South Sudan's government forces committed widespread violations in July fighting – UN
Aug 05, 2016, at 04:06 am
New York, Aug 4 (Just Earth News): Preliminary United Nations investigations into the recent fighting in South Sudan reveal Government security forces carried out killings and rapes, and looted and destroyed properties, the UN human rights chief said on Thursday, calling on the Security Council to take stronger action.
UN ‘deeply troubled’ by latest DPRK missile launch
Aug 04, 2016, at 01:19 pm
New York, Aug 4 (Just Earth News): The United Nations is "deeply troubled" by the recent missile launches of the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK), a UN spokesperson said on Wednesday after one of the rockets, reportedly landed in or near Japanese waters for the first time.
UN agency launches smartphone app in drought-hit Malawi to fundraise for school meals
Aug 04, 2016, at 01:17 pm
New York, Aug 4 (Just Earth News): The United Nations food relief agency on Wednesday started a fundraising campaign, using a smartphone application, to provide school meals in a southern district of Malawi, where El Niño-induced drought has reduced crop yields.
Syria: ISIL’s genocide of Yazidis ‘ongoing,’ UN inquiry warns
Aug 04, 2016, at 03:47 am
New York, Aug 3 (Just Earth News): A United Nations-mandated inquiry on human rights in Syria on Wednesday called for an end to the genocide and other crimes committed by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) against the Yazidis, recommending that the UN Security Council refer the situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or an ad hoc tribunal.
UN warns of escalating tension in eastern Ukraine as casualties hit highest since last August
Aug 04, 2016, at 03:45 am
New York, Aug 3 (Just Earth News): Civilian causalities in eastern Ukraine spiked in June and July, prompting the United Nations human rights chief to call on the parties to the conflict to make protection of civilians a priority and take urgent steps to de-escalate the increasingly tense situation at the contact line.
Colombia peace accord offers chance to ‘close chapter of war once and for all’ – UN envoy
Aug 03, 2016, at 12:44 pm
New York, Aug 3 (Just Earth News): The head of the new United Nations political mission in Colombia on Tuesday pledged the world body’s steadfast support for the full implementation of the accord reached by the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People’s Army (FARC-EP), which seeks to bring an end the longest-running conflict in the Western Hemisphere.
Aug 03, 2016, at 12:43 pm
New York, Aug 3 (Just Earth News): Deeply disturbed by reports that five hospitals and a blood bank have been hit by airstrikes in Syria, the United Nations on Tuesday reiterated its call on all parties to the conflict to end the destruction of medical facilities and other civilian infrastructure.
Undernutrition in Ghana takes huge human and economic toll – new UN study
Aug 03, 2016, at 12:39 pm
New York, Aug 3 (Just Earth News): The economy of Ghana has been losing some $2.6 billion annually – or 6.4 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) – due to child undernutrition, according to a new United Nations study launched on Tuesday in the country’s capital, Accra.
‘If you want to protect your image, protect children,’ Ban tells debate on war-affected children
Aug 03, 2016, at 12:38 pm
New York, Aug 3 (Just Earth News): With children continuing to be tortured, maimed, imprisoned, starved, sexually abused and killed in armed conflict, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday called on all countries to back their words with concrete actions to end such violations.
Some 60,000 flee recent South Sudan violence, bringing exodus to 900,000 since 2013 – UN
Aug 03, 2016, at 03:35 am
New York, Aug 2 (Just Earth News): Some 60,000 people have fled South Sudan's recent violence in the capital city of Juba, bringing the overall number of South Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries since December 2013 to nearly 900,000, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday.
Some 25,000 people displaced by military attacks in western Aleppo – UNICEF
Aug 02, 2016, at 01:15 pm
New York, Aug 2 (Just Earth News): About 25,000 people, including more than 12,000 children, have been displaced last night from a neighbourhood in western Aleppo City by intense military attacks initiated by armed opposition groups, a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) official in Syria said on Monday, calling on the warring parties to do their utmost to protect all civilians.
Yemen: Focusing on local suppliers, UN agency reaches thousands more in need of food aid
Aug 02, 2016, at 01:06 pm
New York, Aug 2 (Just Earth News): The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has recorded a nearly five-fold increase in the number to whom it has provided assistance in hard-to-reach areas across war-torn Yemen, through an innovative, locally driven voucher initiative.
Yemeni peace talks extended for another week – UN envoy
Jul 31, 2016, at 12:32 pm
New York, July 30 (Just Earth News): With all eyes on Yemeni peace negotiations, the United Nations envoy for the country announced on Saturday that the UN-supported talks under way in Kuwait have been extended for an additional week.
On Friendship Day, Ban says lives can be enriched, future enhanced through unity and camaraderie
Jul 31, 2016, at 03:38 am
New York, July 30 (Just Earth News): Marking the International Day of Friendship, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday urged everyone to unite in a shared spirit of human solidarity to overcome the crises confronting the global society.
Security Council approves 228-strong UN police contingent for Burundi
Jul 30, 2016, at 03:42 pm
New York, July 30 (Just Earth News):The Security Council this evening requested Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to establish a United Nations police officers component in Burundi for an initial period of one year to monitor the security situation and to support the Office of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) in monitoring rights violations and abuses in the crisis-gripped country.
UN envoy cites urgent need to establish 48 hour pause for humanitarian access to Aleppo
Jul 30, 2016, at 03:30 pm
New York, July 30 (Just Earth News):As the humanitarian crisis reaches distressing levels in Syria, particularly in and around battle-torn Aleppo, the United Nations envoy for the country welcomed on Fridayinitiatives aimed at assisting the civilian population trapped amid the fighting and, “under the right circumstances,†the implementation of humanitarian corridors.
After attack on convoy, UN suspends aid delivery in areas of restive north-eastern Nigeria
Jul 30, 2016, at 03:23 pm
New York, July 30 (Just Earth News):The United Nations has temporarily halted humanitarian assistance missions in north-eastern Nigeria’s restive Borno state after on Thursday’s attack on a multi-agency aid convoy which had been delivering desperately needed relief aid in a remote area of the region, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
UN rights office shocked by inhumane treatment of children in Australian detention centre
Jul 30, 2016, at 03:04 pm
New York, July 30 (Just Earth News):The United Nations human rights office said on Fridayit is shocked by video footage that has emerged from Don Dale youth detention centre in the Northern Territory in Australia, showing children as young as 10 years old – many of whom are Aboriginal children – being held in inhumane conditions and treated cruelly.
Millions worldwide trapped in vicious cycle of violence and hunger – UN
Jul 30, 2016, at 05:24 am
New York, July 29 (Just Earth News): Two United Nations agencies warned the UN Security Council on Friday that ongoing conflicts around the world have pushed more than 56 million people into “crisis†or “emergency†levels of food insecurity and are hindering efforts to eradicate malnutrition.
Jul 29, 2016, at 01:47 pm
New York, July 29 (Just Earth News): Opening the first meeting of the 2017 session of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the body’s new President, Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, of Zimbabwe, said on Thursday that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a “rallying call†to address the complex challenges facing the world.
UN and OSCE experts condemn Turkey’s crackdown on media
Jul 29, 2016, at 01:44 pm
New York, July 29 (Just Earth News): Two top media freedom experts of the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Thursday condemned the ongoing crackdown on journalists and the media by the Government of Turkey in the wake of the recent attempted coup.
Proposed humanitarian corridors in Aleppo must be guaranteed by all sides, says UN relief chief
Jul 29, 2016, at 01:37 pm
New York, July 29 (Just Earth News): Amid reports that Aleppo is ‘de facto besieged,’ as the war-battered city is now almost completely encircled by Syrian troops, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator on Thursday reiterated his demand for safe, regular and sustained access to the quarter of a million people trapped behind the front lines, and stressed that “all options must be considered.â€
Jul 29, 2016, at 04:17 am
New York, July 28 (Just Earth News): Many African elephants continued to face serious threats to their survival in 2015 from the illegal trade in ivory and unacceptably high levels of poaching, although the sharp upward trends in poaching since 2006 have started to level off, according to the Secretariat of the United Nations-backed treaty regulating wildlife trade.
UN warns of more heatwave deaths as climate change pushes up temperatures
Jul 29, 2016, at 04:12 am
New York, July 28 (Just Earth News): Warning of a possible rise in heatwave deaths due to climate change, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) on Thursday called for measures to reduce mortality from this natural hazard.
Root causes of Boko Haram threat in Lake Chad Basin must be tackled – UN political chief
Jul 28, 2016, at 01:29 pm
New York, July 28 (Just Earth News): To bring an end to the Boko Haram threat in the Lake Chad Basin region, affected countries must address the root causes that contributed to the emergence of the group, including the social, economic and political grievances of marginalized communities, the top United Nations political affairs official said on Wednesday.
UN deputy aid chief calls for strengthened response to upcoming La Niña weather event
Jul 28, 2016, at 01:28 pm
New York, July 28 (Just Earth News): Following a week-long visit to southern Africa, the United Nations deputy humanitarian chief has called for increased efforts to help mitigate the impact of the La Niña weather phenomenon occurring towards the end of the year.
Turkey: In call with Foreign Minister, Ban seeks update on current probe into attempted coup
Jul 28, 2016, at 01:25 pm
New York, July 28 (Just Earth News): In a telephone call with the Turkish Foreign Minister on Wednesday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sought an update on current investigations and measures to hold those responsible for the attempted coup to account, and reiterated his expectation that Turkey adhere to its international human rights obligations.
UN experts urge Dominican Republic to protect women’s rights to reproductive health
Jul 28, 2016, at 04:43 am
New York, July 27 (Just Earth News): Expressing serious concern over the proposed penal code amendment that would criminalize abortions, United Nations human rights experts on Wednesday urged the Dominican Republic’s President and legislators to protect women’s rights to sexual and reproductive health in the Caribbean country.
FEATURE: Tackling cholera in Haiti by building sanitary cordons
Jul 28, 2016, at 04:37 am
New York, July 27 (Just Earth News): “Wash my hands before eating and nursing the baby, wash my hands after relieving myself, use Aquatabs to purify the water…†and so, Sherline Deus lists the steps she must take to protect herself and her children from cholera in the town of Grand Bois, located in in north-eastern Haiti, near the country's border with the Dominican Republic.
UN rushes to ramp up support for South Sudan's battle against cholera outbreak
Jul 28, 2016, at 04:36 am
New York, July 27 (Just Earth News): The United Nations and its partners are rushing to ramp up support for South Sudan's fight to contain a cholera outbreak through measures, including an oral vaccination campaign to reach over 14,000 people and the creation of treatment and rehydration centres.