Reverse ‘negative trajectory’ and restore hope for two-state solution, says UN Middle East envoy
Aug 30, 2016, at 01:41 pm
New York, Aug 30 (Just Earth News): The United Nations senior official coordinating efforts towards the peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Monday reiterated a call for both sides to work towards a negotiated two-state solution which envisages the co-existence of Palestine and Israel as amicable neighbours.
UN expert urges Iran to halt executions of 12 individuals for drug-related offences
Aug 27, 2016, at 01:38 pm
New York, Aug 27 (Just Earth News): The United Nations rights expert on the situation of human rights in Iran has called on the Government to immediately halt the execution of 12 individuals, all of whom have been reportedly sentenced to death for drug-related offences.
UN agencies urge efforts to halt Gaza’s ‘de-development’ trajectory
Aug 27, 2016, at 04:37 am
New York, Aug 26 (Just Earth News): Marking the second anniversary of the 2014 ceasefire which ended the most devastating round of hostilities in Gaza, heads of United Nations agencies there have called for a greater flow of material and funding to address humanitarian needs and boost economic prospects for Gaza’s 1.9 million residents.
UN rights chief calls for international probe into alleged violations in Yemen
Aug 26, 2016, at 04:28 am
New York, Aug 25 (Just Earth News): Underlining the seriousness of alleged breaches of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in Yemen, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on the international community to establish an international, independent body to carry out comprehensive investigations in the country.
UN envoy encouraged by preparations for upcoming Palestinian local elevations
Aug 25, 2016, at 01:20 pm
New York, Aug 25 (Just Earth News): United Nations Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Piper on Wednesday said he is encouraged by preparations for the early October poll across the occupied West Bank and Gaza – the first such concurrent elections in a decade – and appealed to all Palestinian parties to stick to the agreed code of conduct and to refrain from actions that could undermine the process.
Increasingly complex armed conflicts have dire impact on children – UN envoy
Aug 25, 2016, at 01:18 pm
New York, Aug 25 (Just Earth News): The impact on children of the collective failure to prevent and end conflict is severe, with regions in turmoil and violations against children intensifying in a number of conflicts, the senior United Nations envoy on the subject said on Wednesday, stressing that this situation stems directly from an erosion of respect for international humanitarian and human rights law by conflict parties.
UN rights experts call on Bangladesh to annul death sentence against opposition member
Aug 25, 2016, at 03:44 am
New York, Aug 24 (Just Earth News): Amid reports that the trial of Mir Quasem Ali, a senior opposition member, and its appeal processes were marred with irregularities and failed to meet international fair trial and due process standards, a group of United Nations human rights experts have urged the Government of Bangladesh to annul the death sentence imposed upon him, and to re-try him in compliance with international standards.
UN rights office expresses concern over death of member of opposition party in Gambia
Aug 24, 2016, at 02:10 pm
New York, Aug 24 (Just Earth News): The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has deplored the death in custody of Ebrima Solo Kurumah, a member of the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), last Saturday, a spokesperson for the Office said.
China’s poverty alleviation must be accompanied by accountability – UN rights expert
Aug 24, 2016, at 02:09 pm
New York, Aug 24 (Just Earth News): China has made huge progress in poverty alleviation, but needs meaningful accountability mechanisms that citizens can use when their rights are violated in the context of development-related activities, a United Nations human rights expert said on Tuesday.
UN human rights office concerned for the health of protestor in Israel
Aug 24, 2016, at 02:05 pm
New York, Aug 24 (Just Earth News): The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Tuesday expressed concern over the deteriorating health of a 35-year-old Palestinian man who has been on a hunger strike against his administrative detention since 15 June, after having already completed his 14-and-a-half years prison sentence.
DR Congo: UN chief notes holding of preparatory meeting towards national dialogue
Aug 24, 2016, at 02:04 pm
New York, Aug 24 (Just Earth News): Noting on Tuesday’s meeting of the national dialogue preparatory committee in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated a call for an inclusive political dialogue to overcome an impasse in the electoral process.
Iraq: UN refugee agency readies for massive displacement amid military offensive in Mosul
Aug 24, 2016, at 02:00 pm
New York, Aug 24 (Just Earth News): With military action turning towards retaking Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, the United Nations refugee agency warns that displacement may worsen “dramatically,†and announced preparations to ramp up operations and set up additional camps.
Aug 24, 2016, at 01:58 pm
New York, Aug 24 (Just Earth News): When he was 19, Mubin Shaikh, believed that “you could change the world overnight, and you could do it through violence.â€
As ICC trial opens, Malian extremist admits guilt to destroying historic sites in Timbuktu
Aug 23, 2016, at 01:09 pm
New York, Aug 23 (Just Earth News): An alleged Malian Islamist accused of destroying historical and religious monuments in the fabled city of Timbuktu pleaded guilty in the first-ever international war crimes trial focusing on destruction of cultural heritage, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on the opening day of the landmark case, which was welcomed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
‘Pressure’ on Palestinian households to move raises risk of forcible transfers – UN official
Aug 23, 2016, at 04:58 am
New York, Aug 22 (Just Earth News): A senior United Nations official has cautioned that many Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank are facing a heightened risk of forcible transfer Bedouins as there has been a recent surge in the number of demolitions in the area.
UN health agency’s African member States adopt new malaria framework
Aug 23, 2016, at 04:56 am
New York, Aug 22 (Just Earth News): With Africa still accounting for more than 90 per cent of global malaria deaths in 2015, the United Nations health agency’s member States in the region have adopted a new framework on implementing a strategy towards a malaria-free continent.
More than three million displaced in Yemen – joint UN agency report
Aug 23, 2016, at 04:54 am
New York, Aug 22 (Just Earth News): A joint report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has found that the conflict in Yemen has resulted in the displacement of some 3,154,572 people, of which 2,205,102 remain displaced across the country and some 949,470 have attempted to return home.
Turkey: UN chief condemns terrorist attack on wedding party that kills atleast 50 people
Aug 22, 2016, at 12:45 pm
New York, Aug 22 (Just Earth News): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday condemned yesterday's terrorist attack on a wedding party in the Turkish city of Gaziantep – an act that was reportedly carried out by a suicide bomber and killed at least 50 people and wounded dozens of others.
ICE UN official 'deeply concerned' about health of detained Palestinian hunger striker
Aug 21, 2016, at 12:49 pm
New York, Aug 21 (Just Earth News): A senior United Nations official on Saturday expressed a deep concern about the deteriorating health of a Palestinian detainee on hunger strike for more than two months in protest of his detention after completing a 14.5-year prison sentence.
Honduras: Killing of rights defenders highlight perils they face, says UN rights office
Aug 20, 2016, at 01:28 pm
New York, Aug 20 (Just Earth News): With at least eight human rights defenders killed in Honduras this year, two United Nations and international rights experts on Friday said the country is one of the most hostile and dangerous for rights defenders and urged the Government to take urgent steps to ensure their protection.
UN rights office urges Ethiopia to ensure independent probe of reported violations in Oromia region
Aug 20, 2016, at 01:26 pm
New York, Aug 20 (Just Earth News): Voicing concern over serious human rights violations in the Oromia and Amhara regions of Ethiopia earlier this month, the United Nations human rights chief on Friday urged the Government to ensure access for independent observers to affected areas and to work towards opening up political and democratic reform.
Aug 20, 2016, at 01:24 pm
New York, Aug 20 (Just Earth News): Earlier on Friday, the spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke about how the UN system is actively working to develop a package that would provide material assistance and support to those Haitians most directly affected by the outbreak of cholera in the Caribbean nation.
Citing UN’s moral responsibility, Ban pledges support to Haiti in overcoming cholera epidemic
Aug 20, 2016, at 01:18 pm
New York, Aug 20 (Just Earth News): Noting that a United States federal appeals court has upheld the United Nations’ immunity from a damage claim filed on behalf cholera victims in Haiti, the Organization on Friday said that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deeply regrets the “terrible suffering†of the Haitian people and that the UN has a moral responsibility to the support the victims and the country in overcoming the epidemic.
UN experts press Turkey to adhere to human rights obligations despite state of emergency
Aug 20, 2016, at 01:16 pm
New York, Aug 20 (Just Earth News): United Nations human rights experts on Friday urged Turkey to uphold its obligations under international human rights law despite the attempted mid-July coup and during the subsequent state of emergency.
New UN report lays bare widespread ISIL ‘atrocities’ committed against Yazidis in Iraq
Aug 19, 2016, at 01:31 pm
New York, Aug 19 (Just Earth News): A new United Nations report lays bare the widespread and systematic manner in which the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, Da’esh) has committed “terrible atrocities†against the Yezidi and other ethnic and religious communities, the UN envoy for Iraq said on Thursday, calling for the perpetrators to be fully and properly held to account.
UN rights experts urge Philippines to end wave of extrajudicial killings amid major drug crackdown
Aug 19, 2016, at 01:22 pm
New York, Aug 19 (Just Earth News): Amid a recent massive anti-crime and anti-drug crackdown in the Philippines that has claimed the lives of more than 850 suspected criminals, two United Nations human rights experts on Thursday urged the Government to end the wave of extrajudicial executions and killings, stressing that drug charges should be “judged in a court of law, not by gunmen on the streets.â€
Yemen: Ban again calls for end to hostilities as ground fighting, airstrikes escalate
Aug 18, 2016, at 01:23 pm
New York, Aug 18 (Just Earth News): Alarmed by escalating airstrikes and ground fighting in Yemen and along the Saudi Arabia-Yemen border since, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon repeated his call on all the parties to the conflict to immediately cease all hostilities and for the Yemeni parties to return to the recently-ended direct talks facilitated by his envoy.
Aug 18, 2016, at 01:19 pm
New York, Aug 18 (Just Earth News): Speaking ahead of the 10th anniversary of the illegal dumping of toxic waste in Côte d’Ivoire, a group of United Nations experts on Wednesday urged the Ivorian Government, all responsible States and the international community to use the opportunity to address the ongoing human rights impacts of the incident.
Aug 18, 2016, at 04:08 am
New York, Aug 17 (Just Earth News): UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Patricia Espinosa as the new Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in May this year.
UN aid chief releases $50 million 'lifeline' in emergency funds for people in urgent need
Aug 17, 2016, at 01:24 pm
New York, Aug 17 (Just Earth News): The top United Nations relief official released on Tuesday $50 million for severely underfunded aid operations in six neglected emergencies around the world from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which supports urgent, life-saving humanitarian responses.