Aug 31, 2016, at 02:05 pm
New York, Aug 31 (Just Earth News): In his briefing to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, a senior United Nations official emphasized the need for Guinea-Bissau’s political leaders to put aside partisan considerations and focus on national interests and the welfare of the suffering population.
UN official highlights challenges of humanitarian operations in Syria
Aug 31, 2016, at 02:04 pm
New York, Aug 31 (Just Earth News): Addressing the media in Geneva, a United Nations spokesperson on Tuesday highlighted the challenging working environment in which UN humanitarian agencies are operating in within Syria and flagged that aid is being delivered to all those who need, regardless of their affiliation and where they live.
Pollution kills as many people as cancer does, UN’s new environment chief warns
Aug 31, 2016, at 02:03 pm
New York, Aug 31 (Just Earth News): The new head of the United Nations environment agency on Tuesday laid out key issues facing the international community on environmental issues, including pollution as well as the linkages among the environment, wars and conflicts, and migration.
Aug 31, 2016, at 02:00 pm
New York, Aug 31 (Just Earth News): The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has helped resettle more than 10,000 Syrian refugees to the United States during the year ending 30 September, without compromising the integrity and security of the processing mechanism.
On World Day, UN chief highlights plight of family and friends of victims of enforced disappearances
Aug 31, 2016, at 01:57 pm
New York, Aug 31 (Just Earth News): Marking the 2016 International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday that the anguished women and men – parents, children, partners or friends – desperately seeking any information on their loved ones who have disappeared are also victims of enforced disappearances.
Aug 31, 2016, at 01:56 pm
New York, Aug 31 (Just Earth News): Noting that national policies often tend to treat women and girls with disabilities as helpless objects of pity or allow them to be treated in that manner, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has stressed that, instead, they need to be empowered and allowed to enjoy their fundamental rights and freedoms, as any other person.
In Myanmar, UN chief spotlights country’s challenging path towards multi-ethnic democracy
Aug 31, 2016, at 01:54 pm
New York, Aug 31 (Just Earth News): Following a meeting with Myanmar’s foreign minister, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday highlighted the great challenges her country faces on its path of reform towards a harmonious, multi-ethnic, multi-religious and prosperous democracy.
Bolivia: UN human rights office condemns killing of vice minister and three miners
Aug 31, 2016, at 03:55 am
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): The United Nations human rights office on Tuesday spoke out against the killing of a government minister by a group of striking miners last Thursday, as well as deadly clashes between police and people opposed to a new mining law.
UN cultural agency hails creation of world’s largest marine protected area
Aug 30, 2016, at 01:39 pm
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Monday welcomed the establishment by US President Barack Obama of the largest nature reserve in the world, done through expanding a marine reserve in the state of Hawaii.
Yemen: UN humanitarian coordinator ‘deeply concerned’ by failures to protect civilians
Aug 30, 2016, at 01:35 pm
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): A senior United Nations humanitarian official said on Monday he “is deeply concerned†by the devastating impact that the recent upsurge in fighting is having on civilians in Yemen and along the border the country shares with Saudi Arabia.
On World Day, top UN officials call for prompt entry into force of nuclear test ban treaty
Aug 30, 2016, at 01:34 pm
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): Marking the International Day against Nuclear Tests, senior United Nations officials on Monday called for the entry into force of a multilateral treaty that bans all nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all environments.
Aug 30, 2016, at 01:33 pm
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): Speaking at the end of a four-day visit to Nigeria, the United Nations expert on internally displaced persons (IPDs) has called on the country’s authorities and the international community to act urgently to ensure that the hundreds of thousands of displaced people in its northeast are protected.
UN agency stresses importance of investing in Colombia’s rural communities in wake of peace accord
Aug 30, 2016, at 01:32 pm
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): A senior official at the United Nations rural development agency has stressed the importance of investing in Colombia’s small farmers and rural communities to ensure lasting peace in the country.
Upcoming peace conference an opportunity to transform Myanmar – UN rights expert
Aug 30, 2016, at 03:58 am
New York, Aug 29 (Just Earth News): Speaking ahead of a major peace conference in Myanmar, a United Nations independent expert has urged its participants to prioritise human rights issues in their discussions over the coming days, and to do more to ensure the process is fully inclusive.
‘Make human rights the priority in all conservation efforts’ – UN experts urge governments
Aug 30, 2016, at 03:52 am
New York, Aug 29 (Just Earth News): Ahead of the world’s largest forum for the adoption of conservation policies on protected areas, two United Nations experts on environment and indigenous peoples on Monday highlighted that effective and sustainable conservation requires respect for human rights.
UN rights expert condemns Iran’s ‘illegal’ execution of 12 people on drug-related charges
Aug 30, 2016, at 03:50 am
New York, Aug 29 (Just Earth News): The United Nations rights expert on the situation of human rights in Iran has expressed outrage over the execution of 12 people on drug-related charges, just days after he had publicly appealed to the Iranian authorities not to go ahead with the capital punishment.
Ban 'deeply concerned' over tensions in south-western Western Sahara
Aug 29, 2016, at 12:36 pm
New York, Aug 29 (Just Earth News): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is deeply concerned over the tense situation that has developed in the narrow buffer strip in south-western Western Sahara between the Moroccan berm and the Mauritanian border as a result of changes in the status quo and the introduction of armed units from Morocco and the Polisario Front in close proximity to each other.
UN envoy urges all sides to quickly agree truce to ease suffering in Aleppo
Aug 28, 2016, at 01:45 pm
New York, Aug 28 (Just Earth News): Stressing that “time is of the essence†amid the increasingly dire situation in Aleppo, the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria on Saturday called for all sides in the conflict to agree by Sunday on allowing aid delivery and repairs for the war-ravaged city's power and water systems to provide some relief for the nearly two million people trapped there.
UN teams bring aid to besieged Syrian people despite extreme challenges
Aug 27, 2016, at 01:37 pm
New York, Aug 27 (Just Earth News): In the first full, completed, cross-line delivery via road in August, inter-agency convoys have reached some 75,000 people in al-Waer in Syria’s Homs province with life-saving humanitarian assistance, the United Nations humanitarian arm has reported.
UN chief ‘looks forward’ to peaceful, credible presidential election in Gabon
Aug 27, 2016, at 04:38 am
New York, Aug 26 (Just Earth News): On the eve of the presidential election in Gabon, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday encouraged all Gabonese to vote responsibly and urged the candidates and other political stakeholders to abstain from any acts of incitement and maintain a peaceful atmosphere before, during and after the election.
Greece facing ‘serious challenges,’ needs EU help to manage refugee crisis – UN agency chief
Aug 27, 2016, at 04:35 am
New York, Aug 26 (Just Earth News): Greece still faces great challenges in managing its refugee crisis, particularly if European Union countries do not step up their relocation and family reunion programmes, the head of the United Nations refugee agency said during a recent visit to the country.
Situation in Kosovo more stable, but underlying tensions remain – UN envoy
Aug 26, 2016, at 01:21 pm
New York, Aug 26 (Just Earth News): Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Kosovo Zahir Tanin told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday that while opposition parties in Kosovo continue to try to generate, exploit and, if possible, prolong moments of ‘crisis,’ they appear to have become aware that the use of violence is counterproductive to their objective of gaining more political influence.
Aid convoys ‘ready’ to enter Aleppo; UN envoys await Russia-US talks on truce
Aug 26, 2016, at 01:20 pm
New York, Aug 26 (Just Earth News): Reporting that the Russian Federation is backing a 48-hour humanitarian pause in and around Aleppo, senior United Nations envoys on the Syrian crisis on Thursday said they are “waiting for others on the ground to do the same,†and are ready to green light aid convoys to the war-ravaged city once assurances are received.
UN adviser on preventing genocide deplores ‘inflammatory statements’ by senior Burundi official
Aug 26, 2016, at 04:33 am
New York, Aug 25 (Just Earth News): The United Nations Special Adviser on Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, has expressed concern at inflammatory statements concerning the genocide in Rwanda that were made by a senior official of the ruling party in Burundi and cautioned that such statements could constitute incitement to violence.
Afghanistan: UN mission condemns attack on in American University in Kabul
Aug 26, 2016, at 04:31 am
New York, Aug 25 (Just Earth News): The United Nations’ mission in Afghanistan has condemned last night’s attack on a university in the capital, Kabul, that killed 12 civilians and injured more than 50 others, mostly students.
Youth unemployment set to rise for first time in three years – UN labour agency
Aug 25, 2016, at 01:22 pm
New York, Aug 25 (Just Earth News): With global youth unemployment expected to rise in 2016 for the first time in three years and the equally disturbing high levels of young people who work but still live in poverty, the United Nations labour agency on Wednesday called for greater efforts to achieve sustainable economic growth and decent work.
UN relief wing monitoring situations in Italy and Myanmar after strong earthquakes
Aug 25, 2016, at 01:19 pm
New York, Aug 25 (Just Earth News): In the wake of powerful earthquakes on Wednesday in Italy and Myanmar, the United Nations relief wing is monitoring the situations, and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson said the UN and its partners stand ready to support both countries and local actors should any humanitarian support be needed.
UN sounds alarm as 4.5 million people need food aid in Boko Haram-hit north-east Nigeria
Aug 24, 2016, at 02:01 pm
New York, Aug 24 (Just Earth News): The number of people in need of food assistance in north-eastern Nigeria has nearly doubled to 4.5 million from March, according to a mid-August analysis by various agencies including the World Food Programme (WFP).
Iraq: UN rights chief 'deeply dismayed' at execution of 36 people
Aug 24, 2016, at 03:48 am
New York, Aug 23 (Just Earth News): The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, has expressed deep dismay at the execution of 36 people in Iraq in relation to a 2014 massacre during which hundreds of military cadets were killed.
Nigeria: With thousands in urgent need, UN health agency scales up emergency response
Aug 23, 2016, at 01:10 pm
New York, Aug 23 (Just Earth News): The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) is ramping up its response in north-eastern Nigeria, where initial assessments have revealed urgent health problems among populations in areas formerly held by Boko Haram insurgents.