UN condemns ‘cowardly’ attack on Libya’s national oil corporation headquarters
Sep 11, 2018, at 08:28 am
New York, Sept 11 (IBNS): The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has strongly condemned Monday’s attack on the National Oil Company (NOC) headquarters in Tripoli.
Madagascar: UN Secretary-General reaffirms support for electoral process
Sep 10, 2018, at 03:18 pm
New York, Sept 10 (IBNS): The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has welcomed the appointment on 7 September of Rivo Rakotovao, President of the Madagascar Senate, as acting president of the country.
UN police investigating killing of displaced people in Central African Republic
Sep 08, 2018, at 08:41 am
New York, Sept 8 (IBNS): Perpetrators behind the killing of a number of people displaced by conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR) must be brought to justice, the UN peacekeeping operation in the country said on Friday.
Halt ‘imminent’ executions of Kurdish prisoners, UN experts urge Iran
Sep 08, 2018, at 08:34 am
New York, Sept 8 (IBNS): Two independent United Nations human rights experts have called on the Iranian Government to halt the execution of three prisoners from the Kurdish community, amid concerns that they did not receive a fair trial and allegations that they were tortured while in detention.
Sep 07, 2018, at 09:15 am
New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): Experts continue to gather information related to an alleged chemical weapons attack in Douma, Syria, earlier this year, the UN’s nuclear disarmament chief told the Security Council on Thursday.
UN chief ‘looks forward’ to progress on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula
Sep 07, 2018, at 09:02 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un’s commitment on Wednesday, to continue working towards the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Sep 07, 2018, at 08:57 am
New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): Around 150 million school children aged 13-15 are the victims of violence from their peers, says a new report from the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF.
‘Legally binding’ nuclear-test ban essential to prevent ‘catastrophic impact’ says UN chief
Sep 07, 2018, at 08:52 am
New York, Sept 7 (IBNS): On the annual observance of the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, Secretary-General António Guterres has highlighted the “inextricable connection” between testing and eliminating nuclear weapons across the world.
Libya has ‘lurched from one emergency to another,’ high-level UN official tells Security Council
Sep 06, 2018, at 09:38 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): The status quo in Libya is “untenable,” Ghassan Salamé, Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) told the Security Council on Wednesday.
Peace must be built ‘block after block’ UN General Assembly President tells key forum
Sep 06, 2018, at 09:35 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): Under the theme of charting “A Credible Pathway to Sustaining Peace,” Miroslav LajÄák, President of the 72nd General Assembly, convened this year’s one-day High-level Forum for Member States and others on Wednesday, to further promote a global culture of peace.
UN media seminar on peace in the Middle East, highlights ‘power of words over weapons’
Sep 06, 2018, at 09:29 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): Engaging in debate over how best to advance peace in the Middle East and resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “a welcome reminder of the power of words over weapons,” said United Nations chief António Guterres on Wednesday.
Major UN push for peace to end Yemen’s ‘hot war’ begins in Geneva
Sep 06, 2018, at 09:26 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): Efforts are under way to bring a “flickering signal of hope” to war-weary civilians in Yemen with UN-organised consultations between the Government and the Houthi opposition in Geneva set to begin, the UN’s Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, said on Wednesday.
Burundi: ‘They’re hiding the bodies’ after summary executions, say UN investigators
Sep 06, 2018, at 09:16 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): Serious rights violations are continuing in Burundi, including summary executions and hate speech at the highest level of government, UN-appointed investigators said on Wednesday.
Guatemala bars UN anti-corruption investigator from re-entering country
Sep 06, 2018, at 09:13 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): Guatemalan authorities informed United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday that they have barred Commissioner Ivan Velasquez, of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), from re-entering the country.
UN Chief commends Mauritania for peaceful election process
Sep 06, 2018, at 08:41 am
New York, Sept 6 (IBNS): UN Secretary-General Antonió Gutteres has welcomed the “peaceful conduct” of the Mauritanian elections that took place on 1 September.
Africa’s Lake Chad Basin: Over $2.1 billion pledged, to provide comprehensive crisis response
Sep 05, 2018, at 09:15 am
New York, Sept 5 (IBNS): A United Nations-backed humanitarian conference to raise much needed resources for relief, development and peacebuilding programmes in Africa’s Lake Chad Basin concluded on Tuesday, raising some $2.17 billion in support and about $467 million in concessional loans for the crisis-ridden region.
Tobacco control, a ‘major component’ of environmental protection efforts – UN health official
Sep 05, 2018, at 09:01 am
New York, Sept 5 (IBNS): From deforestation to soil degradation and pollution, tobacco production and its use by consumers, is “tremendously destructive” for the environment, although control measures can help curb its negative environmental effects, including the damaging impact of climate change, the head of the UN tobacco control treaty watchdog – formally known as the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC - has told UN News.
Sep 04, 2018, at 08:51 am
New York, Sept 4 (IBNS): Despite improvements in the humanitarian situation in the Lake Chad region, millions continue to remain dependent on lifesaving assistance, the top United Nations relief official said on Monday, urging greater international support for the region to safeguard the progress achieved.
In Beijing, UN chief urges China, Africa for a win-win collaboration for ‘the future we want’
Sep 04, 2018, at 08:48 am
New York, Sept 4 (IBNS): Highlighting the economic and development progress made in China and Africa, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged them to unite their combined potential for peaceful, sustainable and equitable progress to the benefit of all humankind.
UN chief urges calm as violence erupts in Libyan capital
Sep 03, 2018, at 09:21 am
New York, Sept 3 (IBNS): Condemning the escalation of violence in and around the Libyan capital, Tripoli, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called on all parties to immediately cease hostilities and grant humanitarian relief to those in need.
Mauritania: UN chief urges peaceful, credible elections
Sep 02, 2018, at 04:28 pm
New York, Sept 2 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called on all parties in Mauritania to ensure peaceful and credible elections as the country holds legislative, regional and municipal polls on Saturday.
Nicaragua banishes UN human rights team for critical report
Sep 01, 2018, at 01:22 pm
Managua, Sept 1 (IBNS): The Nicaraguan government has ordered a team of United nations human rights to leave the country, after the latter submitted a report critical of President Daniel Ortega's administration.
Development gains unsustainable without cyber-diplomacy, UN official says
Sep 01, 2018, at 08:27 am
New York, Sept 1 (IBNS): Hacking, child sexual exploitation and other cybercrimes could keep countries from reaching their development goals, warns a United Nations official who is urging Governments and private sectors to rethink how they work together.
Food, security and peace desperately needed in Mali – UN relief chief
Sep 01, 2018, at 08:24 am
New York, Sept 1 (IBNS): A senior United Nations relief official has called for greater international attention to the plight of millions in Africa’s Mali, where worsening intercommunal violence and armed group attacks are complicating an already complex humanitarian emergency.
Refugees overcrowded to ‘boiling point’ on Greek island, warns UN agency
Sep 01, 2018, at 08:10 am
New York, Sept 1 (IBNS): The Government of Greece has been urged by the United Nations to do more to help thousands of asylum-seekers and migrants who have been “crammed” into island reception centres, amid reports that children have tried to take their own lives there.
Security Council extends mandate of UN Interim Force in Lebanon for a year
Aug 31, 2018, at 09:02 am
New York, Aug 31 (IBNS): In a unanimous action, the United Nations Security Council extended the mandate of the Organization’s peacekeeping mission in Lebanon until 31 August next year.
Guinea-Bissau: Upcoming elections vital to prevent ‘relapse’ into instability, says UN envoy
Aug 31, 2018, at 08:52 am
New York, Aug 31 (IBNS): Highlighting the importance of the upcoming legislative elections in Guinea-Bissau, the top United Nations official in the country reiterated the importance of “far-reaching” reforms to prevent a relapse into political and institutional instability.
Aug 31, 2018, at 08:37 am
New York, Aug 31 (IBNS): A massive military escalation by the Government of Syria to retake Idlib risks a “worst case scenario”, United Nations negotiator Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday.
Aug 30, 2018, at 08:29 am
New York, Aug 30 (IBNS): As war and the mediation of peace have become increasingly complex, innovative thinking is needed to save and improve the lives of millions, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council on Wednesday.
Syria: UN chief warns Idlib offensive may set off ‘humanitarian catastrophe’
Aug 30, 2018, at 08:26 am
New York, Aug 30(IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday expressed deep concern over the growing risk of a humanitarian catastrophe should a full-scale military operation take place in Syria’s war-battered Idlib province.