UN rights expert urges Mauritania to repeal bill threatening civil society groups
Aug 11, 2015, at 02:10 pm
New York, Aug 11 (IBNS): A United Nations human rights expert on Monday called upon the Mauritanian Parliament to reject a draft law on civil society associations that, without public consultations, was approved last month by the Council of Ministers.
Central Africa: UN investigating incident leading to death of five blue helmets
Aug 10, 2015, at 02:30 pm
New York, Aug 10 (IBNS): The United Nations mission in the Central African Republic (CAR) has launched an investigation into an incident on Saturday in which a Rwandan peacekeeper shot dead four of his colleagues and wounded eight others before he also died.
Yemen: UN official calls for scaling up efforts to meet humanitarian needs
Aug 10, 2015, at 02:26 pm
New York, Aug 10 (IBNS): The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen is appealing for significant contributions to scale up efforts to meet the “staggering†needs across the country, where some 21 million people, or 80 per cent of the population, require live-saving assistance.
Ban lauds efforts to achieve nuclear-weapon-free world
Aug 10, 2015, at 02:20 pm
New York, Aug 10 (IBNS): In a message commemorating the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday paid tribute to all those in the Japanese city and around the globe who are striving to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
Ban urges greater efforts to improve health and well-being of indigenous peoples
Aug 10, 2015, at 02:15 pm
New York, Aug 10 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on the international community to commit to do more to improve the health and well-being of indigenous peoples, who face a wide range of challenges from inadequate sanitation and housing to high rates of diabetes, drug and alcohol abuse.
Ban and Security Council condemn deadly terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia
Aug 08, 2015, at 02:17 pm
New York, Aug 8 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council have condemned the terrorist attack that took place on Thursday in Saudi Arabia, resulting in the death of at least a dozen people, for which the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has claimed responsibility.
Deploring Afghan attack, UN calls for perpetrators to be held accountable
Aug 08, 2015, at 02:15 pm
New York, Aug 8 (IBNS): The top United Nations envoy in Afghanistan has condemned the killing of at least eight civilians and the injuring of more than 200 in an attack that took place in Kabul on Friday.
Syria: Security Council approves probe into the use of chemical weapons
Aug 08, 2015, at 02:12 pm
New York, Aug 8 (IBNS): The United Nations Security Council on Thursday gave the greenlight for the establishment of a Joint Investigative Mechanism to identify those responsible for the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Elections set to begin in Haiti, Ban urges peaceful campaigning
Aug 08, 2015, at 02:10 pm
New York, Aug 8 (IBNS): Welcoming the upcoming presidential, legislative and local elections in Haiti, which will begin on Sunday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday stressed the need to ensure credible and peaceful polls.
Burundi: Assassination attempt prompts UN call for protection of human rights defenders
Aug 08, 2015, at 02:08 pm
New York, Aug 8 (IBNS): Following this week’s assassination attempt on one of Burundi’s leading human rights defenders, an independent United Nations expert has called on the Government to ensure the protection of all rights activists.
UN urges bold action to tackle deepening refugee crisis in Greece
Aug 08, 2015, at 02:05 pm
New York, Aug 8 (IBNS): The United Nations on Thursday called for bold and urgent action to address a deepening crisis in Greece, where some 124,000 refugees and migrants have arrived by sea this year – a staggering increase of over 750 per cent compared to the same period in 2014.
Conditions worsening for refugees in Calais, UN urges comprehensive response
Aug 08, 2015, at 02:04 pm
New York, Aug 8 (IBNS):The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Friday called once again for a comprehensive response to the worsening reception conditions for refugees and migrants in Calais, saying that the situation in the French port city is unmanageable.
Mali: UN strongly condemns ‘despicable’ attack in Mopti region
Aug 08, 2015, at 02:02 pm
New York, Aug 8 (IBNS): The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali has strongly condemned the attack that took place on Friday in the town of Sevaré, in the Mopti region, and led to the death of at least one person.
Extremists must not be allowed to escalate Israeli-Palestinian tensions: Ban
Aug 08, 2015, at 02:01 pm
New York, Aug 8 (IBNS): Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday spoke out against recent violence between Israelis and Palestinians and called on leaders on both sides not to allow extremists to escalate the situation and “take control of the political agenda.â€
Myanmar: UN allocates $9 million to rapidly scale up urgent flood relief
Aug 08, 2015, at 01:59 pm
New York, Aug 8 (IBNS): The top United Nations humanitarian official on Saturday allocated $9 million to help aid organizations rapidly scale up assistance in Myanmar in the wake of major flooding and monsoon rains that affected over 330,000 people and killed at least 88.
No more Hiroshimas. No more Nagasakis: Ban
Aug 07, 2015, at 02:12 pm
New York, Aug 7 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday renewed his resolve to advance the goal of achieving a world “free of the nuclear shadow,†in a message to mark the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
Iraq: UN agency prioritizes most needy Syrian refugees for food assistance
Aug 07, 2015, at 02:10 pm
New York, Aug 7 (IBNS): In an effort to meet the food needs of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees living in Iraq, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has announced that it will focus its resources this month on those living in the country’s Kurdistan region.
Libya: UN-facilitated political dialogue set to begin next week
Aug 07, 2015, at 02:08 pm
New York, Aug 7 (IBNS): With a new round of the United Nations-facilitated political dialogue set to begin next week, the top UN envoy for Libya, Bernardino León, has urged the parties to redouble their efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the country.
Amid rising tensions, UN chief reiterates concerns to Burundian President
Aug 07, 2015, at 02:05 pm
New York, Aug 7 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza to resume the political dialogue that was suspended last month, and reiterated his strong condemnation of the recent killing of General Adolphe Nshimirimana and the attempted assassination of human rights defender Pierre Claver Mbonimpa.
Growing insecurity leads to more displacements in Lake Chad region: UN official
Aug 07, 2015, at 02:02 pm
New York, Aug 7 (IBNS): The United Nations on Thursday reported further population displacement in the Lake Chad region owing to fear of attacks by Boko Haram and appeals by the Government of Chad for civilians to leave areas where ongoing military operations are being undertaken against the group.
Almost 400 people rescued in the Mediterranean after fishing boat sinks: UN agency
Aug 07, 2015, at 02:01 pm
New York, Aug 7 (IBNS): Almost 400 people have been rescued so far from a vessel which sank off the coast of Libya while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea with an estimated 600 refugees and migrants on board, the United Nations refugee agency reported on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia: Suicide attack kills 13
Aug 07, 2015, at 12:51 am
Abha city , Aug 6 (IBNS): At least 13 people were killed in a suicide attack at a mosque in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, media reports said.
Myanmar: UN food agency delivers aid to 82,000 people in flooded areas
Aug 06, 2015, at 03:01 pm
New York, Aug 6 (IBNS):The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday announced that it has delivered aid to 82,000 people in the most flood-affected parts of western Myanmar, and is now working to reach 200,000 people.New York, Aug 6 (IBNS):The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday announced that it has delivered aid to 82,000 people in the most flood-affected parts of western Myanmar, and is now working to reach 200,000 people.
UN rights chief highlights alarming use of capital punishment in Iran
Aug 06, 2015, at 02:57 pm
New York, Aug 6 (IBNS): The top United Nations human rights official on Wednesday expressed alarm at the imposition of the death penalty on Mohammad Ali Taheri, the founder of a spiritual movement, writer and practitioner of alternative medicine theories used in Iran and abroad.
Security in Central Africa improves, but situation remains fragile: UN envoy
Aug 06, 2015, at 02:52 pm
New York, Aug 6 (IBNS): Political progress combined with the deployment of United Nations peacekeepers in nearly 40 localities have contributed to the improvement of the overall security situation in Central African Republic (CAR), which nonetheless remains precarious, the top UN envoy in the country told the Security Council on Wednesday.
UN allocates $70 million from emergency fund to assist millions
Aug 06, 2015, at 02:48 pm
New York, Aug 6 (IBNS): The United Nations humanitarian chief on Wednesday allocated $70 million to help provide a lifeline to millions of men, women and children forced from their homes by violence and instability.
Kiribati: UN backs vaccine to protect children from life-threatening diarrhoea
Aug 06, 2015, at 02:46 pm
New York, Aug 6 (IBNS): The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are supporting a new vaccination campaign announced today by the Government of Kiribati to protect children from a potentially killer virus.
UNESCO chief condemns killing of Mexican photojournalist
Aug 06, 2015, at 02:43 pm
New York, Aug 6 (IBNS): The head of the United Nations agency charged with promoting press freedom on Wednesday condemned the killing of photojournalist Ruben Espinosa, who was found dead in Mexico City on 1 August.
Burundi: UN condemns assassination attempt on leading human rights defender
Aug 05, 2015, at 01:56 pm
New York, Aug 5 (IBNS): Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations human rights office have strongly condemned the assassination attempt on Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, a leading Burundian human rights defender who was shot and wounded by unknown assailants in the capital on Monday.
Cairo: UN envoy on Yemen presses on towards political solution with meetings
Aug 05, 2015, at 01:54 pm
New York, Aug 5 (IBNS): The United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen met with officials in Cairo as part of the ongoing efforts to reach a political solution to a conflict that has led to just over 1,900 civilian deaths since fighting erupted in March and caused almost 100,000 people to flee the country.