Jul 27, 2019, at 06:45 am
New York, July 27 (IBNS): Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, along with the heads of a number of UN agencies, expressed horror at Thursday’s reports that as many as 150 people may be dead after a boat they were traveling in capsized off the coast of Libya, making it the worst such tragedy in the Mediterranean this year.
Jul 24, 2019, at 10:12 am
New York, July 24 (IBNS): The “dangerous paralysis” that prevails in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is fuelling extremism and exacerbating tensions, leading to a “loss of hope” that peace can ever be achieved through negotiation, the UN’s Political and Peacebuilding chief told the Security Council on Tuesday.
‘Deep sadness’ at passing of UN nuclear watchdog agency chief, Yukiya Amano
Jul 23, 2019, at 08:53 am
New York, July 23 (IBNS): The head of the UN body that oversees nuclear activities across the world has died aged 72, it was announced on Monday. In a statement, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed the passing of Director General Yukiya Amano, with “deepest sadness”.
S Africa pledges to cooperate with UN court in arrest of genocide suspect
Jul 22, 2019, at 06:01 pm
Cape Town, Jul 22 (Xinhua/UNI) The South African government pledged on Monday to cooperate with the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) in the arrest of genocide suspects.
Jul 20, 2019, at 07:45 am
New York, July 20 (IBNS): In closing the High-level Segment of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on Friday, President Inga Rhonda King assured participants that the session had contributed significantly to advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Jul 20, 2019, at 07:36 am
New York, July 20 (IBNS): The Colombian peace process is an outstanding example of how much support the United Nations can provide when the Security Council is ‘firmly united’, a senior UN envoy said on Friday, calling for the 15-member body’s continued commitment as the country works to overcome secure lasting peace.
Jul 20, 2019, at 06:41 am
New York, July 20 (IBNS): UN chief António Guterres said on Friday he was “deeply saddened” at the death of at least 33 people inside a popular Japanese animation studio, in the city of Kyoto, following an arson attack that constitutes one of the worst mass-killings in the nation’s history.
Jul 19, 2019, at 09:36 am
New York, July 19 (IBNS): Nelson Mandela was an “extraordinary global advocate for dignity and equality” who anyone in public service should seek to emulate, Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message marking the International Day that honours the iconic anti-apartheid campaigner, and South Africa’s first democratically-elected President.
Jul 17, 2019, at 10:06 am
New York, July 17 (IBNS): Many women and girls “still face enormous challenges to their health, well-being and human rights”, Secretary-General António Guterres told a High-level General Assembly meeting on Tuesday conevened to mark the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), a milestone in reproductive health and rights.
Jul 17, 2019, at 09:48 am
New York, July 17 (IBNS): The world’s people are demanding “transformative change that is fair and sustainable,” Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday, calling on government leaders to use the upcoming slate of key United Nations meetings in September to “kickstart a decade of delivery and action for people and planet.”
‘Severe’ new US asylum restrictions will put vulnerable families at risk, UN refugee agency says
Jul 17, 2019, at 09:37 am
New York, July 17 (IBNS): Deeply concerned about the new rule barring from asylum the majority of people crossing the southern land border of the United States, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has warned that the ‘severe’ measure will endanger vulnerable people in need of international protection from violence or persecution.
Survivors of ISIL terror in Iraq want justice, not revenge, says head of UN investigation team
Jul 16, 2019, at 09:25 am
New York, July 16 (IBNS): The scale and barbarity of the crimes committed by ISIL have ultimately served not to divide but to unify, Karim Asad Ahmad Khan, head of the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (UNITAD), told the Security Council on Monday.
‘We won’t get to zero cases of Ebola without a big scale-up in funding,’ UN relief chief warns
Jul 16, 2019, at 09:11 am
New York, July 16 (IBNS): Deadly, attacks on health workers in Ebola-hit areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), including one at the weekend that left two dead, are an indication that combating the disease outbreak will require far greater international support, UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said on Monday.
UN highlights importance of skills development on World Youth Skills Daykills Day
Jul 16, 2019, at 08:56 am
New York, July 16 (IBNS): At UN Headquarters, and across the globe, events are taking place on Monday to celebrate World Youth Skills Day – marked each year on 15 July – to raise awareness about the importance of youth skills development.
Jul 14, 2019, at 03:43 pm
New York, July 14 (IBNS): Access to education in Somaliland is extremely limited, with more than 50 per cent of children in Somaliland out of school. In an effort to address the problem, the UN children’s fund, UNICEF, has partnered with the government, and the global fund Education Cannot Wait, to launch a programme designed to help children affected by ongoing crises in the country.
Jul 13, 2019, at 08:59 am
New York, July 13 (IBNS): The 41st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council ended on Friday with measures taken to address worrying developments in Eritrea, Syria and the Philippines, along with other issues of global concern, such as violence and discrimination against the LGBTI community.
Jul 13, 2019, at 08:54 am
New York, July 13 (IBNS): Determined children learning in classes without roofs, resilient women farming without tools or much land, and grateful people who survived a cyclone that destroyed their livelihoods; on his final day in Mozambique, UN chief António Guterres witnessed first-hand the inner strength and resilience of the storm-ravaged country's people.
Jul 13, 2019, at 08:39 am
New York, July 13 (IBNS): Citing climate change as being caused by “emissions accumulated throughout history”, the head of China’s Xiamen Airlines told the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in New York on Friday that heavy carbon dioxide emitters should “take on greater responsibility” to ameliorate the problem.
As monsoon rains pound Rohingya refugee camps, UN food relief agency steps up aid
Jul 13, 2019, at 08:33 am
New York, July 13 (IBNS): Since 4 July, heavy monsoon rains and wind have pounded the refugee camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, with deaths, displacement and major damage following in their wake, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
Bangladesh: WFP increases response in Cox's Bazar
Jul 12, 2019, at 05:00 pm
Dhaka, July 12 (UNI): Days of heavy monsoon rain and wind have pounded the refugee camps in the Cox’s Bazar area of Bangladesh since July 4, leading to loss of life, displacing 5,600 people, and damaging thousands of homes, said the UN World Food Programme (UNWFP) on Friday.
Jul 10, 2019, at 10:08 am
New York, July 10 (IBNS): Nations across the world now have an “unprecedented opportunity to talk to each other and learn from each other”, Inga Rhonda King, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ESOSOC), said on Tuesday, kicking off the annual High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in New York.
Homicide kills far more people than armed conflict, new UN study shows
Jul 09, 2019, at 08:53 am
New York, July 9 (IBNS): Some 464,000 people across the world were victims of homicidal violence in 2017, more than five times the number killed in armed conflict over the same period, UN researchers said on Monday.
Jul 06, 2019, at 06:37 am
New York, July 6 (IBNS): “The only way out of this crisis is to come together, in dialogue”: that was the clear message delivered by Michelle Bachelet, the UN human rights chief, to the Government of Venezuela on Friday, during an address to the Human Rights Council, coinciding with the publication of a new UN report on Venezuela.
DR Congo: UN food agency triples aid in strife-hit Ituri province
Jul 03, 2019, at 10:05 am
New York, July 3 (IBNS): Food aid is being tripled for troubled Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to respond to what the World Food Programme (WFP) has described as the world’s second largest hunger crisis in the world, after Yemen.
UN Children’s Fund chief condemns 'horrific' Kabul bomb attack
Jul 02, 2019, at 09:47 am
New York, July 2 (IBNS): Scores of children were among the casualties following a bomb attack on a Government building in the Afghan capital of Kabul today, that hit nearby schools. The bombing was described by Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, as “horrific.”
New UN-Syrian Action Plan signals an 'important day' for child protection, says UN envoy
Jul 02, 2019, at 09:39 am
New York, July 2 (IBNS): The top UN official charged with representing the interests of children caught up in armed conflict, has signed a landmark new agreement on child protection with the Force Commander of a main Syrian opposition military alliance, it was announced on Monday, aimed at ending and preventing the recruitment and use of children under the age of 18.
Keeping cool in the face of climate change
Jul 01, 2019, at 09:37 am
New York, July 1 (IBNS): As global temperatures reach record highs, providing cooling systems which are effective, sustainable and which do not harm the environment is increasingly essential for everyday life. That’s according to Rachel Kyte, Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All, and Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL).
Jun 30, 2019, at 03:18 pm
New York, June 30 (IBNS): The world needs to create conditions for “harmony between humankind and nature”, Secretary-General António Guterres said in Osaka, Japan, during a meeting on Saturday with the Foreign Ministers of China and France, on the margins of the G20 summit.
One migrant child reported dead or missing every day, UN calls for more protection
Jun 29, 2019, at 08:09 am
New York, June 29 (IBNS): Around 1,600 children were reported dead or missing between 2014 and 2018 – an average of almost one every day – but many more go unrecorded, a new UN report revealed on Friday.
Jun 29, 2019, at 07:52 am
New York, June 29 (IBNS): The annual G20 summit of leaders from the largest and fastest-growing economies, got underway on Friday in Osaka, Japan, against a backdrop of what UN Secretary-General António Guterres described as “a moment of high political tension”.