UN envoy hails opening of ICC trial against Congolese rebel leader
Sep 03, 2015, at 02:29 pm
New York, Sep 3 (IBNS): As the International Criminal Court (ICC) trial of Congolese rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda opened on Wednesday, the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict said that it served as a powerful reminder to military leaders accused of similar acts that justice will ultimately prevail.
UN: Parliamentarians pledge to place democracy at service of sustainable development
Sep 03, 2015, at 02:27 pm
New York, Sep 3 (IBNS): Parliamentary leaders from some 140 countries on Wednesday declared that the United Nations must remain the cornerstone of global cooperation as an Organization that embodies the ardent hope of people around the world and pledged to place "democracy at the service of peace and sustainable development for the world the people want."
Gunman kills 2 Red Cross members in northern Yemen
Sep 03, 2015, at 01:03 am
Sana'a, Sept 2 (IBNS) Two members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were gunned down by a man who opened fired when the deceased were travelling in a convoy between Saada and Sana’a, officials said on Wednesday.
Yemen: UN warns of 'untenable' humanitarian situation and increase in causalities
Sep 02, 2015, at 02:44 pm
New York, Sep 2 (IBNS): The UN human rights office said on Tuesday it is alarmed by the steep increase in the number of civilian casualties in Yemen's Taiz governorate in recent weeks, as well as by the "untenable" humanitarian situation which is being made worse by the blockage of supply routes into Taiz city by local "popular committees" affiliated with the Houthis.
UN environment agency unveils low-cost device for air quality monitoring
Sep 02, 2015, at 02:42 pm
New York, Sep 2 (IBNS): A ground-breaking air quality measuring device expected to cost up to 100 times less than existing solutions has the potential to "revolutionize" air quality measurement in developing countries and help prevent deaths from air pollution that claim 7 million lives each year, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Ebola case in Sierra Leone prompts expansion of experimental vaccine trial: WHO
Sep 02, 2015, at 02:40 pm
New York, Sep 2 (IBNS): The detection of a new case of Ebola in Sierra Leone over the weekend after the West African country had marked almost three weeks of zero cases has prompted the use of an experimental vaccine to fight the disease, according to the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO).
Asylum-seekers pass through former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia daily: UNICEF
Sep 02, 2015, at 02:38 pm
New York, Sep 2 (IBNS): The number of “exhausted and desperate†women and children making their way from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq through the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia seeking refuge in Europe has tripled in the past three months, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
UN refugee agency delivers aid to non-government controlled area in Ukraine
Sep 02, 2015, at 02:37 pm
New York, Sep 2 (IBNS): The United Nations refugee agency announced on Tuesday that it managed to deliver humanitarian aid to non-Government-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine for the first time in several weeks, including to Horvlika and other nearby areas north of Donetsk, which experienced heavy fighting in August.
UN hands over draft global sustainability agenda to Member States
Sep 02, 2015, at 02:35 pm
New York, Sep 2 (IBNS): The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday approved a resolution sending the draft '2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development' to Member States for adoption later this month, bringing the international community "to the cusp of decisions that can help realize the… dream of a world of peace and dignity for all," according to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
UN official stresses role of parliaments in success of development agenda
Sep 02, 2015, at 02:33 pm
New York, Sep 2 (IBNS): Parliaments have a critical role in translating the new sustainable development agenda – which world leaders will adopt later this month at the United Nations – into real improvements for the lives of the world's people, says the head of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Volatile Syria requires sustained donor support: UN relief chief
Sep 02, 2015, at 02:31 pm
New York, Sep 2 (IBNS): Even as aid agencies continue to reach those impacted by the Syria conflict, the needs of the 7.6 million people displaced by the war and the 4 million others who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries are "greater than ever," and the world’s worst humanitarian crisis looks set to deteriorate even further unless a political solution is found, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator said on Tuesday.
Gaza could become uninhabitable in less than five years: UN report
Sep 02, 2015, at 02:28 pm
New York, Sep 2 (IBNS): A new report published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development on assistance to the Palestinian people warns that the Gaza Strip could become "uninhabitable" by 2020 if current economic trends persist.
Somalia: UN envoy condemns attack on African Union base
Sep 02, 2015, at 02:26 pm
New York, Sep 2 (IBNS): The top UN official in Somalia, Nicholas Kay, has strongly condemned Tuesday's attack by Al Shabaab militants on an African Union Mission (AMISOM) base at Janaale, Lower Shabelle Region manned by troops from the Ugandan contingent.
UN human rights office 'deeply regrets' resumption of executions in Chad
Sep 02, 2015, at 02:25 pm
New York, Sep 2 (IBNS): Following the first executions in Chad since 2003, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Tuesday deeply regretted the resumption of the death penalty in that country and called for an official moratorium on its use.
Bangkok blast suspect arrested
Sep 01, 2015, at 09:06 pm
Bangkok, Sept 1 (IBNS): Another suspect has been arrested in connection with the blast that rocked Thailand capital Bangkok last month, media reports said on Tuesday.
More than 850,000 people face acute food insecurity in Somalia: UN report
Sep 01, 2015, at 01:36 pm
New York, Sep 1 (IBNS): Somalia’s humanitarian situation remains alarming" four years after a devastating famine with the number of people requiring emergency aid rising 17 per cent to more than 850,000 and those in “food-stressed†situations still at 2.3 million, according to the latest United Nations-managed food assessment study released on Monday.
Land, resource rights key to Sami people's self-determination: UN expert
Sep 01, 2015, at 01:31 pm
New York, Sep 1 (IBNS): Securing rights over their land and natural resources is fundamental to the Sami people’s self-determination and a prerequisite for them to be able to continue to exist as a distinct people, an independent United Nations human rights expert said after a visit to the Nordic region.
Civil society must be partners in implementing UN sustainability agenda: Ban
Sep 01, 2015, at 01:29 pm
New York, Sep 1 (IBNS): With speakers of parliament meeting at United Nations Headquarters at a moment when the world is gripped by multiple crises – displacement has soared to all-time highs and the threat of climate change grows by the day – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the legislators to help drive forward the new UN sustainable development agenda and ensure that civil society are equal partners in "building the future we want."
Yemen: Outbreak of dengue prompts WHO appeal for safe humanitarian corridor
Sep 01, 2015, at 01:28 pm
New York, Sep 1 (IBNS): The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) is appealing for a safe corridor to reach more than 3 million people in war-torn Yemen's most populated governorate, Taiz, where "an extreme spike" in cases of dengue fever has been recorded over the past two weeks.
Ban mourns death of force commander of UN Haiti mission
Sep 01, 2015, at 01:26 pm
New York, Sep 1 (IBNS): Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday that he was saddened by the news of the sudden death of the Force Commander of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
UN relief wing cites major access challenges in eastern Ukraine
Aug 31, 2015, at 01:59 pm
New York, Aug 31 (IBNS): Sounding the alarm on behalf of relief agencies working to meet ongoing needs and jump-start critical preparations for winter in strife-riven eastern Ukraine, the United Nations humanitarian wing has reported that aid organizations are facing major challenges in getting access to the most vulnerable of an estimated 5 million people affected by the conflict that began in the region in April 2014.
Prohibition of enforced disappearance is 'absolute,' UN declares
Aug 31, 2015, at 01:58 pm
New York, Aug 31 (IBNS): Marking the fourth International Day of Enforced Disappearances, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon denounced the “alarming†number of acts by that are tantamount to enforced disappearances and appealed to all Member States to ratify or accede to the legal instrument prohibiting such acts.
Ban 'regrets' Egyptian court decision to uphold sentences of Al Jazeera journalists
Aug 31, 2015, at 01:53 pm
New York, Aug 31 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed "deep regret" over the decision by the Egyptian court of Cassation to uphold the sentencing of several Al Jazeera journalists and has reiterated his appeal for their cases to be resolved expeditiously and in accordance with the country's international obligations to protect free expression.
Fire at Saudi Arabia's Aramco compound claims 11 lives; 200 injured
Aug 31, 2015, at 01:19 am
Riyadh, Aug 30 (IBNS) A fire which broke through Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Saudi Aramco’s residential complex on Sunday, killed 11 people and left around 200 others injured.
UN calls on Colombia and Venezuela to resolve border situation through dialogue
Aug 29, 2015, at 03:16 pm
New York, Aug 29 (IBNS): Concerned over the situation at the border between Colombia and Venezuela, particularly reports of human rights violations occurring in the context of deportations of Colombians, the United Nations human rights office called on Friday on the authorities in both countries to ensure the situation is resolved through "calm discussion and dialogue, firmly grounded in their obligations under international human rights law and refugee law."
UN urges all States to sign, ratify Nuclear Test Ban as a step to nuclear-free world
Aug 29, 2015, at 03:14 pm
New York, Aug 29 (IBNS): For the fifth International Day against Nuclear Tests, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed voluntary moratoria on testing imposed by nuclear-armed states but stressed that these cannot substitute for a legally-binding treaty.
Hurricane Katrina's 'true legacy' was to spur disaster risk management: UN official
Aug 29, 2015, at 03:12 pm
New York, Aug 29 (IBNS): The top United Nations disaster resilience official on Friday said on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina that the 'true legacy' of the costliest United States hurricane disaster, which devastated New Orleans and claimed more than 1,800 lives, was to raise the bar for disaster risk management worldwide.
Ban urges all parties in Burundi to 'look beyond political differences'
Aug 29, 2015, at 03:10 pm
New York, Aug 29 (IBNS): Fifteen years after the signing of a landmark Burundi peace accord, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday called on all the country's political leaders, including those in exile, to find common cause and commit to build on the stability that was ushered in by the Arusha Agreement.
UNICEF announces release of 163 more children by armed group in Central Africa
Aug 29, 2015, at 03:08 pm
New York, Aug 29 (IBNS): The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced on Friday that 163 children have been released by an armed group in the Central African Republic, where thousands of other boys and girls are still serving as combatants, cooks and messengers for the country's militant factions.
More than 300,000 make perilous Mediterranean crossing in 2015: UNHCR
Aug 29, 2015, at 03:06 pm
New York, Aug 29 (IBNS): The United Nations refugee agency said on Friday that the number of refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe has surpassed 300,000 this year, up from 219,000 during the whole of 2014.