• After a period of high growth between 2007 and 2010, Malawi’s economic situation deteriorated, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It attributes this to a combination of low tobacco exports, poor economic policies and political turmoil. The IMF has granted a loan of $150 million to Malawi which is now stable with [...]
Pop star Justin Bieber, a Canadian, says because he has indigenous heritage, he is entitled to free gas when he travels in Canada. This, says Edward John, Chairman of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, is one of the many misconceptions about the indigenous that abound. The media – television, radio, film, social media [...]
Fifty five million dollars has been allocated by the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) to bolster relief operations in eight countries with neglected humanitarian emergencies in 2012. OCHA says the allocations from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) are for Afghanistan, Cameroon, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and Sudan. Gerry [...]
A move by the Syrian Government is vital to end the ongoing violence in the country. That's the message United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sent to a 29-nation meeting on Syria held in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Thursday. Mr. Ban said that despite repeated verbal acceptances of the Six-Point Plan, both the Government [...]
The peaceful transfer of authority from the National Transitional Council to the newly elected National Congress in Libya on Wednesday has been welcomed by the top UN envoy for the country. Ian Martin said the United Nations stands ready to continue to assist the Libyans in their democratic transition. In the first democratic elections in [...]
More needs to be done in Tajikistan to combat racial discrimination and prevent racially motivated violence, according to a United Nations expert. Ion Diaconu spoke in Geneva on Thursday following the presentation of a report by Tajik authorities on what they are doing to implement a global treaty to eliminate racial discrimination. Mr. Diaconu told [...]
As fighting continues in Syria's Aleppo city, the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) is voicing concern about the plight of civilians trapped there. According to United Nations observers, heavy weapons and fighter planes have been used as government troops and opposition fighters battled to control the city. UNSMIS Spokesperson Juliette Tuma says United Nations [...]
Food prices went up by six per cent in July after three months of decline, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The FAO Food Price Index, which measures the monthly change in the international prices of food commodities, says the sharp increase was mostly driven by a surge in grain and [...]
'Indigenous Media, Empowering Indigenous Voices" is the theme of this year's International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, observed on 9 August each year. The day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1994 to be initially celebrated during the first International Decade of the World's Indigenous People from 1995 to 2004. Chandra [...]
With men preferring to remain behind and fight, women and children comprise the majority of Syrians on the run from the ongoing violence in the country, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). UNFPA recently received an $800,000 grant through the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support its work with pregnant women caught [...]
The birth of a child is usually a happy occasion. But the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) reports that in some societies, for example in South Asia, sons are valued over daughters, resulting in millions of baby girls going "missing." UNFPA says technologies have made it possible for families to determine the sex of unborn babies, [...]
The only time indigenous people make the front page of the newspaper is if they are killed. This "drastic perception" is just an example of the complaints heard by Chandra Roy-Henriksen, Chief of the Secretariat of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is observed annually on [...]
