UN-organized tsunami exercise shows Indian Ocean region now 'better prepared'
Sep 13, 2014, at 03:08 pm
New York, Sept 13 (IBNS) A decade after the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster, which killed nearly 250,000 people and left an arc of devastation across 12 countries, a warning system devised by the United Nations to assess communications flows and readiness procedures throughout the region is functioning "effectively," the world body has announced after a two-day simulation exercise.
UN rights official cites 'clear need' for vigilance on issue of privacy in digital age
Sep 13, 2014, at 03:07 pm
New York, Sept 13 (IBNS) Stating that the digital age has opened the door to emancipation for millions and has been perhaps the greatest liberation movement the world has ever known, a senior United Nations human rights official warned on Friday that digital platforms have sparked troubling concerns about the right to privacy, especially their vulnerability to surveillance, interception and data collection.
Ukraine: UN agency launches emergency food aid operation in country's east
Sep 13, 2014, at 03:06 pm
New York, Sept 13 (IBNS) The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is rolling out its first operation in Ukraine, providing food assistance to vulnerable people affected by the conflict with distributions in transit centres and public shelters in Donetsk and Luhansk in the country's east.
Australia raises terror alert level
Sep 12, 2014, at 04:39 pm
Canberra, Sept 12 (IBNS): Australia on Friday increased the terrorism threat level in the country from medium to high.
New UN envoy for Syria meets President, senior ministers in Damascus
Sep 12, 2014, at 04:02 pm
New York, Sept 12 (IBNS) On his first visit to Syria since being appointed United Nations Special Envoy for that country, Staffan de Mistura met with President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Thursday .
Haiti: UN envoy calls for democratic consolidation to avoid ‘institutional vacuum’
Sep 12, 2014, at 03:56 pm
New York, Sept 12 (IBNS) Amid continuing mistrust and disagreement over the electoral process in Haiti, a senior United Nations official on Thursday voiced deep concern over the political stalemate in the country.
Myanmar: UN officials urge greater humanitarian, development support for Rakhine
Sep 12, 2014, at 03:50 pm
New York, Sept 12 (IBNS) Two senior United Nations officials have called for increased humanitarian assistance and development efforts to meet the needs of all communities in Myanmar’s Rakhine state following a visit there this week.
Senior UN officials urge Member States to craft 'bold, pragmatic' post-2015 agenda
Sep 12, 2014, at 03:49 pm
New York, Sept 12 (IBNS) With an "intense and important year ahead," United Nations Member States must work to build a framework that will sustain and finish what was accomplished with the landmark Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the fight against poverty, hunger and disease, while rising to challenges old and new – not least climate change.
UNICEF: Progress for children rights in south Asia, but inequalities exist
Sep 12, 2014, at 03:21 pm
New York, Sept 12 (IBNS) Despite rapid economic growth and huge progress in realizing the rights of children, young people in South Asia are paying a heavy price, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on Thursday , noting that "everybody in South Asia has an obligation – and the potential – to do more to realize the rights of every single child in the region."
UN: detained Fijian peacekeepers in Golan released in good condition
Sep 12, 2014, at 03:15 pm
New York, Sept 12 (IBNS) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed on Thursday the release of the 45 United Nations peacekeepers that had been forcibly taken on 28 August 2014 in the Golan and detained by armed elements.
Iraq: UNESCO chief warns start of new school year in jeopardy for thousands of children
Sep 11, 2014, at 02:52 pm
New York, Sept 11 (IBNS)The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Wednesday called for urgent international action and mobilization to support Iraq's children and young people to get back to school.
Libya: UN envoy calls for end to fighting, beginning of political process
Sep 11, 2014, at 02:52 pm
New York, Sept 11 (IBNS) The violence in Libya must stop, the United Nations envoy to that country on Wednesday reiterated, calling for "meaningful, effective" dialogue to end what is among the worst fighting the country has seen since leader Muammar al-Qadhafi was ousted in 2011.
UN rights expert welcomes new Assembly resolution on debt structuring
Sep 11, 2014, at 02:48 pm
New York, Sept 11 (IBNS) A new United Nations General Assembly resolution on debt restructuring that will set up a multilateral legal framework for debtor countries to emerge from debt safely was welcomed on Wednesday by the UN rights expert on the issue as a way forward to "fill the current legal voice and reduce uncertainty."
New UN reports calls for major changes in global economic governance, management
Sep 11, 2014, at 02:42 pm
New York, Sept 11 (IBNS)Six years after the start of the global economic and financial crisis, the world economy has still not found a sustainable growth path, argues a new United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report released on Wednesday.
UN officials call for renewed global commitment to ending nuclear tests
Sep 11, 2014, at 02:37 pm
New York, Sept 11 (IBNS)United Nations officials on Wednesday called for renewed commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons and nuclear tests, noting that nearly 2,000 such tests have taken place since 1945.
Disarmament for development is a 'win-win' for States, people – UN rights expert
Sep 11, 2014, at 02:34 pm
New York, Sept 11 (IBNS) An independent United Nations human rights expert on Wednesday called for a meaningful reduction of military spending with funds reoriented towards development, and greater transparency in how Governments prioritize budgets.
Tasmania anti-protest bill contravenes Australia's human rights obligations – UN experts
Sep 10, 2014, at 03:06 pm
New York, Sept 10 (IBNS): A group of independent United Nations experts have urged lawmakers in Tasmania to refrain from adopting legislation against protests that disrupt businesses, saying the proposed bill would contravene Australia’s human rights obligations.
South Sudan: Preliminary UN probe shows helicopter was shot down
Sep 10, 2014, at 03:04 pm
New York, Sept 10 (IBNS) The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said on Tuesday its initial investigation Has revealed that UN helicopter that crashed near Bentiu late last month was shot down.
UN rights experts urge Saudi Arabia to halt 'stream of executions, beheadings'
Sep 10, 2014, at 03:02 pm
New York, Sept 10 (IBNS) Two United Nations independent human rights experts on Tuesday renewed their call on Saudi Arabia to implement an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty amid a reported increase in executions, many of them by beheading.
Somalia: UN envoy condemns latest terrorist attacks
Sep 10, 2014, at 03:01 pm
New York, Sept 10 (IBNS) Calling for reconciliation and an end to violence in Somalia, the top United Nations official condemned the terrorist attacks in several locations in country on Monday that resulted in the death and injury of many innocent civilians.
Peace means dignity, well-being for all, not just absence of war – UN officials
Sep 10, 2014, at 02:58 pm
New York, Sept 10 (IBNS) Underscoring that peace is more than just the absence of war, United Nations officials on Tuesday stressed the need for concerted efforts to achieve the common vision of a life of dignity and well-being for all.
UNICEF assistance plays key role for Gazan children to begin a new school year
Sep 10, 2014, at 02:42 pm
New York, Sept 10 (IBNS) The devastating 50-day conflict has forced the new academic year in the Gaza Strip to begin three weeks late – on 14 September – the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday, underscoring the serious psychological trauma suffered by the Gazan children.
UN chief lauds formation of new Government in Iraq
Sep 10, 2014, at 02:30 pm
New York, Sept 10 (IBNS) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the formation of a new inclusive Government in Iraq as "a positive step towards political stability and peace in the country."
Michael Schumacher leaves hospital for recovery at home
Sep 10, 2014, at 02:24 am
Bern, Sept 9 (IBNS): Formula One legend Michael Schumacher, who had a skiing accident last year, has left a Swiss hospital to continue his recovery at home, his spokesperson said.
African Union-UN mission calls for restraint amid tensions at Darfur camp
Sep 09, 2014, at 05:49 pm
New York, Sept 9 (IBNS) Concerned about escalating tensions, the African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Sudan’s Darfur region on Monday called for restraint by all parties in and around the Kalma camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) where demonstrations have resulted in several casualties over the weekend.
No 'back to school' for millions of children affected by conflict, crisis UN
Sep 09, 2014, at 05:44 pm
New York, Sept 9 (IBNS) Almost 30 million children are out of school in emergency or conflict affected countries following the targeting of schools and the displacement of millions of children forced from their homes and studies, the United Nations Children’s Fund said on Monday.
Iraq, Syria top priorities for new UN human rights chief
Sep 09, 2014, at 05:38 pm
New York, Sept 9 (IBNS) The new United Nations human rights chief on Monday urged the international community to stop the “increasingly conjoined†conflicts in Iraq and Syria, lashing out at the armed group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) for trying to create a “house of blood.â€
Ukraine death toll of more than 3,000 'alarming': UN
Sep 09, 2014, at 05:32 pm
New York, Sept 9 (IBNS) The number of people killed in Ukraine has topped 3,000 and could be "significantly higher," a senior United Nations human rights official said on Monday, as he urgently appealed for a sustainable peace to spare the country "a winter of horrors."
Security Council told of indiscriminate, brutal killings children face in conflict
Sep 09, 2014, at 05:28 pm
New York, Sept 9 (IBNS) The multiplication of crises affecting children since the beginning of 2014 is creating unprecedented challenges that overshadow progress to date to protect them from the impact of war, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council on Monday.
New UN envoys for Syria crisis heading to Damascus
Sep 09, 2014, at 05:22 pm
New York, Sept 9 (IBNS) The United Nations said on Monday that the new envoys tasked with advancing a peaceful settlement to the ongoing conflict in Syria will travel to Damascus for consultations starting Tuesday.