UN and World Bank chiefs announce members of joint high-level panel on water
Apr 22, 2016, at 01:53 pm
New York, Apr 22 (Just Earth News/IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim announced on Thursday the appointment of 10 Heads of State and Government, as well as two Special Advisors, to the High-Level Panel on Water.
Libya: UN envoy calls for safe evacuation of civilians caught up in Benghazi fighting
Apr 22, 2016, at 01:46 pm
New York, Apr 22 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Thursday called on all the warring parties in Benghazi to ensure that civilians are protected, also urging them to allow and facilitate the safe and immediate exit of all civilians who are trapped in areas affected by fighting.
Ecuador earthquake: UN relief chief calls for more support to vulnerable communities
Apr 22, 2016, at 01:43 pm
New York, Apr 22 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The top United Nations relief official wrapped up his two-day mission to Ecuador yesterday, announcing that he is releasing $7 million from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund to assist people affected by the deadly earthquake that struck on Saturday, while calling for more support to vulnerable communities.
Ecuador: top UN relief official stresses ‘solidarity’ as earthquake recovery efforts continue
Apr 21, 2016, at 01:18 pm
New York, Apr 21 (Just Earth News/IBNS): United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien said that more than 21,000 people are in need of immediate shelter following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Ecuador on Saturday night, while the Government has stepped up recovery efforts in conjunction with several UN agencies.
Fiji: humanitarian work ‘far from over’ two months after storm, UN reports
Apr 21, 2016, at 01:16 pm
New York, Apr 21 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Marking two months since Tropical Cyclone Winston hit Fiji, the United Nations senior humanitarian official in the South Pacific has said that “work is far from over†and that there are significant needs for continued relief efforts.
Egypt: Ban calls for fair trial standards in judicial proceedings against rights defenders
Apr 21, 2016, at 01:08 pm
New York, Apr 21 (Just Earth News/IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced he is closely following the judicial proceedings in Egypt against a number of civil society organizations and human rights defenders.
FEATURE: As UN ‘World Court’ turns 70, long-time registrar sees evolution of body’s work
Apr 21, 2016, at 01:07 pm
New York, Apr 21 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Having ruled on such diverse issues as plunder of natural resources in Africa to border disputes in South America and whale hunting in the Pacific, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – the main judicial organ of the United Nations – turns 70 on Wednesday and UN Radio has talked with long-time registrar Philippe Couvreur about the evolution of the tribunal’s vital work.
Deadly quakes in Japan and Ecuador spotlight need for rigorous structural safety standards – UN
Apr 20, 2016, at 02:00 pm
New York, Apr 20 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The Head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) said on Tuesday that the deaths in Ecuador and the dozens of victims in Japan spotlighted a basic fact about earthquakes; that buildings, and not the shake itself, claim most lives.
Somalia: UN envoy welcomes progress in preparations for elections in 2016
Apr 20, 2016, at 01:52 pm
New York, Apr 20 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The Security Council heard on Tuesday from the top United Nations official in Somalia that political progress is being made in the country, but that much remains to be done in a short period, including completing the electoral process for 2016 and boosting support to the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM).
Ecuador: UN food convoy heads to quake-ravaged areas; some 150,000 children impacted
Apr 20, 2016, at 01:45 pm
New York, Apr 20 (Just Earth News/IBNS):The United Nations food relief agency has sent a convoy to assist some 8,000 people severely affected by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the coast of Ecuador, leaving more than 400 people dead and thousands more in desperate need of humanitarian aid.
UN rights chief welcomes release of 83 prisoners in Myanmar
Apr 20, 2016, at 01:44 pm
New York, Apr 20 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The United Nations rights chief on Tuesday welcomed the release of a second wave of 83 prisoners on Myanmar's New Year last Sunday, by Presidential amnesty.
UN envoy announces delay in Yemen peace talks
Apr 19, 2016, at 02:17 pm
New York, Apr 19 (Just Earth News/IBNS):The United Nations envoy for Yemen has announced that the start of the Yemeni-Yemeni peace negotiations set to begin on Monday in Kuwait has been postponed.
Syria: UN envoy to 'take stock' of peace talks by week's end
Apr 19, 2016, at 02:16 pm
New York, Apr 19 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Following reports that the opposition delegation had announced a pause in the intra-Syrian talks under way at United Nations Headquarters in Geneva, the UN envoy mediating a resolution to the crisis said on Monday that he plans on continuing discussions with all sides and take stock of the situation on Friday.
Central Africa Republic: UN condemns killing of Moroccan peacekeeper
Apr 19, 2016, at 02:12 pm
New York, Apr 19 (Just Earth News/IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the killing of a Moroccan peacekeeper from the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) yesterday in the town of Rafai in Mbomou prefecture.
Torture and illegal detention on the rise in Burundi – UN rights chief
Apr 19, 2016, at 02:06 pm
New York, Apr 19 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The United Nations human rights chief on Monday warned of a “sharp increase in the use of torture and ill-treatment in Burundi†and voiced concerns about worrying reports of the existence of illegal detention facilities, both in Bujumbura and in the countryside.
Apr 19, 2016, at 02:05 pm
New York, Apr 19 (Just Earth News/IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned on Monday that a two-state solution, which envisages peaceful co-existence of Palestine and Israel, seems more distant than it has for many decades, citing the ongoing violence, Israel’s settlement activity and demolitions of Palestinian homes, and the absence of Palestinian unity.
FEATURE:UN Envoy in Haiti discusses upcoming elections and UN’s transitioning role
Apr 19, 2016, at 01:57 pm
New York, Apr 19 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Sandra Honoré is the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti and head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the country (MINUSTAH). A post she has held since 15 July 2013.
UN supporting authorities in Ecuador following strongest earthquake in decades
Apr 19, 2016, at 01:54 pm
New York, Apr 19 (Just Earth News/IBNS): While the Government of Ecuador is leading the response to continue helping people and communities affected by Saturday’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake, the United Nations announced it has deployed relief teams to provide additional support.
Civilians in embattled Yarmouk facing 'starvation and dehydration', UN agency warns
Apr 17, 2016, at 12:32 pm
New York, Apr 17 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Up to 10,000 civilians in Yarmouk camp in Damascus, Syria, have gone without food and water for more than a week due to ongoing fighting, on Saturday warned the United Nations relief agency charged with the well-being of Palestinian refugees across the Middle East.
Apr 16, 2016, at 01:48 pm
New York, Apr 16 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Three days of informal briefings came to an end yesterday, after nine candidates for the position of the next United Nations Secretary-General answered all together some 800 questions from the UN membership and the public on how, if selected, they would lead the world body.
UN agency and Google collaborate on satellite data tools to manage natural resources
Apr 16, 2016, at 01:42 pm
New York, Apr 16 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Google on Friday announced plans to work together to make high-resolution satellite data a common tool in managing the world’s natural resources, ultimately boosting efforts towards the pursuit of sustainable development.
Apr 15, 2016, at 01:42 pm
New York, Apr 15 (Just Earth News/IBNS):Holt In a massive undertaking aimed at stamping out polio once and for all – dubbed ‘the switch’ – a United Nations-backed eradication initiative will next week begin the largest and fastest globally coordinated rollout of a vaccine into routine immunization programmes in history.
'Two-state solution in danger,' warns new report from UN office on Middle East peace process
Apr 15, 2016, at 01:32 pm
New York, Apr 15 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The viability of a two-state solution, which envisages peaceful co-existence of both Israel and Palestine, is in danger due to the negative trends on the ground, including recent violence, ongoing settlement activity, demolitions, incitement, and the absence of Palestinian unity, a new United Nations report warned on Thursday.
Apr 15, 2016, at 01:29 pm
New York, Apr 15 (Just Earth News/IBNS):Holt In a massive undertaking aimed at stamping out polio once and for all – dubbed ‘the switch’ – a United Nations-backed eradication initiative will next week begin the largest and fastest globally coordinated rollout of a vaccine into routine immunization programmes in history.
The next UN Secretary-General: last day of informal briefings
Apr 15, 2016, at 01:26 pm
New York, Apr 15 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The third and final session of informal briefings to hear the views of three more candidates for the position of the next United Nations Secretary-General is taking place at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday, focusing on how they would tackle some of the world’s most urgent issues should they be selected to replace current UN chief Ban Ki-moon in January 2017.
With peace and stability gains, Côte d'Ivoire 'on the rights track' – UN peacekeeping chief
Apr 13, 2016, at 01:51 pm
New York, Apr 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS): With Côte d'Ivoire now firmly anchored on the path of peace, stability and economic recovery, the top United Nations peacekeeping official on Tuesday said that it is perhaps time to consider wrapping up the UN mission and begin to consider the Organization’s future role in supporting the consolidating the country’s gains.
Iraq: UN mission warns of increasing risks for civilians in besieged Fallujah
Apr 13, 2016, at 01:44 pm
New York, Apr 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said it is receiving reports that humanitarian conditions are worsening and human suffering is increasing in the city of Fallujah, which has been under control of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) for more than two years.
UN agency urges inclusion of victims of mass displacement in Colombian peace talks
Apr 13, 2016, at 01:40 pm
New York, Apr 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The United Nations refugee agency on Tuesday called on the negotiators of Colombian peace talks to give special attention to the rights of victims of five-decade conflict that has produced the world’s second-biggest displacement situation after Syria.
Ban highlights need to fight ‘genocide ideology,’ as UN reflects on 1994 atrocities in Rwanda
Apr 12, 2016, at 01:45 pm
New York, Apr 12 (Just Earth News/IBNS): At an event marking the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the only way to prevent genocide and other “egregious†violations of human rights is to acknowledge shared responsibility and commit to shared action to protect those at risk.
UN experts urges Honduras to end impunity in murder of human rights defender
Apr 12, 2016, at 01:44 pm
New York, Apr 12 (Just Earth News/IBNS): More than a month after the killing of Berta Cáceres, a female human rights defender, eight United Nations experts have jointly reiterated their appeal to the Government of Honduras to provide justice and reveal the truth in her murder, and to ensure the security and protection of all people defending the environment and human rights in the country.