Guterres grateful for US support as largest UN contributor; will work with Member States on reform
Mar 17, 2017, at 01:56 pm
New York, Mar 17 (Just Earth News): Secretary-General António Guterres is committed to reforming the United Nations and stands ready to discuss with the United States and any other Member State how best to create a more cost-effective Organization that can tackle the enormous challenges facing the international community, his spokesman said on Thursday.
Employers must address all aspects of gender-based violence in workplace – UN Women chief
Mar 17, 2017, at 01:55 pm
New York, Mar 17 (Just Earth News): Tolerating violence against women in the workplace will have a huge cost to employers, including lost productivity, legal expenses, high turnover, sick leaves and harm to corporate reputation, panellists on Thursday told a United Nations-hosted discussion, urging Governments and institutions alike to take responsibility for putting in place adequate standards and measures to prevent such practices.
Mar 17, 2017, at 01:53 pm
New York, Mar 17 (Just Earth News): The United Nations and its humanitarian partners in Iraq are scrambling to get emergency sites ready amidst a mass exodus from West Mosul, with nearly 700,000 civilians still living in the city where Iraqi forces are fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), according to the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the country.
Mar 17, 2017, at 04:17 am
New York, Mar 16 (Just Earth News): The Security Council is on Thursday discussing the peace efforts in the Central African Republic (CAR), where half of the population urgently needs aid despite a huge funding gap, according to the United Nations humanitarian arm.
UN appeals for nearly $170 million to aid pastoralists in northern Kenya
Mar 17, 2017, at 04:14 am
New York, Mar 16 (Just Earth News): The United Nations and its humanitarian partners on Thursday appealed for $166 million to aid Kenyan pastoralists and farmers whose livestock and crops are suffering amid what the Government declared a “national drought disaster.â€
Somalia: UN-backed cholera vaccination campaign targets 450,000 people
Mar 17, 2017, at 04:13 am
New York, Mar 16 (Just Earth News): The Government of Somalia has launched an oral cholera vaccination (OCV) campaign on Thursday with the support of the United Nations health agency, targeting over 450,000 people in seven high-risk areas around the country.
France: Government issues terror attack alert
Mar 17, 2017, at 01:33 am
Grasse, Mar 16 (IBNS): The French Government has issued an alert on terror attack after a shooting took place in a school of Grasse in the French Riviera on Thursday, according to a media report.
UN reports slow women’s political parity; launches latest ‘Women in Politics’ map
Mar 16, 2017, at 01:50 pm
New York, Mar 16 (Just Earth News): Women’s voices are still missing from the executive branches of governments and parliaments worldwide, slowing achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nations agency tasked with supporting gender equality on Wednesday said at the launch of a visual representation of women’s political empowerment.
Mar 16, 2017, at 01:49 pm
New York, Mar 16 (Just Earth News): As the brutal war in Syria enters its seventh year, peace “is a moral and political imperative both for the Syrian people and for the world,†United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday, urging the conflict parties to fully back a fragile ceasefire and ensure aid access, as well as to support UN-facilitated talks set to pick up again late this month.
At Security Council, UN officials urge governments to implement rules on prosecuting traffickers
Mar 16, 2017, at 04:13 am
New York, Mar 15 (Just Earth News): Human trafficking thrives in countries where the rule of law is weak or non-existent, top United Nations officials on Wednesday told the Security Council, calling on Governments to make better use of the tools created under the UN flag to stop the victimization of men, women and children.
Yemen ‘one of worst hunger crises in the world,’ UN-supported study finds
Mar 16, 2017, at 04:12 am
New York, Mar 15 (Just Earth News): An estimated 17 million people in Yemen are hungry, according to analysis released on Wednesday by the United Nations and humanitarian partners, up more than 20 per cent in the past nine months.
UN launches 'Platform of Champions' calling to end global gender pay gap
Mar 15, 2017, at 01:08 pm
New York, Mar 15 (Just Earth News): With women being paid an average of 23 per cent less than men, the United Nations has launched a high-profile network to call for equal pay for work of equal value.
UN rights wing urges calm, protection of civilians amid hostilities in eastern Libya
Mar 15, 2017, at 01:07 pm
New York, Mar 15 (Just Earth News): Raising alarm over reports of serious human rights and humanitarian law violations and abuses stemming from recent fighting in eastern Libya's oil crescent area, the United Nations human rights arm has called on all parties to ensure that civilians are protected and that the situation is de-escalated.
South Sudan: UN expert urges action to end rights abuses in a country where 'impunity is the norm'
Mar 15, 2017, at 01:06 pm
New York, Mar 15 (Just Earth News): Amid a “massive†increase in gross human rights violations, as well as an escalation in fighting in South Sudan, the head of a United Nations rights probe said on Monday that to prevent further escalation and abuses in a country where “impunity is the norm,†the international community must be bold enough to push for establishment of a court and bring prosecutions.
Europe, Central Asia 'transitioning' to new nutrition challenges, cautions UN agency
Mar 15, 2017, at 04:16 am
New York, Mar 14 (Just Earth News): Warning that new consumption patterns in Europe and Central Asian countries are leading to complex health challenges, the United Nations food security agency today called for policies tailored to the income and nutrition profile of these developed countries to prevent them from “transitioning†to new forms of food and nutrition insecurity.
Syria 'worst man-made disaster since World War II' – UN rights chief
Mar 15, 2017, at 04:15 am
New York, Mar 14 (Just Earth News): The conflict in Syria is the “worst man-made disaster the world has seen since World War II,†the United Nations human rights chief today said, calling for an end to all tortures, executions and unfair trials, and at the very least, for the names and localities of people held in detention or information about where they are buried.
Mar 14, 2017, at 01:00 pm
New York, Mar 14 (Just Earth News): Highlighting that persisting extreme poverty and inequality prevent the realization of the benefits of globalisation and have been major causes of disaffection across rich and poor societies, a senior United Nations official has called on everyone to work harder to ensure inclusion at all stages of development, so that no one is left behind.
UN Human Rights Council discusses situations in DPRK, Iran, Myanmar and Burundi
Mar 14, 2017, at 12:59 pm
New York, Mar 14 (Just Earth News): At respective interactive dialogues on Monday on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Myanmar, Burundi, Iran and Eretria, senior United Nations independent human rights experts called on the governments to take immediate steps to ensure human rights protection in their respective countries.
UN envoy for Somalia condemns bomb blasts in Mogadishu
Mar 14, 2017, at 12:58 pm
New York, Mar 14 (Just Earth News): The United Nations envoy for Somalia has strongly condemned this morning’s bomb blasts at two locations in Mogadishu that reportedly killed a number of civilians.
Yemen on brink of famine, warns UN food relief agency chief, appealing for resources and access
Mar 14, 2017, at 12:57 pm
New York, Mar 14 (Just Earth News): Unless the international community provides additional resources and authorities in Yemen allow aid workers access to hungry people, families in some of the war-torn country’s most food insecure areas will die, warned the head of the United Nations emergency food programme.
Peace efforts and sustainable development top agenda at UN agency’s narcotics conference
Mar 14, 2017, at 12:56 pm
New York, Mar 14 (Just Earth News): The top United Nations panel dealing with all aspects of narcotic drugs opened its 60th session on Monday with a focus on peace and security, as well as on helping Governments reach their sustainable development commitments.
UN Commission on Status of Women opens with calls for more men to stand up for equality
Mar 14, 2017, at 05:23 am
New York, Mar 13 (Just Earth News): With men still dominating even in countries that consider themselves progressive, the world needs more women leaders and more men standing up for gender equality, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday.
'Unprecedented suffering' for Syrian children in 2016 – UNICEF
Mar 14, 2017, at 05:21 am
New York, Mar 13 (Just Earth News): The suffering of children in war-torn Syria “hit rock bottom†in 2016 with the highest number of grave violations against them since verification began in 2014, underscored the United Nations children's agency urging all parties to the conflict, those who have influence over them, and anyone who cared about children to find an immediate political solution to end the conflict.
Following visit to Haiti, UN expert urges more aid for Hurricane Matthew victims
Mar 14, 2017, at 05:19 am
New York, Mar 13 (Just Earth News): An independent United Nations expert on human rights is calling for redoubling of efforts to help Haitians affected by Hurricane Matthew.
S Africa baby abduction: Mother, two others arrested by police
Mar 13, 2017, at 11:02 pm
Durban, Mar 13 (IBNS): The mother of a one-month old baby, who was abducted in South Africa's Durban, has been arrested by the law enforcers for her alleged involvement in the crime, reports said.
Syria: UN chief Guterres condemns terrorist attacks in Damascus
Mar 13, 2017, at 01:14 pm
New York, Mar 13 (Just Earth News): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the terrorist bombings in the Syrian capital of Damascus yesterday, his spokesman said Sunday.
UN aid chief urges global action as starvation, famine loom for 20 million across four countries
Mar 11, 2017, at 01:53 pm
New York, Mar 11 (Just Earth News): Just back from Kenya, Yemen, South Sudan and Somalia – countries that are facing or are at risk of famine – the top United Nations humanitarian official on Friday urged the international community for comprehensive action to save people from simply “starving to death.â€
Mar 11, 2017, at 01:52 pm
New York, Mar 11 (Just Earth News): Looking forward to the early resumption of the United Nations-facilitated intra-Syrian negotiations, the Security Council on Friday encouraged the Syrian parties to return to talks in good faith “and to engage constructively and without preconditions†on the agenda set out by UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura when they resume.
Mar 11, 2017, at 01:50 pm
New York, Mar 11 (Just Earth News): Noting growing prevalence of “fake news†and propaganda in both legacy and social media, United Nations and key regional human rights experts have called on State actors to ensure that they disseminate reliable and trustworthy information, including about matters of public interest, such as the economy, public health, security and the environment.
Vigilance against Zika virus should ‘remain high,’ UN health agency says in new guidance
Mar 11, 2017, at 01:49 pm
New York, Mar 11 (Just Earth News): Although a decline in cases of Zika virus infection has been reported in some countries, there is still a need for heightened vigilance, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Friday, issuing fresh guidance on the virus that has been linked to birth defects and neurological complications.