissions
Oct 01, 2016, at 01:33 pm
New York, Oct 1(Just Earth News): The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) urged world leaders to take note of the profound implications of record-high carbon dioxide readings this month and appealed for their increased commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
South Sudan: 100,000 people trapped in Yei, UN refugee agency warns
Oct 01, 2016, at 04:27 am
New York, Sept 30 (Just Earth News): Urgent humanitarian assistance is needed for some 100,000 people trapped in the South Sudanese town of Yei, where the security situation deteriorated rapidly after renewed conflict broke out in Juba, the capital, in early July, the United Nations refugee agency warned today.
Rural Latin American and Caribbean areas need targeted agricultural policies, investments – UN
Oct 01, 2016, at 04:26 am
New York, Sept 30 (Just Earth News): Economic growth is not enough to eliminate poverty in rural areas of Latin America and the Caribbean, and governments need targeted policies and investments for agricultural development and correct historic inequality experienced by millions of people across the region, says a United Nations report released today.
UN officials optimistic of Paris climate accord’s entry into force by year’s end
Sep 30, 2016, at 01:27 pm
New York, Sept 30 (Just Earth News): Senior United Nations officials on Thursday announced that the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change signed by world leaders this past April is closer to entering into force, as India – a country that produces more than four per cent of global emissions – plans to submit its ratification at the end of the week.
Sep 30, 2016, at 01:26 pm
New York, Sept 30 (Just Earth News): With current armed conflicts and humanitarian crises driving massive population movements – and not just in Europe, though the continent has been heavily challenged – an upcoming United Nations report will confirm the troubling fact that human trafficking generally follows the overall migratory flows, a senior UN anti-crime official said on Thursday, urging States to back the Trafficking in Persons Protocol and other international tools to address the evolving and complex situation.
Sep 30, 2016, at 01:25 pm
New York, Sept 30 (Just Earth News): In an impassioned appeal to the Security Council, the top United Nations relief official on Thursday called on the global body’s primary organ for maintenance of peace and security to act immediately to end the bloodshed in Syria so that humanitarian assistance is able to reach those who desperately need it.
Afghanistan: UN mission condemns killing of at least 15 civilians in airstrike
Sep 30, 2016, at 01:24 pm
New York, Sept 30 (Just Earth News): The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has condemned the killing of at least 15 civilian men and the injuring of at least 13 others, including at least one boy, in an airstrike targeting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) conducted yesterday in the country’s eastern district of Achin.
On World Day, UN spotlights role of maritime transport as backbone of global economy
Sep 30, 2016, at 04:29 am
New York, Sept 29 (Just Earth News): The importance of shipping in supporting and sustaining on Thursday's global society makes it indispensable to the world and to meeting the challenges of the sustainable development agenda, top UN officials declared on Thursday, as the international community marked World Maritime Day.
Sep 29, 2016, at 12:59 pm
New York, Sept 29 (Just Earth News): On 22 August 2014, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that he had appointed Espen Barth Eide of Norway as his new Special Adviser on Cyprus, replacing Alexander Downer of Australia, who had stepped down four months earlier, in April.
Republic of Korea: UN rights expert calls for probe in death of 69-year old protester
Sep 29, 2016, at 12:56 pm
New York, Sept 29 (Just Earth News): Expressing dismay over the death of a protestor who was injured by the police use of a water cannon on a peaceful rally last year in the country, a United Nations human rights expert has called for a full investigation into the incident and to ensure that such a “tragedy†is never repeated.
On World Day, UN urges rabies control beyond human and animal health services
Sep 29, 2016, at 04:30 am
New York, Sept 28 (Just Earth News): Officials at the United Nations on Wednesday urged human and animal health authorities around the world to step up and more effectively address rabies – a preventable but fatal disease that still claims the lives of an estimated 60,000 people each year – as the international community marks World Rabies Day.
Accessible tourism will benefit everyone, say senior UN officials on World Day
Sep 28, 2016, at 01:13 pm
New York, Sept 28 (Just Earth News): Noting the obstacles that persons with disabilities or those with other access requirements face in taking advantage of fundamental aspects of travel, senior United Nations officials on Tuesday urged policy-makers, travel planners and companies that work with persons with disabilities to work together to make travel more accessible.
UN rights experts urge Pakistan authorities to halt execution of man with disability
Sep 28, 2016, at 01:12 pm
New York, Sept 28 (Just Earth News): Four United Nations human rights experts on Tuesday urged authorities in Pakistan to halt the execution of Imdad Ali, a man with a psychosocial disability, and to re-try him in compliance with international standards.
Repealing anti-abortion laws would save the lives of nearly 50,000 women a year – UN experts
Sep 28, 2016, at 01:11 pm
New York, Sept 28 (Just Earth News): Warning that unsafe abortions kill nearly 50,000 women each year, United Nations human rights experts on Tuesday called on States across the world to repeal restrictive abortion laws and policies, and all punitive measures and discriminatory barriers to access safe reproductive health services.
Latest Somali election delay raises risks of manipulation, more delays – senior UN official
Sep 28, 2016, at 01:09 pm
New York, Sept 28 (Just Earth News): A new delay in Somalia’s elections is a matter of “immediate concern,†raising fears that the process is being politically manipulated and that the latest postponement may only be one of yet further rolling delays, the top United Nations official in the long-troubled East African country warned on Tuesday.
Mali: UN food relief agency warns funding gap may jeopardize school meals programme
Sep 28, 2016, at 01:09 pm
New York, Sept 28 (Just Earth News): The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday cautioned that unless it receives $3 million in urgent funding, it will have to suspend its school meals programme in Mali, affecting nearly 180,000 children in about 1,000 schools.
Vast majority of world – 6.76 billion people – living with excessive air pollution – UN report
Sep 28, 2016, at 01:08 pm
New York, Sept 28 (Just Earth News): With some 6.5 million people dying annually from air pollution and 92 per cent of the world’s population living in places where levels exceed recommended limits, the United Nations on Tuesday rolled out its most detailed profile of the scourge ever in a bid to slash the deadly toll.
UN highlights agriculture's potential to help address climate change and antimicrobial resistance
Sep 27, 2016, at 02:07 pm
New York, Sept 27 (Just Earth News): The role of agriculture should go beyond just generating food to help address global challenges such as climate change and antimicrobial resistance, the head of United Nations agriculture agency stressed on Monday.
Togo, at UN, calls for enhancing efforts of small countries to combat spread of terrorism
Sep 27, 2016, at 02:02 pm
New York, Sept 27 (Just Earth News): Addressing the General Assembly on Monday, Kokou Kpayedo, the Permanent Representative of Togo to the United Nations, reiterated his country’s voluntary commitment in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and stressed that enhanced cooperation in responding to security threats and ensuring reform of the Security Council are needed to secure their wide implementation.
Onus is on ‘us’ to ensure implementation of 2030 Agenda, Tanzanian Minister tells UN
Sep 27, 2016, at 01:53 pm
New York, Sept 27 (Just Earth News): Highlighting at the United Nations on Monday his country’s initiatives to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation of Tanzania emphasized the importance of collective efforts at local, national and international levels to achieve the goals in a timely manner.
Sep 27, 2016, at 01:45 pm
New York, Sept 27 (Just Earth News): Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, two small island nations in Africa on Monday stressed that among the many challenges they face, harnessing the transformative power of the seas and building the ocean-based economy is of fundamental importance for their countries’ survival and sustainable growth.
On International Day, UN renews call for global elimination of nuclear weapons
Sep 27, 2016, at 04:41 am
New York, Sept 26 (Just Earth News): The world faces growing nuclear dangers and tensions, yet progress in multilateral nuclear disarmament has come to a “standstill,†United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared on Monday, reiterating a call for complete global nuclear disarmament as the international community marks the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.