Mar 14, 2018, at 02:54 pm
New York, Mar 14 (JEN): As deepening economic woes force thousands of Venezuelans to flee the crisis-gripped country, the United Nations on Tuesday issued guidance on treating the population as “refugees,” while the head of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned that the outflow into neighboring countries such as Colombia constitutes a “humanitarian disaster.”
Syria conflict: 2017 deadliest year for children, UN aid official reports
Mar 14, 2018, at 02:52 pm
New York, Mar 14 (JEN): More than 900 children in Syria were killed last year, making 2017 the deadliest year for children in the country’s ongoing conflict, a senior United Nations official told the Geneva-based Human Rights Council on Tuesday, warning that the grim statistics may only be the tip of the iceberg.
Thousands of migrants return home safely from Libya as part of UN-supported programme
Mar 14, 2018, at 02:49 pm
New York, Mar 14 (JEN): Since last November, 10,171 migrants have safely returned from Libya, the United Nations migration agency announced Tuesday, crediting the achievement to a scale up of its Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) programme.
UN urges new, ‘post-ISIL’ Iraq to draw on diversity, support religious minorities
Mar 14, 2018, at 02:46 pm
New York, Mar 14 (JEN): As Iraq rebuilds after defeating a terrorist group, the country must draw on its religious diversity and protect minorities, including Yezidi and Christians, a senior United Nations official has said.
Syria ‘bleeding inside and out’ as conflict enters eighth year, says UN chief
Mar 13, 2018, at 02:21 pm
New York, Mar 13 (JEN): Despite a United Nations Security Council demand to institute a 30-day ceasefire across Syria, airstrikes, shelling and ground offensives have intensified in Eastern Ghouta, Secretary-General António Guterres reported Monday, warning that the conflict is entering its eighth year with the “grimmest” reality on the ground.
UN women’s commission opens annual session at ‘pivotal moment’ for gender equality movement
Mar 13, 2018, at 02:18 pm
New York, Mar 13 (JEN): Taking place at “a pivotal moment for the rights of women and girls,” the United Nations body dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment opened its annual session on Monday hearing calls to help women, especially those in rural communities, secure an end to the male-dominated power dynamic that has long marginalized their participation and muted their voices.
Mar 13, 2018, at 02:14 pm
New York, Mar 13 (JEN): Inclusive partnerships are essential to addressing drug challenges and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to the top United Nations panel dealing with all aspects of narcotic drugs.
Ahead of rainy season, UN under ‘time pressure’ to deliver aid in South Sudan
Mar 13, 2018, at 02:11 pm
New York, Mar 13 (JEN): With the rainy season approaching in South Sudan, where one in three people has been displaced by more than four years of conflict, a senior United Nations humanitarian official has called for urgent financial support to distribute and preposition life-saving aid supplies.
Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visits Tajikistan
Mar 11, 2018, at 10:29 pm
Dushanbe, Mar 11 (IBNS): Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Mar 9-10 paid a state visit to Tajikistan at the invitation of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, officials said.
China removes term limits; Xi Jingping to remain President for life
Mar 11, 2018, at 10:11 pm
Beijing, Mar 11 (IBNS): In a rubber-stamping exercise, Beijing formally removed term limits to allow Xi Jingping to remain President for life.
New UN health agency regulation guidelines aim to help countries end ‘reign’ of tobacco industry
Mar 10, 2018, at 02:59 pm
New York, Mar 10 (JEN):The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday launched new guidelines on the role that tobacco product regulations can play in saving lives by reducing the demand for tobacco and tobacco products – estimated to kill over seven million people annually.
Nigerian women artists unite at UN to change perceptions of women and Africa
Mar 10, 2018, at 02:56 pm
New York, Mar 10 (JEN): Three Nigerian women will spotlight themes such as human trafficking, suicide bombing, and sexism and sexual harassment at the United Nations, showing the strength of women as agents of change in African societies often dominated by men.
UN envoy on conflict-related sexual violence reports on visits to Iraq and Sudan
Mar 10, 2018, at 02:52 pm
New York, Mar 10 (JEN): A senior United Nations official has stressed the need to ensure survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in Iraq are fully protected and that perpetrators are brought to justice.
Syria: UN aid convoy returns to eastern Ghouta
Mar 10, 2018, at 02:49 pm
New York, Mar 10 (JEN): The United Nations and partners on Friday reached the Syrian city of Douma in Eastern Ghouta to complete distribution of food aid after intense shelling cut short deliveries to the war-torn enclave earlier this week.
Mar 10, 2018, at 02:46 pm
New York, Mar 10 (JEN):Flinging terrorism charges at a United Nations human rights expert is just one act in a litany of profane and inflammatory comments made by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte against the rapporteur, prompting the UN rights chief to questions the leader’s mental stability.
Over 4,700 UN agency trained veterinarians new vanguard against deadly disease outbreaks
Mar 10, 2018, at 02:42 pm
New York, Mar 10 (JEN): More than 4,700 veterinary health professionals who have just completed a United Nations training to tackle disease outbreaks are the new front line of defence protecting farm animals against deadly illnesses in 25 countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Mar 10, 2018, at 02:39 pm
New York, Mar 10 (JEN): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday said he is “encouraged” by the announcement of an agreement between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to hold a summit meeting by May.
Seven years of war in Syria has left ‘colossal human tragedy’ in its wake – UN refugee chief
Mar 10, 2018, at 02:35 pm
New York, Mar 10 (JEN): After seven years of brutal conflict in Syria, there are no clear winners, “but the losers are plain to see,” the United Nations refugee agency chief said Friday, describing the “colossal human tragedy” that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, driven 6.1 million people from their homes and forced 5.6 million others to seek safety in neighbouring countries.
Service and Sacrifice: Mongolia continues to strengthen its contribution to UN peacekeeping
Mar 10, 2018, at 02:29 pm
New York, Mar 10 (JEN): Mongolia first joined United Nations peacekeeping in 2002 with the deployment of two unarmed military observers to the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara. Soon after that, it sent two more officers to the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since then, Mongolia has continued to expand its contributions to UN peace operations in hot spots around the world.
DR Congo: UN warns of spike in displacement amid funding shortfall
Mar 10, 2018, at 02:25 pm
New York, Mar 10 (JEN): The United Nations migration agency is hoping that the upcoming donor pledging conference for the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will generate more financial support to cope with a spike in the number of people displaced by violence.
Donald Trump accepts offers to meet N Korea President Kim Jong Un
Mar 09, 2018, at 07:45 pm
Washington DC, Mar 8 (IBNS) : President Donald Trump has agreed to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, setting the stage for a historic encounter between the leaders of world's two most inimical states.
Fighting prevents UN and aid partners from returning to Syria’s war-battered east Ghouta
Mar 09, 2018, at 03:13 pm
New York, Mar 9 (JEN): Continuing fighting forced the postponement on Thursday of a United Nations inter-agency relief convoy to Douma, a neighborhood in Syria’s war-ravaged Eastern Ghouta, a UN spokesman reported.
Mar 09, 2018, at 03:08 pm
New York, Mar 9 (JEN): The drumbeat for women’s rights and empowerment reached a crescendo on Thursday as the United Nations celebrated International Women’s Day with a number of powerful events, where global activists joined top UN officials calling for the recent momentum generated by grassroots movements against discrimination and harassment to tip the scales towards lasting change.
Despite unrest, DR Congo must press ahead with preparations for credible elections, says UN envoy
Mar 09, 2018, at 03:05 pm
New York, Mar 9 (JEN): Highlighting political tensions and the disintegrating security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Leila Zerrougui, briefing the Security Council for the first time as head of the UN stabilization mission in the contry, said significant progress is being made on preparations for upcoming polls.
New communications technologies essential to empower poor rural women – UN
Mar 09, 2018, at 02:57 pm
New York, Mar 9 (JEN): To mark International Women’s Day, the three United Nations Rome-based agencies are spotlighting the role new innovations in information and communications technologies (ICTs) can play in expanding opportunities for rural women, who often find themselves “on the wrong side of the digital divide.”
UN seeks $80 million to support refugees in Ethiopia
Mar 09, 2018, at 02:54 pm
New York, Mar 9 (JEN): Two United Nations humanitarian agencies are jointly seeking $80 million to provide food assistance to refugees in Ethiopia, which hosts the second largest number of those in Africa.
Mar 09, 2018, at 02:51 pm
New York, Mar 9 (JEN): This year, International Women’s Day comes at a pivotal moment, and with a wave women’s activism – from the #MeToo movement to #TimesUp and beyond – exposing the structures that have allowed women's oppression to flourish, the United Nations is urging the world to stand with rural and urban women activists to topple the remaining barriers to gender equality and empowerment.
Canada PM Justin Trudeau is not unbeatable: Ipsos survey
Mar 08, 2018, at 04:38 pm
Ottawa, Mar 8 (IBNS): Ipsos poll survey has recently stated that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is not unbeatable, media reports said.
Women’s prospects at work still ‘a long way’ from being equal to men’s – UN report
Mar 08, 2018, at 01:53 pm
New York, Mar 8 (JEN): Despite notable progress on closing gender gaps over the past 20 years, women have less access to jobs, are more likely to take low-quality employment, and face barriers to management positions, a United Nations labor report has found.
Mar 08, 2018, at 01:50 pm
New York, Mar 8 (JEN): In a scathing address to the Human Rights Council, the top United Nations rights official on Wednesday warned political leaders who stoke fear and intolerance among their followers for the sake of their own ambitions are merely copying the behaviour of previous generations of once strong, but ultimately catastrophic, leaders and politicians.