UN chief welcomes new Government in Lebanon, after eight-month impasse
Feb 02, 2019, at 10:30 am
New York, Feb 2 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed, on Friday, the announcement of a new Government in Lebanon; the result of eight months of negotiation, following general elections last May.
Feb 02, 2019, at 10:10 am
New York, Feb 2 (IBNS): Hundreds of ancestral languages have gone silent in recent generations, taking with them the culture, knowledge and traditions of the people who spoke them. To preserve and revitalize those that remain, the United Nations on Friday officially launched the International Year of Indigenous Languages, at UN Headquarters in New York.
Top envoy to Yemen praises ‘flexibility’ of chief negotiators as new UN mission chief is named
Feb 01, 2019, at 08:58 am
New York, Feb 1 (IBNS): The UN Special Envoy for Yemen said on Thursday that the main negotiators for the warring sides were continuing to show the “necessary flexibility and good faith” to move forward, despite delays in implementing the agreement marking the first steps towards a lasting peace deal, brokered in Sweden last December.
Feb 01, 2019, at 08:55 am
New York, Feb 1 (IBNS): The Holocaust illustrates how easily “people can move from condoning brutality, to committing genocide” and shows that “leaders who sanction hate speech or make anti-Semitic or xenophobic slurs” are encouraging their own citizens “to do the same”, the UN’s head of Global Communications told leading members of the Jewish community at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday.
Syria: ‘Violence, displacement’ and cold kill 11 infants ‘in the past two days’
Feb 01, 2019, at 08:51 am
New York, Feb 1 (IBNS): “Violence, displacement and extremely harsh conditions” in northern and eastern Syria have killed at least 32 children since December – including 11 infants in the past two days, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) revealed on Thursday.
Nearly $4 billion needed to protect 41 million children from conflict and disaster
Jan 30, 2019, at 08:46 am
New York, Jan 30 (IBNS): Tens of millions of children living through conflict, disaster and other emergencies in dozens of countries urgently need protection, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday, in an appeal for $3.9 billion to support its humanitarian work around the world.
Jan 29, 2019, at 05:21 am
New York, Jan 29 (IBNS): More than seven decades ago in Auschwitz, Jewish teenager Marian Turski felt he “had no name, he had nothing, but a number” tattooed on his body. Speaking on Monday, at the annual Holocaust Memorial Ceremony, at United Nations Headquarters in New York, the 92-year-old called on the world to express renewed “empathy and compassion”.
Link between conflict and hunger worldwide, ‘all too persistent and deadly’, says new UN report
Jan 29, 2019, at 05:14 am
New York, Jan 29 (IBNS): Conflict-driven hunger is getting worse, according to a snapshot of the eight places in the world with the highest number of people in need of emergency food support, and the link between them is “all too persistent and deadly” according to a new report delivered to the UN Security Council on Monday.
Bigotry ‘moving at lightning speed’ Guterres warns, as UN marks the Holocaust
Jan 29, 2019, at 05:12 am
New York, Jan 29 (IBNS): Amid an “alarming increase” in anti-Semitism, International Holocaust Remembrance Day was commemorated at UN Headquarters in New York on Monday, honouring the memory of some six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust during World War Two, along with many other victims of what the UN chief called “unprecedented, calculated cruelty and horror”.
Despite setbacks, ‘political will’ to end Yemen war stronger than ever: top UN envoy
Jan 29, 2019, at 05:09 am
New York, Jan 29 (IBNS): The ceasefire in Yemen’s crucial port city of Hudaydah is “generally holding” and deadlines have had to be extended, but the UN’s Special Envoy said on Monday that “more than any time in the past” the political will remains to end years of conflict that has left millions on the brink of starvation.
Jan 27, 2019, at 06:26 pm
New York, Jan 27 (IBNS): Warning that anti-Semitism, the world’s oldest prejudice, has persisted to torment new generations, Secretary-General António Guterres has pledged that the United Nations will always be at the forefront of the fight against all forms of hatred, and work to strengthen efforts to uphold human dignity for all.
Jan 27, 2019, at 06:19 pm
New York, Jan 27 (IBNS): The top UN political official told the Security Council on Saturday that dialogue and cooperation were vital to ending the crisis in Venezuela, but during a contentious debate, Council members disagreed over the appropriate response to mass protests in the South American country and competing claims to the presidency.
‘Stigma plays a big role’ in failure to tackle world opioid crisis, advocate tells UN
Jan 25, 2019, at 10:15 am
New York, Jan 25 (IBNS):The recognition of drug addiction as a disease was the focus of a panel discussion at United Nations Headquarters on Thursday. “Leaving No One Behind: the Opioid Epidemic as a Global Challenge”, was organized by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), to highlight the growing problem of addiction worldwide.
‘Education transforms lives’ says UN chief on first-ever International Day
Jan 25, 2019, at 10:02 am
New York, Jan 25 (IBNS): Education is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development because it gives people across the world the skills needed to realize all 17 Global Goals (SDGs), said the UN chief on Thursday, marking the first-ever International Day of Education.
Jan 25, 2019, at 09:57 am
New York, Jan 25 (IBNS): The world’s problems are “more and more integrated” but the response to them is increasingly “fragmented” and “dysfunctional”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday, in an appeal for governments and other partners to respond to people’s grievances and recommit to international cooperation.
UN chief calls on Venezuela’s politicians to ‘avoid escalation’, end suffering of the people
Jan 25, 2019, at 09:44 am
New York, Jan 25 (IBNS): Reports of violence and casualties linked to unrest in Venezuela should be investigated transparently and independently, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday, before calling for calm.
Central African Republic militia leader and football executive, transferred to ICC
Jan 24, 2019, at 08:52 am
New York, Jan 24 (IBNS): Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona, the coordinator of a mainly Christian militia faction in the Central African Republic and a senior African football executive, has been transferred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face accusations of crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Jan 24, 2019, at 08:45 am
New York, Jan 24 (IBNS): Key discussions among global decision-makers and influencers have taken place at the UN in Geneva this week, aiming to limit the growing risk of international cyber-attacks while promoting the advantages of digital technology, amid a call by the UN chief for “bold, innovative ideas”
‘Countless opportunities’ for new people-centred workplace, but ‘decisive action’ critical
Jan 23, 2019, at 10:00 am
New York, Jan 23 (IBNS): Unprecedented innovations in the world of work provide “countless opportunities” but unless they are embraced through action, inequality and uncertainty will only widen in the workplace, according to a landmark new International Labour Organization (ILO) report released on Tuesday.
New UN bullying report calls for ‘safe, inclusive’ schools for all children
Jan 23, 2019, at 09:52 am
New York, Jan 23 (IBNS): The emotional and physical pain brought on by bullying can be excruciating, yet this behavior continues to abound in schools globally, according to a new report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that is calling for all children to have access to a "safe, inclusive” learning environment.
‘Compelling case’ for urgency around global disarmament, UN-led forum told
Jan 22, 2019, at 10:15 am
New York, Jan 22 (IBNS): Michael Møller, head of the UN in Geneva, has warned delegates to the Conference on Disarmament that cyber-security challenges, and the existence of new weapons systems and technologies, are not being sufficiently addressed or reflected in current arms control regimes.
Ten UN peacekeepers killed in a terrorist attack in northern Mali
Jan 21, 2019, at 08:33 am
New York, Jan 21 (IBNS): Ten ‘blue helmets’ from the United Nations Stabilization Mission In Mali (MINUSMA) were killed on Sunday following a complex terrorist attack against the mission’s camp in Aguelhok, in the Kidal region, northern Mali.
Thousands returning to Nigeria’s restive Borno state ‘at risk’; UN ‘gravely concerned’
Jan 19, 2019, at 09:39 am
New York, Jan 19 (IBNS): Amid reports that Cameroon is forcing several thousand Nigerians to return to Borno state in the country’s crisis-gripped north-east, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) deplored the move, saying it has put lives “at risk”.
UN agency chief calls Ethiopia’s revised refugee law ‘one of most progressive’ in Africa
Jan 19, 2019, at 09:30 am
New York, Jan 19 (IBNS): Ethiopia has revised its existing refugee law, making it easier to obtain work permits, drivers’ licenses and access primary school, a move being hailed by the head of the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).
UN rights office calls on Zimbabwe Government to end ‘crackdown’ in response to fuel protests
Jan 19, 2019, at 09:25 am
New York, Jan 19 (IBNS): In Zimbabwe, violence and the reported use of live ammunition by State security officials against protesters that has led to “a number of deaths” should be investigated thoroughly and transparently by the Government, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday.
Jan 18, 2019, at 09:00 am
New York, Jan 18 (IBNS): The reported use of “excessive force” against demonstrators across Sudan over food and fuel shortages that has led to the deaths of at least 24 people is “deeply worrying”, the UN’s top human rights official, Michelle Bachelet, said on Thursday.
Iran: Women hunger strikers entitled to medical care, UN rights experts urge
Jan 17, 2019, at 12:50 pm
New York, Jan 17 (IBNS): A group of six independent United Nations rights experts called on Iran Wednesday to urgently provide Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Narges Mohammadi access to appropriate health care, and reiterated calls for their immediate release, as they continue a hunger strike in protest.
Nearly 900 reportedly killed following ‘shocking’ intercommunal attacks in DR Congo
Jan 17, 2019, at 12:48 pm
New York, Jan 17 (IBNS): The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said on Wednesday that at least 890 villagers were reportedly killed in the western Democratic Republic of the Congo last month, following brutal inter-communal clashes.
Mali: ‘Dire’ humanitarian situation, ‘grave’ security concerns challenge fragile peace
Jan 17, 2019, at 12:41 pm
New York, Jan 17 (IBNS): With over 800 schools forced to close due to insecurity, and 2.3 million vulnerable people in need of assistance this year, a top UN official told the Security Council on Wednesday that the humanitarian situation in Mali “remains dire”.
‘Proving our worth through action’: 5 things Guterres wants the UN to focus on in 2019
Jan 17, 2019, at 12:39 pm
New York, Jan 17 (IBNS): Despite countless “headwinds” and “ills”, the United Nations has “made a real difference” in 2018 and will need to achieve even more in 2019, as the planet faces “a world of trouble”.