May 14, 2016, at 01:42 pm
New York, May 14 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Armed clashes between illegal groups fighting for territory in western Colombia are driving a growing number of mostly Afro-Caribbean and indigenous peoples from their homes in Chocó department, the United Nations refugee agency warned on Friday, calling on all parties to the conflict to guarantee the safety of the civilian population.
UN refugee agency reports some 1,000 refugees and migrants rescued off Italian coast
May 14, 2016, at 01:41 pm
New York, May 14 (Just Earth News/IBNS):Some 1,000 people of various nationalities, including refugee families and unaccompanied children, were rescued yesterday from the Mediterranean Sea, the UN refugee agency said on Friday.
General Assembly elects Norwegian diplomat as head of UN environment programme
May 14, 2016, at 01:40 pm
New York, May 14 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Following the nomination by the United Nations Secretary-General, the General Assembly on Friday elected Erik Solheim of Norway as Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for a four-year term.
UN agricultural agency and European Union step up efforts to combat illegal timber trade
May 14, 2016, at 01:38 pm
New York, May 14 (Just Earth News/IBNS):The United Nations Food and Agriculture (FAO) and the European Union (EU) will step up joint efforts to support tropical timber-producing countries in curbing illegal logging, improving forest governance and promoting the trade of legally sourced timber, under a $30 million funding agreement announced on Friday.
In Syria, head of UN agency for Palestine refugees calls for protection to be strengthened
May 14, 2016, at 01:37 pm
New York, May 14 (Just Earth News/IBNS):The head of the United Nations relief agency charged with the well-being of Palestinian refugees across the Middle East has just completed a two-day visit to Syria where he met with Palestine refugees and called for their protection to be strengthened.
Paris accord faces ‘first test’ at meeting on climate adaptation funding – UN rights expert
May 14, 2016, at 01:36 pm
New York, May 14 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The signatories to the 2015 Paris Agreement face the first test of their commitment when they meet in Bonn, Germany, next week to negotiate a new mechanism to fund climate adaptation projects, which often displaced indigenous and other communities, a United Nations human rights expert said on Friday.
UN rights office urges Gambia to release detained protesters
May 14, 2016, at 01:33 pm
New York, May 14 (Just Earth News/IBNS):Expressing deep concern about the situation of dozens of protesters who were arrested during a peaceful rally on 14 and 16 April in the Gambian capital of Banjul, the United Nations human rights arm on Friday urged the Government to release all those who have been detained for simply having exercised their rights to freedom of expression, opinion and assembly.
Turkey: Eight soldiers killed in clash, helicopter crash
May 13, 2016, at 10:46 pm
Ankara, May 13 (IBNS) At least six soldiers were killed on Friday during a helicopter crash and during a clash between the security forces and outlawed Kurdıstan Workers’ Party (PKK), media reports said.
In Portugal, Ban urges end of ‘horrible’ war in Syria in meeting with Syrian students
May 13, 2016, at 01:59 pm
New York, May 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS): As part of his visit to Lisbon, Portugal, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday met with a group of Syrian students, commending them for their strength and resilience and stressing that the only sustainable solution to the education crisis in Syria is ending the “horrible†war.
Iraq: UN Security Council strongly condemns terrorist attacks in Baghdad
May 13, 2016, at 01:58 pm
New York, May 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned in the strongest terms the three terrorist attacks that occurred yesterday in Baghdad, which resulted in at least 93 deaths and many more injuries.
Top UN and African Union officials condemn deadly violence at camp for displaced in North Darfur
May 13, 2016, at 01:57 pm
New York, May 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, have jointly condemn Monday’s attacks by armed groups on an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp and the shooting at a nearby market in Sortoni, North Darfur.
Weak world economic growth lingers, with only modest improvement seen – UN
May 13, 2016, at 01:56 pm
New York, May 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS): With little prospects for a turnaround in 2016, growth in the world economy remains weak, posing a challenge to the implementation of development targets, a new United Nations report released on Thursday has found.
UN calls for closer cooperation with African organizations for sustaining peace
May 13, 2016, at 01:54 pm
New York, May 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Stronger partnerships between the United Nations and African regional and sub-regional organizations are necessary to sustain the momentum for peacebuilding in Africa and prevent a lapse into violent conflict, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said on Thursday, calling for greater efforts to reinforce initiatives and define the parameters of cooperation.
May 13, 2016, at 01:53 pm
New York, May 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS): After nearly two decades, the Amendment to the United Nations –backed Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) entered into force on 8 May – strengthening nuclear security and reducing the threat of nuclear terrorism worldwide.
Syria: first 10 days of May ‘disappointing’ for humanitarian work – UN advisor
May 13, 2016, at 01:51 pm
New York, May 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The first 10 days of May have been “disappointing†for aid work in Syria as the breakdown of a truce made aid deliveries dangerous and difficult to plan, the United Nations-appointed humanitarian adviser said on Thursday,as aid agencies announced that Syrian authorities had turned away a convoy to the long-besieged town of Daraya.
May 13, 2016, at 01:50 pm
New York, May 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS):According to a United Nations spokesperson, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been following closely recent events in Brazil, after the country’s Senate voted overnight to suspend President Dilma Rousseff.
New UN-backed report cites climate change among factors fuelling internal displacement
May 13, 2016, at 01:49 pm
New York, May 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Disasters associated with slow processes of environmental change – drought, sea level rise and desertification – demonstrate again the growing importance of climate change as a driver of disaster risk, as senior United Nations official said on Thursday on the heels of the release of a global report which revealed that more than 19 million people in 2015 were forced from their homes by natural hazards
Cambodia: UN experts urge end to attacks against civil society, human rights defenders
May 13, 2016, at 01:47 pm
New York, May 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS): United Nations human rights experts on Thursday called on the Government of Cambodia to stop a clampdown on civil society, human rights defenders, parliamentarians and UN personnel, and instead protect civil society and respect fundamental freedoms in the country.
UN health agency warns of rise in urban air pollution, with poorest cities most at risk
May 13, 2016, at 01:46 pm
New York, May 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS): More than 80 per cent of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO), with populations in low-income cities the most at risk for respiratory diseases and other long-term health problem.
‘New hope’ for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis patients announced by UN health agency
May 13, 2016, at 01:45 pm
New York, May 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS): New recommendations from the United Nations’ health agency aim to speed up detection and improve treatment outcomes for multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) through use of a novel rapid diagnostic test and a shorter, cheaper treatment regimen.
May 13, 2016, at 01:44 pm
New York, May 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Early one morning in December 1998, Vincent Cochetel, a French United Nations aid worker in his late thirties, was riding in the back of a car on a bumpy Chechen road, blind-folded with two men on either side of him, when the vehicle came under fire.
Yemen’s food situation on verge of ‘humanitarian disaster’ – UN
May 13, 2016, at 01:43 pm
New York, May 13 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The food security and nutrition situation in Yemen will turn into a humanitarian disaster unless urgent funding is accessible for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to deliver timely aid in the April/May cereal and vegetable planting season and the summer fishing season, and vaccinate livestock before winter, the United Nations agency has warned.
UN envoy urges South Sudan to implement pledges to address sexual violence crimes
May 12, 2016, at 01:22 pm
New York, May 12 (Just Earth News/IBNS):Concluding a four-day visit to Juba, South Sudan, the United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict has urged high-level authorities of the Transitional Government of National Unity to implement commitments made to address sexual violence crimes.
Yemen: UN-brokered peace talks continue in parallel meetings
May 12, 2016, at 01:21 pm
New York, May 12 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The United Nations-facilitated Yemeni peace talks continued on Wednesday in parallel meetings, with a committee making headway by exploring a proposal to release 50 per cent of all prisoners and detainees held by the parties before the month of Ramadan.
Security Council requests UN panel to propose global framework on countering terrorist propaganda
May 12, 2016, at 01:20 pm
New York, May 12 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Reaffirming that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday requested its main counter-terrorism subsidiary body to present a proposal by 30 April 2017 for a comprehensive international framework on the matter.
‘Poverty and fear do not require a passport to travel’ – UN alliance with Nobel laureates
May 12, 2016, at 01:19 pm
New York, May 12 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The United Nations’ agricultural agency has joined forces with a group of Nobel laureates to tackle the problems of hunger and violence through a new alliance launched in Rome on Wednesday.
Iraq: UN envoy condemns ‘cowardly’ bomb attacks in Sadr City and Baquba
May 12, 2016, at 01:18 pm
New York, May 12 (Just Earth News/IBNS): The United Nations envoy for Iraq has strongly condemned the car bomb attack that occurred earlier on Wednesday in a busy market in Sadr City, claiming many lives and leaving scores injured.
In Madagascar, Ban calls for end to corruption, reports on ‘alarming’ cost of hunger
May 12, 2016, at 01:17 pm
New York, May 12 (Just Earth News/IBNS): During his visit to Madagascar on Wednesday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Malagasy parliamentarians to end the corruption that has weakened their society, while launching a report on the cost of hunger in the island nation.
UN human rights panel condemns civilian attacks in Syria; calls for accountability
May 12, 2016, at 01:15 pm
New York, May 12 (Just Earth News/IBNS): Strongly condemning recent attacks on civilians, hospitals and clinics, and camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Syria, a United Nations-mandated human rights inquiry on Wednesday called on all parties to cease the unlawful attacks and return to a full cessation of hostilities.
Somalia: UN calls for urgent action to support drought-hit communities
May 12, 2016, at 01:13 pm
New York, May 12 (Just Earth News/IBNS): A senior United Nations humanitarian official in Somalia on Wednesday called for urgent action to support drought-stricken communities in Puntland and Somaliland and avert a further deterioration of the situation.