Nearly four months ago, soldiers in Guinea-Bissau took power in a coup d'état just prior to a scheduled presidential run-off election. Joseph Mutaboba, head of the UN office in the West African nation, this week told the Security Council it was important that all sides work together to restore constitutional order and assist the country. [...]
Major events where there are mass gatherings of people, such as the Olympics, can strain the public health system. For this reason, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been working with the International Olympic Committee to make the games safer for athletes and the general population. More than 12,000 athletes and 21,000 journalists will be [...]
A United Nations staff member, who was also a victim of a terrorist attack, was one of 8,000 people from all over the world selected to carry the Olympic Flame. Bianca Kopp works for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna. She was chosen by her managers because of her dedication to [...]
Negotiations on the first legally-binding Arms Trade Treaty are expected to wrap up on Friday at the United Nations in New York. A UN independent expert is urging countries to use the opportunity to regulate the small arms trade so that grave human rights violations can be averted. Special Rapporteur Alfred de Zayas says conventional [...]
Four months of fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo have resulted in the displacement of nearly 500,000 people and widespread abuse of civilians, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) reports. Since April, villagers in North Kivu province have been fleeing fighting between government forces and armed rebel groups. About 50,000 have sought refuge [...]
With the escalation of fighting in Syria, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay is expressing deep alarm at threats to civilians. In a statement on Friday, Ms. Pillay urges the Syrian government and armed opposition to abide by their obligations under international law or face the consequences. Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the UN [...]
Despite affecting millions of people worldwide and exerting a staggering toll on health, hepatitis remains largely unknown, undiagnosed and untreated, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). On World Hepatitis Day, observed on 28 July, WHO urges governments to strengthen efforts in fighting viral hepatitis which affects the liver and kills one million people annually. [...]
With the Summer Olympics now underway in London, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is reminding the world that peace should prevail during the games. Crowds applauded Mr. Ban as he carried the Olympic torch through the streets of London on Thursday afternoon. Mr. Ban arrived directly from Bosnia and Herzegovina where he had visited Srebrenica, the town where [...]
About a million people die every year from viral hepatitis and approximately half a billion people experience chronic illness from being infected with this disease. Viral hepatitis is also a leading cause of liver cancer and liver cirrhosis. This Saturday, 28 July, is World Hepatitis Day and the World Health Organization (WHO) is advising governments [...]
Athletes from around the world are in London to compete in the Olympic Games. They come with dreams of winning medals and smashing records. Among them is Urige Buta, a marathon runner from Norway by way of Ethiopia. Like his fellow competitors, Buta arrives at the games thanks to a combination of talent, training and [...]
