In a time of rising xenophobia, more important than ever to ratify Genocide Convention
Dec 01, 2018, at 08:04 am
New York, Dec 1 (IBNS): Speaking ahead of the UN Day commemorating victims of genocide, the UN chief has called for every country to ratify the Genocide Convention, which still has not been ratified by 45 UN Member States, despite being adopted at the General Assembly 70 years ago.
‘Be the change’ we desperately need, UN deputy chief urges global youth
Dec 01, 2018, at 08:01 am
New York, Dec 1 (IBNS): Young people are the leaders and torchbearers the world “desperately needs” but they also face serious challenges when it comes to realizing their potential, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General has said.
Migrant caravan: UN agency helping ‘exhausted’ people home
Dec 01, 2018, at 07:53 am
New York, Dec 1 (IBNS): Hundreds of people from Central American States who joined the human caravans travelling towards the United States have been helped home after asking for assistance, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday.
Yemen war: The battle rages on, children suffer most
Dec 01, 2018, at 07:46 am
New York, Dec 1 (IBNS): “Violence has forced over a third of all schools there to close, with 15 located on the frontline and others badly damaged or being used as shelters for displaced families,” said Meritxell Relaño, UNICEF Representative in Yemen.
Armed groups threaten every child in Central African Republic, UNICEF warns
Nov 30, 2018, at 08:24 am
New York, Nov 30 (IBNS): A new study released by the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, shows that the deteriorating crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR), five years into the latest civil conflict to hit the country, has left practically every child needing protection from armed groups, which now control four-fifths of the country’s territory.
UNESCO lists wrestling, reggae and raiho-shin rituals as global treasures to be preserved
Nov 30, 2018, at 08:21 am
New York, Nov 30 (IBNS): From Jamaican reggae to Georgian wrestling and Japanese rituals, the UN cultural agency, UNESCO, added six new elements to its list of "intangible heritage" for the world to treasure on Thursday, further improving the visibility of often little-known and understood arts traditions.
Security Council urged to help spare Syrians from ‘devastation’
Nov 30, 2018, at 08:17 am
New York, Nov 30 (IBNS): An escalation in fighting across northern Syria illustrates the “fragility” of the situation in the war-torn region, a senior UN humanitarian official said on Thursday, urging sustained international efforts to protect millions trapped there, from “devastation.”
New Syria fighting represents ‘giant powder keg’, warns aid veteran, as he leaves UN stage
Nov 30, 2018, at 08:14 am
New York, Nov 30 (IBNS): It is unclear if rockets fired into the Syrian city of Aleppo last weekend contained chemical toxins, a senior humanitarian adviser to the UN said on Thursday, adding that if they did, it would constitute a war crime.
'Collective amnesia’ over causes of global financial crash - human rights expert
Nov 30, 2018, at 08:08 am
New York, Nov 30 (IBNS): 10 years on, governments are experiencing collective amnesia towards of one of the biggest factors behind the 2008 global financial crash –the housing crisis – which has not been addressed and is only getting worse, said Leilani Farha, UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, in a statement on Thursday.
Madagascar: UN chief commends nation on first round of peaceful elections
Nov 30, 2018, at 07:53 am
New York, Nov 30 (IBNS): The results of the first round of voting to choose Madagascar’s next President were announced on Wednesday, prompting the UN chief to commend the peaceful nature of the vote, which now moves to a second round run-off next month.
Africa Forum aims to boost business, reduce costs, help countries trade out of poverty
Nov 29, 2018, at 09:01 am
New York, Nov 29 Better transport, logistics and foreign investment are essential to smooth the way for the African continent to reduce trade hurdles, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
‘Global trust’ declining, ‘our world needs stepped-up global leadership’
Nov 29, 2018, at 08:51 am
New York, Nov 29 (IBNS): On the eve of the G20 international forum in Argentina, and ahead of next week’s COP24 climate conference in Katowice, Poland, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for global leadership to be stepped up, “at a time of declining global trust.”
Negotiated two-State solution still ‘the only option’ for Palestine: Guterres
Nov 29, 2018, at 08:43 am
New York, Nov 29 (IBNS): A two-State solution where Israel and Palestine live side-by-side as sovereign nations is still “the only option” for lasting peace, and “containing the situation is not sufficient,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday, marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
World cannot be transformed without ‘ingenuity of the countries of the South’: UN Chief
Nov 29, 2018, at 08:34 am
New York, Nov 28 (IBNS): The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the plan to transform the world agreed at the UN by 193 countries, cannot happen without “the ideas, energy, and tremendous ingenuity of the countries of the South,” said UN chief António Guterres on Wednesday, speaking at the opening session of the 2018 Global South-South Development Expo (GSSD Expo), alongside María Fernanda Espinosa, President of the General Assembly, and other senior UN officials.
Increasingly under attack, women human rights defenders need better back up
Nov 29, 2018, at 08:31 am
New York, Nov 28 (IBNS): A group of United Nations human rights experts issued a joint statement on Wednesday calling on States to live up to their commitments to protect women human rights defenders, as they come under increasing attack, and with inadequate protection.
Central American migrants must be protected, urge UN experts
Nov 29, 2018, at 08:29 am
New York, Nov 29 (IBNS): Migrants who have made, or who are making the journey to the United States border in caravans confront increasing threats to their lives, liberty and security, United Nations independent experts said on Wednesday, calling for their full protection.
Attack on Karachi consulate will not affect relationship between China and Pakistan: Officials
Nov 28, 2018, at 05:46 pm
Beijing, Nov 28 (IBNS): In the wake of the recent attack on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi city of Pakistan, China on Tuesday said such an incident will not affect the relationship between the two countries.
China: Blast near chemical plant kills 22
Nov 28, 2018, at 09:26 am
Beijing, Nov 28 (IBNS): At least 22 people were killed as a blast occurred near a chemical factory in northern China on Wednesday, media reports said.
Migration deal U-turns ‘reflect poorly’ on countries concerned: UN Special Representative
Nov 28, 2018, at 09:12 am
Dubai, Nov 28 (IBNS): In an exclusive interview with UN News, Louise Arbour, the UN Special Representative for International Migration, said on Tuesday that the stated intention of several countries (including Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria) to pull out of the Global Compact for migration reflects poorly on them, and has seriously affected the spirit of multilateralism.
‘At risk’ Mediterranean forests make ‘vital contributions’ to development
Nov 28, 2018, at 09:06 am
New York, Nov 28 (IBNS): Between 2010 and 2015, forests around the Mediterranean have expanded by two per cent, but that has come at the price of significant degradation and increasing vulnerability to climate change, population pressures, wildfires and water scarcity, warned a new UN report launched on Tuesday.
UN chief highlights action across borders for ‘stable and prosperous Eurasia’
Nov 28, 2018, at 09:00 am
New York, Nov 28 (IBNS): Challenges such as climate change, violent extremism, illegal drugs and people trafficking, all require countries to work together across borders, to formulate creative and coordinated solutions, the United Nations Secretary-General said on Tuesday.
Suffering of thousands of war-affected Syrian children ‘unprecedented and unacceptable’
Nov 28, 2018, at 08:57 am
New York, Nov 28 (IBNS): Well over 7,000 child casualties in Syria’s brutal armed conflict have been verified over the last five years, but this is just “the tip of the iceberg,” the United Nations Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the crisis lamented on Tuesday, with thousands more cases likely going unreported.
UN launches new fund to advance sustainable development in Aral Sea region
Nov 28, 2018, at 08:52 am
New York, Nov 28 (IBNS): UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged countries to fund a new initiative designed to reduce vulnerability, advance sustainable development and create decent living conditions for millions of people living around the Aral Sea, whose basin encompasses Uzbekistan, and six other countries in Central Asia.
‘Dire consequences’ for a million children in the Middle East, North Africa, as funding dwindles
Nov 28, 2018, at 08:45 am
New York, Nov 28 (IBNS): Amidst a $33 million funding shortfall, plunging temperatures in the Middle East and North Africa pose a major threat to children in the region, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
Climate Change Focus: Lake Chad trees keep deadly drought at bay
Nov 27, 2018, at 08:53 am
New York, Nov 27 (IBNS): Tens of thousands of drought-resistant trees are being planted with the support of the UN in the Lake Chad region to restore vegetation cover around the lake, help farmers adapt to climate change, and support women's economic initiatives.
Somalia: UN mission head condemns deadly terrorist attacks in Mogadishu, Galkayo
Nov 27, 2018, at 08:50 am
New York, Nov 27 (IBNS): The top United Nations official in Somalia has “strongly condemned” terrorist attacks in the north-central city of Galkayo and in the Somali capital on Monday, which left a prominent cleric and a number of other civilians dead.
Top UN official urges Russia and Ukraine to step away from further confrontation at sea
Nov 27, 2018, at 08:47 am
New York, Nov 27 (IBNS): An “immediate de-escalation” of tensions is needed in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, the United Nations top political official has said, underlining the importance of “earnest attempts” to find a peaceful resolution to years of simmering conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Take-home pay growing at lowest level since 2008, as gender-gap persists: UN labour agency
Nov 27, 2018, at 08:44 am
New York, Nov 27 (IBNS): Wages grew higher and faster in less well-off countries last year than in richer nations, but salaries are still far too low in the developing world, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Monday, with growth overall at its lowest since the 2008 global recession.
Guterres censures terrorist attacks in Nigeria, pledges UN ‘solidarity’
Nov 27, 2018, at 08:41 am
New York, Nov 27 (IBNS): Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the recurrent attacks by terrorists and other extremist groups in northern Nigeria that have taken a heavy toll on civilians and security forces.
UN chief ‘following very closely’ reports of chemical weapons use in Syria’s Aleppo
Nov 26, 2018, at 09:36 am
New York, Nov 26 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has underlined that any use of chemical weapons against civilians and under any circumstances is a clear violation of international law, amid reports of their alleged use in Syria’s war-battered Aleppo.