A packed UN Security Council has been hearing calls for support of an Arab League plan to resolve the unrest continuing for 10 months in Syria. The Security Council has been unable to come up with a solution to the ongoing crisis. Senior leaders including the Arab League Secretary General, the US Secretary of State, [...]
The solution to the crisis in Syria is not similar to the one used to end the political upheaval in Libya last year, according to the United States Secretary of State. Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke as the Security Council held a high-level debate on Tuesday afternoon to consider a plan proposed by the League of [...]
2011 has been the deadliest year for Africans crossing the Mediterranean to flee to Europe, according to the UN's refugee agency. UNHCR estimates that more than 1,500 people drowned or went missing while attempting to cross the sea. The actual number of deaths at sea may be even higher, the agency adds. Jocelyne Sambira reports. [...]
Authorities in Somalia have been urged to take urgent measures to investigate the murder of a journalists working for a private radio and television network in the country. The call has come from the head of the United Nations cultural agency (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, who condemned the killing of Hassan Osman Abdi on Saturday. Derrick [...]
Political parties in Senegal have been urged by the United Nations Secretary-General to pave the way for transparent, credible and peaceful elections. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Ban Ki-moon said he is concerned about the upsurge of tensions in the West African country ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for 26 February. The Secretary-General [...]
Former Haitian leader Jean-Claude Duvalier could only face trial for financial corruption charges during his regime and not human rights violations, a move which concerns the UN Human Rights Office. Spokesman Rupert Colville said local and international human rights groups have well-documented evidence that torture, rape and extrajudicial killings occurred during Mr. Duvalier's regime. Charles [...]
1. Four Kenyans to stand trial at ICC for post-election violence 2. UN Human Rights chief expresses disappointment at continued detentions at Guantanamo Bay 3. Piracy off the coast of Somalia can be eradicated, says new Sceretary-General of IMO 4. Record number of African migrants crossed the Gulf of Aden & Red Sea in 2011 [...]
1. Ban Ki-moon takes his ” sustainable energy for all” agenda to Middle East 2. UNICEF seeks to improve education for children in Asia 3. Health facilities ransacked in Jonglei State of South Sudan 4. Insecurity curbs relief aid to Somali refugee camps in Horn of Africa 5. Restrictions imposed : Sudanese government “severely impedes ” [...]
More than 3,000 Iranian exiles who have been at a camp in north-eastern Iraq are to be relocated to a new site, according to a United Nations spokesman. In December last year, the United Nations and the Iraqi government signed an agreement to relocate the Iranians from Camp Ashraf, which is now called Camp New [...]
1. The people of Fiji are set for the "full enjoyment of fundamental human rights" according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. It follows the lifting of the Public Emergency Regulations on the Pacific island which restricted the right to public meetings and a free media. 2. Guruh Riyanto interviewed Project Officer International [...]
Mozambique has been hit by floods that have killed 40 people and affected 117,000 others, according to the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA). OCHA says there were two tropical storms between 18 and 26 January in Zambezia province that caused the flooding. Charles Appel reports. The UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) says Tropical Cyclone Funso, a category [...]
A new team has been recruited to help countries around the world combat wildlife crime and illegal trade valued at approximately $10 billion a year. The team is working under CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora which is administered by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The three-member [...]
As the United Nations Security Council prepares to discuss a plan to resolve political unrest in Syria, the UN Secretary-General says he hopes its members will reflect the wishes of the international community. The Arab League has proposed the plan under which President Bashar al-Assad has to relinquish power to allow a transition to democracy [...]
The United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has expressed concern over reports from Haiti that former President Jean-Claude Duvalier may not tried for human rights violations that took place during his time in office. OHCHR says the former President may only face charges of financial corruption. UN Human Rights Chief ,Navi Pillay, says there was [...]
More than 1,500 African migrants died while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in 2011, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR. It’s the highest number of fatalities in the region since 2006. UNHCR says the crisis in Libya and Tunisia pushed the number of migrants crossing by sea to a record 58,000. Sybella Wilkes from UNHCR [...]
World food prices fell in the last three months of 2011, but they're still 24 per cent higher than they were in 2010. That's according to the World Bank which released its latest Food Price Watch report on Tuesday in Washington DC. And while the trend in some parts of the world is positive, there [...]
Global food prices declined by 8 per cent during the last quarter of 2011 according to figures released by the World Bank. Better than expected production in countries including China, India and Russia brought the cost of food down. However, prices remain high and volatile with average prices for 2011, 24 per cent higher than [...]
A United Nations independent expert on the situation of human rights in Myanmar is starting a six-day visit to the Asian country on Tuesday. Tomás Ojea Quintana, who is visiting Myanmar at the invitation of the government, has said his mission is taking place at what he has described as "an important moment in the [...]
Senior government leaders, including the United States Secretary of State, the Prime Minister of Qatar and the Secretary-General of the Arab League are attending a Security Council meeting on Syria on Tuesday. Morocco, which is a non-permanent member of the Security Council, has tabled a draft resolution, to endorse a plan proposed by the Arab [...]
