Efforts to more closely integrate the French Caribbean with the rest of the region were reviewed at the International Summit of the INTERREG IV Caribbean program in Puerto Rico this week. The program aims to foster closer ties between the Caribbean linguistic divide by generating joint local and regional initiatives, as well as strengthening trans-border, [...]
The Caribbean took a step towards ending sexual violence against children when ministerial delegations met in Barbados two weeks ago for r a conference themed "Combating Sexual Violence Against Children – From Isolated Actions to Integrated Strategies". The event was convened within the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General's UNiTE campaign to End Violence Against Women. UN [...]
It is fundamental for States to address the serious challenges facing the human rights treaty body system by making proposals to guarantee its effective functioning. That's what Barbados's representative Ambassador Joseph Goddard told the General Assembly's Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee He said that would help safeguard the basic tenets of human rights. Joseph Goddard [...]
The importance of finding a political solution to the ongoing crisis in Syria came up in the General Assembly on Friday. The Assembly was briefed on the situation in the Middle Eastern country by Lakhdar Brahimi the Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and Arab League for Syria. Mr. Brahimi warned that Syria risks [...]
On the occasion of the International Day to Eliminate Violence against Women, Executive Director Bachelet said these days, "There is nothing excusable about violence against women and girls anywhere, at any time. Nothing." The International Day to Eliminate Violence against Women, the 25th of November, is followed by 16 Days of Activism against Gender [...]
The only option everyone should opt for or work for to bring about peace in Syria is a negotiated political process. That view was expressed Friday by the Joint Special representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi. He told a meeting of the General Assembly that it is only here – the United Nations, and, in particular, [...]
The United Nations in Afghanistan hosted a film screening and round table discussions to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, observed on 25 November. Filmmaker Alka Sadaat says despite some improvements over the past decade, it is time for Afghan women to break their silence and raise their voices [...]
Erratic rain fall during the last planting season and unseasonably high food prices are among the reasons millions face food shortages across southern Africa. As a result, the UN World Food Progamme, WFP, is scaling up efforts to deliver food assistance to more than three and a half million people in the drought-hit areas. WFP's [...]
A military solution will not bring an end to violence in Syria, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the General Assembly on Friday. Rather, he says, it will plunge Syria into a destructive process from which it will be very hard and take very long to recover, with dangerous consequences for the entire region. Secretary-General Ban [...]
Sexual violence against women is widespread in Mali. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson at a meeting of the Security Council on Women, Peace and Security, recounted the acute challenges which he saw women facing in times of crisis and conflict in Mali. "They told me disturbing accounts of the abuses women face in the northern part [...]
More than 3.5 million people in Malawi, Zimbabwe and Lesotho are faced with severe food shortages over the next four months, according to the UN World Food Programme – WFP. A combination of drought and flooding which caused widespread crop damage has led to localized food shortages, and the situation is expected to worsen during [...]
There are reports of thousands of displaced people living in unheated communal shelters in the embattled Syrian city of Homs. A UN refugee agency (UNHCR) team is now back in Damascus after a two-day assessment mission to the city says half of the hospitals in Homs are not functional and there are severe shortages of [...]
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay is appealing to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, to reconsider the decree he issued last week. The High Commissioner says a number of measures contained in the decree are incompatible with international human rights law. The decree in part states that all decisions taken by the President [...]
“Israel is prepared to live in peace with a Palestinian state, but for peace to endure, Israel’s security must be protected.” That's what Israel's Ambassador Ron Prosor told the UN General Assembly before the vote on according Palestine Non-Member Observer Status. He says Palestinians must recognize the Jewish State and they must be prepared to [...]
Years of conflict have shattered the principles of security and justice in many countries. In countries emerging from war, the UN Peace-building Fund supports activities designed to respond to imminent threats to the peace process. Ambassador Jan Knutsson, the Permanent Representative of Sweden to the United Nations in Geneva and Chairperson of the Peace-building Fund [...]
The General Assembly on Thursday voted to accept the State of Palestine as a Non-Member Observer State. The resolution was adopted by a vote of 138 nations in favour, to nine against with 41 abstentions. In the resolution, the Assembly affirmed its determination to contribute to the achievement of the inalienable rights of the [...]
The situation in Syria is bad and getting worse but unfortunately, the parties themselves are not ready to have an internal solution. That's the assessment of the Joint Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. He told reporters shortly after briefing the UN Security Council Thursday that the region is also not really capable at this time of [...]
• Seven of the 16 United Nations peacekeeping operations deployed around the world are in Africa. At the same time, the continent is contributing to the training of peacekeepers at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre based in Accra, Ghana. The Centre provides training in research and practical aspects of peacekeeping operations. A [...]
A forum on conflict and fragility opened in the Liberian capital, Monrovia on Thursday. The meeting, which is co-hosted by the governments of Liberia and Finland, is attended by representatives of governments, civil society, media, trade unions and traditional leaders. The forum in Liberia is focusing on Africa. Ozonnia Ojielo, Coordinator for Conflict Prevention [...]
A special meeting was held at the United Nations Thursday marking International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The speakers at the special meeting include the Chairman of the Committee, the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General, the President of the Security Council and the representative of Palestine, as well as other representatives [...]
Representatives of governments, civil society and United Nations agencies have gathered in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia for a forum on conflict and fragility which opened on Thursday. The meeting, which is co-hosted by the governments of Liberia and Finland, is focusing on Africa. It is the latest in a series of three United Nations-led [...]
Sixty five years after the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proposing the partition of the mandate territory into two States, "this vision of a two-state solution remains tragically unfulfilled". That's what Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in remarks marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is being observed Thursday 29 November. [...]
United Nations agencies in Geneva have launched a campaign to promote the rights of people living with HIV. The "Getting to zero at work" campaign is in recognition of the role of the workplace in the global struggle to limit the spread and effects of the HIV epidemic. The campaign is supported by the World [...]
Intensive efforts to resolve all of the outstanding issues related to Iran's nuclear programme are continuing, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency-IAEA. However, Director-General Yukiya Amano told the Agency's Board of Directors meeting in Vienna that no concrete results have been achieved and he's unable to report any progress on clarifying the issues relating [...]
The Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea -DPRK has continued construction of the light water reactor and largely completed work on the exterior of the main buildings. Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Yukiya Amano told the agency's Board of Governors on Thursday that this continues since his earlier statement describing the DPRK uranium enrichment [...]
The Syrian government is laying landmines along its borders with Lebanon and Turkey, according to a report by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). The landmines are targeted at civilians seeking to cross the border to flee violence in Syria. The report says Syria was the only state using landmines this year, although, non-state [...]
Seven of the 16 United Nations peacekeeping operations deployed around the world are in Africa. At the same time, the continent is contributing to the training of peacekeepers at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre based in Accra, Ghana. The Centre, which began its work in 2003, is headed by Christian Edem Kobla Dovlo, [...]
The International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Nuclear Applications Laboratories in Seibersdorf, Austria. The Vienna-based IAEA is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Meera Venkatesh, Director of the Division for Physical and Chemical Sciences at the IAEA, told Gerry Adams the Seibersdorf [...]
Lack of progress in resolving the outstanding security, economic and political issues between the South Sudan and Sudan continued to directly impact stability and security inside South Sudan. This, at the expense of efforts and investments towards peace-building and state-building activities and the delivery of essential service delivery to its citizens. That assessment comes [...]
The UN Security Council, acting under the enforcement provisions of the Charter of the United Nations on Wednesday strongly condemned the M23 and all its attacks on the civilian population, MONUSCO peacekeepers and humanitarian actors. The Council also strongly condemned the M23 abuses of human rights, including summary executions, sexual and gender based violence and [...]
Football legend Luís Figo is scoring a goal for children worldwide. The celebrated player from Portugal, who retired in 2009, is at the United Nations on Wednesday to raise awareness of the importance that football plays in young people's lives. Luis Figo is part of the Inter Campus initiative, a non-profit social project funded [...]
Palestinians got a boost on Wednesday when a representative of the European Union (EU) visited Gaza which is recovering from an eight-day conflict with Israel. The EU representative John Gatt-Rutter and Robert Turner, the Director of the UN Refugee Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) signed a new EUR 11.5 million agreement in Gaza City. The [...]
The United Nations Agency assisting Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), has been commended for the outstanding work it did by during the recent eight-day conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. The praise came from the Representative to the European Union John Gatt-Rutter who also signed a new EUR 11.5 million agreement to support the Agency’s core activities in [...]
Rural areas in Kenya, as in other countries of Africa, are always left behind in getting good quality health care for a number of reasons. One of them is that it is difficult to attract trained doctors and nurses to work in these areas, and funds are often scarce. However, there is good news regarding [...]
UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos was in Lebanon Wednesday to get a first hand look at situation of refugees from Syria and to thank the government of Lebanon for all it's doing for the refugees. Later, Ms. Amos told reporters that she also had the opportunity to speak to a number of the refugees themselves. [...]
1. Assistance to displaced people in Goma to continue despite insecurity 2. Thousands reported newly displaced in North Kivu 3. UNICEF expresses concern on health threats to children 4. WFP : Closing of Goma airport hampers humanitarian efforts 5. UN humanitarian agencies step up efforts to assist displaced Syrians 6. UNRWA resumes work in Gaza [...]
The rapid melting of the Arctic sea ice and multiple weather and climate extremes occurring worldwide, are pointing to the fact that "climate change is taking place before our eyes." This conclusion was made by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), in its latest statement of global climate. WMO says the long term trend of rising [...]
New HIV infections in children are down, but reaching the goal of an AIDS-free generation requires treating more pregnant women and children living with HIV, according to the United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF). The children's agency says thanks to remarkable global commitment, the world has seen a 24 per cent reduction in new HIV infections in [...]
Chief Executives (CEO's) from some of the world's largest companies are calling for an end to travel restrictions for people living with HIV. Ahead of World AIDS Day, December 1, more than 40 Chief Executive Officers have signed an unprecedented pledge urging the repeal of laws and policies in 45 countries that still deport, detain [...]
Leaders of Serbia and Kosovo have been commended by the top United Nations envoy in Kosovo for their efforts to normalize relations. Farid Zarif, who is also the head of the UN Mission in the territory, briefed the Security Council on the situation in Kosovo which broke away from Serbia in 2008. Serbia has refused [...]
The Permanent Observer of Palestine is promising a historic event will take place in the UN General Assembly this Thursday 29th November. Riyad Mansour told reporters at the United Nations Tuesday that's when President, Mahmoud Abbbas with a large Palestinian delegation will contribute to efforts with all their friends in the General Assembly to legislate [...]
Almost a quarter of the northern hemisphere is covered by permafrost which contains twice the amount of carbon as that in the atmosphere. Carbon is part of greenhouse gases which scientists say are responsible for global warming. A new report issued by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on Tuesday, warns that the thawing of permafrost [...]
Governments of those States that are not yet parties to the Chemical Weapons convention have been sent letters underscoring the importance of achieving the universality of the Convention as a condition necessary to attain a world free from chemical weapons. The letters, from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü of the Organization for [...]
UN humanitarian agencies have been working around the clock to assist more than 140,000 people displaced by fighting in and around the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The people have been running for their lives to escape fighting between Congolese forces and the M23 movement, which had [...]
The devastating round of violence between the Israelis and Palestinians is a stark reminder that the status quo is unsustainable. That warning came Tuesday from the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, in a briefing to the UN Security Council on the situation in the Middle East. He says there [...]
"Regional economic integration has become ever more important in the quest to find new drivers of regional growth, in support of shared and sustained prosperity. That's what the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Dr. Noleen Heyzer, told Tuesday's opening of a regional economic cooperation forum [...]
Every year, one and half million people leave The Philippines to find jobs overseas. They send home more than US$20 billion a year. But little of that money is saved or invested. In Mabini – known as “Little Italy” due to the number of people now living there, many huge houses have been built – [...]
Over 140,000 people have been displaced in and around the town of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since the capture of the town by the M23 rebel movement. United Nations humanitarian agencies in the region say they have managed to resume assistance to the displaced persons, although security remains a major concern. UN [...]
The World Economic Forum and the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat have announced the launch of an initiative that showcases successful public-private financing mechanisms and approaches to support climate change adaptation and mitigation activities. The initiative, “Momentum for Change: Innovative Financing for Climate-friendly Investment”, will inform governments, investors, business, public finance agencies and the media [...]
A new UN report warns that permafrost covering almost a quarter of the northern hemisphere could significantly amplify global warming should thawing accelerate as expected. The report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), says warming permafrost can also radically alter ecosystems and cause costly infrastructural damage due to increasingly unstable ground. The report titled “Policy [...]
The Syrian conflict, the ongoing tensions and unrest between Israelis and Palestinians and the situation in Mali – these are some of the regional tensions highlighted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in remarks to the inauguration ceremony of the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and intercultural Dialogue. As he put it, they [...]
In the last three years, policy and action towards a sustainable, clean energy future has been growing faster than ever. That's what the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC Christina Figueres told a press conference in Doha on Monday. Speaking shortly after the opening of the Climate Change Conference, Ms. [...]
Public-private partnerships (PPPs) can benefit governments, providing a new source of funding for long-term projects, while sharing the risks. Over the past 20 years, more and more countries—many in Africa—have been experimenting with this form of collaboration. Lika Gueye of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)spoke to Isabell Adenauer of the Fund's African Department, asking her [...]
Japan has been urged to step up its monitoring of the effects of nuclear radiation on people's health. The call comes as the UN expert on the right to health, Anand Grover wrapped up an 11-day mission to the country on Thursday, during which he assessed the links between the right to health of the [...]
The head of the UN agency which assists Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) is calling on the international community to "seize the opportunity" presented by last week's ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. UNRWA Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi is urging that "the real problems underlying the crisis" must be addressed. He was speaking on Monday at the UNRWA [...]
The UN Climate Change Conference in Doha began Monday with calls for governments to focus on essential tasks ahead of them so that the meeting can deliver agreed outcomes and constitute another step forward in the global response to climate change. The newly elected President of the Conference Mr. Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah of Qatar, [...]
A large proportion of funds sent back home by migrant workers from Least Developed Countries is being taken up by administrative costs, according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The report notes that the cost of sending money to Africa from abroad is three times higher than the [...]
The top official at the UN agency assisting Palestinian refugees has called on the international community and the parties to the Israel-Palestine conflict to “seize the opportunity” provided by the Gaza ceasefire. UNRWA Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi called last week's conflict a “tragic escalation” and urged all to “address the real problems underlying the crisis.” Speaking [...]
In a statement marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Human Rights chief Navi Pillay has drawn attention to what she describes as 'The Malala Effect'. You may recall that on October 9th, 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai was shot in the head and the neck on her way back from school in [...]
Journalists, NGOs and activists gathered last week in Vienna for an event on Safety and Security of journalists. The Event was organised by UNESCO, the International Press Institute and the UN department Of Public Information. Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, the Head of the Department of Public Information, who participated in the discussions as a moderator, told UN [...]
A UN expert on the right to education, on Friday called on world governments to ensure that the right to education guides their efforts to meet the Education for All objectives of providing quality basic education to all children, youths and adults by 2015. Kishore Singh says "We must make sure not just that an [...]
A recent food assessment survey in the People's Democratic Republic of Korea conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, and the World Food Programme, WFP, has found that nearly three million people continue to face food insecurity in the country. However, the survey also noted that there were improvements in the harvests of [...]
The UN refugee agency UNHCR is extremely concerned about the situation of displaced people in and around Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's North Kivu province. Gerry Adams reports. Duration: 2’39″
Journalists are on the frontlines of the world's greatest crises, risking their lives to bring stories to the public. But who protects reporters, camera operators, and others who work in media? And with the expansion of technology such as smart phones and social media such as Facebook and Twitter, who exactly is a journalist? Over [...]
World governments are being urged to see beyond the cost of climate change in terms of money, and to adopt a strong commitment to international solidarity as a key element towards a successful round of UN climate change talks opening next week in Doha, Qatar. The call comes from UN Independent Expert Virginia Dandan. [...]
United Nations agencies are reaching more and more displaced Syrians seeking assistance. UNICEF, the UN Children's Fund, says it was urgently mobilizing more than 100,000 children's clothing kits and around 160,000 blankets, including baby blankets, along with other winter supplies for displaced children in Syria and surrounding areas. Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees- [...]
Three out of ten women globally experience violence, be it partner violence, domestic or sexual violence. According to the Director of Reproductive Health and Research at WHO, Dr. Marleen Temmerman, sexual violence is increasingly being used as a weapon of war. She warns that although female genital mutilation, or FGM as it is called is [...]
The largest body of independent experts in the United Nations Human Rights system on Friday expressed their deep dismay at the high price paid by civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel during the recent escalation of violence. Chairman of the Coordination Committee set up by the independent experts charged by the UN Human [...]
At least 140,000 people have been displaced in areas around the city of Goma in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since the take over of the city by the rebel group M23. This is according to United Nations aid agencies in the region. The majority of the displaced have taken refuge in schools, church compounds [...]
For the past 25 years, American soprano Barbara Hendricks has been a tireless advocate on behalf of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). Hendricks says her childhood in the racially segregated south of the United States ignited her passion to fight for what she feels is right. UNFPA extols the benefits of [...]
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and Haiti are appealing for $74 million to help the country's agricultural sector recover from colossal damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Haitian President Michel Joseph Martelly and FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva made the appeal at a press conference at the UN agency's headquarters in Rome on [...]
Strategies to implement a UN plan aimed at creating a free and safe working environment for journalists are the focus of a two-day meeting which opened in Vienna on Thursday. The meeting has been organized by several UN agencies who report that more than 600 journalists, bloggers and others who work in media have been [...]
The Security Council has commended the international diplomatic efforts which led to a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel on Wednesday. Following announcement of the cease-fire, Council members released a statement deploring the loss of life as a result of the crisis while also stressing the urgency for the full restoration of calm. More than 140 [...]
The UN agency which assists Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) is back at work following Wednesday's announcement of a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel. UNRWA has opened its 21 health centres in Gaza, having maintained service in 19 of these facilities, as well as food distribution and provision of essential sanitation services, during the latest round of [...]
UN Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay has expressed concern following the executions of 14 prisoners in Afghanistan this week, the country’s first use of capital punishment since June 2011. Those executed had been convicted of crimes including murder, rape and offenses related to national security. In a statement on Thursday, Ms. Pillay said shortcomings in [...]
The recent conflict between Hamas and Israel could have a devastating and lasting impact on the region's children, according to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. While welcoming Wednesday's cease-fire between the two sides, the group of independent experts has expressed concern about the effects of death, injuries and trauma on youngsters. [...]
Renowned musician and composer Danilo Pérez has thrilled audiences around the world with his distinctive Pan-American jazz. And now the pianist, who directs the Berklee Jazz Music Institute, will use his prestige as a musician and humanitarian in his new role as an Artist for Peace with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). [...]
The Security Council has called on all parties to the Middle East cease-fire to uphold the agreement and act seriously to implement its provisions in good faith. In a statement on Wednesday evening, Council members also expressed their continued support for international efforts to consolidate peace. The Security Council met just hours after the announcement [...]
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the ceasefire announcement between Israel and the Hamas movement, commending the parties for "stepping back from the brink." Addressing the UN Security Council from Tel Aviv, the Secretary-General said it is imperative that both sides stick to the ceasefire in order to allow the underlying issues to be addressed in a [...]
A ceasefire agreement has been reached between the Israelis and Palestinians. The announcement was made in Cairo. The Permanent Observer of Palestine to the UN Riyad Mansour says they would have liked to reach an agreement earlier which would have saved many civilian lives in the Gaza Strip. "We tried every thing possible with many [...]
• The Security Council is demanding the immediate withdrawal of the M23 rebel group from Goma, the capital of North Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Security Council met on Tuesday evening following the takeover of Goma by the M23 rebel fighters. In a resolution adopted unanimously, the Council also demanded [...]
1. Dozens of chidren executed by rebel groups in DR Congo 2. Over 220 million women in deveoping countries need family planning 3. Diabetes kills 3.4 million people every year : WHO 4. Global community must show it cares about Sahel, says Romano Prodi 5. Relief supplies for Syrians destroyed in attacks 6. Hurricane [...]
The UN Envoy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mr. Roger Meece, has been explaining to the UN Security Council on Wednesday how the rebel M23 group managed to launch a major offensive operation and now occupied the provincial capital of Goma, despite efforts by UN forces in support of government forces. At the [...]
Action on climate change needs to be scaled-up and accelerated without delay if the world is to have a running chance of keeping a global average temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius this century. That assessment is contained in the Emissions Gap Report, coordinated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the European Climate Foundation, [...]
The Security Council is demanding immediate withdrawal of the M23 rebel group from Goma, the capital of North Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Security Council met on Tuesday evening following the takeover of Goma by the M23 rebel fighters. In a resolution adopted unanimously, the Council also demanded an immediate [...]
The top official of the UN agency assisting Palestinian refugees has praised the staff for their dedication to their work despite the violence in Gaza. UNRWA Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi visited Gaza to see firsthand the destruction taking place. He also praised those who repaired damage to a food distribution centre hit by airstrikes, enabling it [...]
Three organizations are joining efforts to help eradicate hunger and undernourishment in Africa. The African Union Commission (AUC), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Instituto Lula of Brazil announced Wednesday in Addis Ababa that African food security is a priority. And they've agreed to convene a high-level meeting with African [...]
The World Food Programme (WFP) has begun food distribution to over 30,000 people in Gaza to prevent the conflict from deepening hunger in the already food-insecure region. The agency says it will provide emergency rations to some 350 families whose homes were destroyed during recent attacks. They will receive bread, as well as canned food [...]
South Sudan became the world's newest nation when it gained independence in July 2011. But nearly two years since that landmark, the country faces overwhelming challenges in areas such as food security, education and health. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is seeking $1.16 billion to finance operations in South Sudan [...]
At least 132 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, since the start of the latest hostilities between Israel and Palestine, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The death toll includes 30 children and 11 women. WHO says the number of wounded has surpassed 1,000, among them 381 children and 186 women. Dr Mahmoud Daher [...]
Aid agencies working in South Sudan say they will require over $ 1.1 billion in 2013 to meet the growing humanitarian needs in the country. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says a large proportion of the population in South Sudan remains vulnerable due to insecurity, displacement, food shortages, disease [...]
The Security Council will meet on Wednesday afternoon in relation to the current crisis in Gaza. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been monitoring the health situation created by the conflict, and says a shortage of essential medicines is a concern. It is appealing for $10 million to restock medical supplies. Patrick Maigua spoke on [...]
The UN Secretary-General has warmly welcomed the cease-fire between Hamas and Israel following a week of violence that has killed more than 140 people. Addressing the Security Council on Wednesday, Ban Ki-moon commended the parties, calling the truce a "huge relief"—not only for people in Gaza and Israel, but also the international community. Dianne Penn [...]
The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a record high in 2011, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Between 1990 and 2011, there was a 30% increase in radiative forcing – the warming effect on our climate – because of carbon dioxide (co2) and other heating-trapping long-lived gases. WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud made [...]
Further escalation of the hostilities between Israel and Gaza would be dangerous and tragic for Palestinians and Israelis, and would put the entire region at risk. The warning comes from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a press conference with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Tuesday. The Secretary-General said the world is really [...]
Accelerating industrialization for boosting intra-African trade is the theme of this year's Africa Industrialization Day, observed on the 20th of November. This year's commemoration highlights the important role trade between African countries can play in reducing poverty, increasing food and nutrition security and supporting sustainable development. According to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, African economies are [...]
There were 700,000 thousand fewer new cases of HIV/AIDS infection in 2011 than there were in 2001. In addition, since 2005, half a million people did not die of HIV/AIDS, thanks to anti-retroviral therapy and other AIDS-reduction interventions, according to Results, the UN World AIDS Day Report for 2012. The report, prepared by the Joint [...]
The unprecedented scale-up in response to HIV and AIDS is producing results around the world, according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). A UNAIDS report launched on Tuesday shows that new HIV infections have dropped by more than 50 per cent in 25 countries. AIDS-related deaths globally have also declined by one-quarter [...]
Nobel peace prize winner and Member of Parliament in Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi has been appointed as a Global Advocate for Zero Discrimination by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). In this new role, Aung San Suu Kyi will call on her fellow citizens and people around the world to eliminate stigma [...]
There's mounting concern in the UN humanitarian community for the safety of thousands of Congolese displaced by the escalating hostilities in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says there is concern that humanitarian operations are increasingly difficult to carry out, as tens of [...]
United Nations relief agencies are concerned about the worsening humanitarian crisis in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rebel fighters of the M23 movement advanced on Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, forcing people already displaced by previous conflicts to flee again. The UN humanitarian agencies are trying to ease [...]
Mediation efforts to bring an end to the current crisis in the Middle East are continuing. Speaking from the region, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday repeated his call for an end to the violence between Hamas and Israel which has killed upwards of 100 people over the past week. Dianne Penn reports. Duration: 2’50″
The conflict in Gaza and Israel is having a psycho-social effect on children, says UNICEF, the UN Children's Fund. UNICEF Spokesperson Marixie Mercado reports that the children are surrounded by images of death and destruction, with constant funerals taking place amid chaos and panic. They are unable to sleep and are afraid to go out [...]
UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay has expressed concern for civilians caught up in the ongoing hostilities between the Israelis and Hamas. The high commissioner is dismayed by the marked surge in the number of Palestinian civilians, including women and children, killed and injured over the past 48 hours as a result of Israeli military [...]
Immediate steps are needed by all to avoid further escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a press conference in Egypt on Tuesday. The Secretary-General said he had come to the region to appeal personally for an end to the violence. He offered his help in ongoing efforts to achieve [...]
Humanitarian agencies have temporarily suspended their operations in parts of Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as fighting escalates around the city of Goma. Most agencies operating in Eastern DR Congo have their operations based in the eastern town of Goma. Fighting has escalated over the past week as government forces and the rebel group M23 [...]
Bringing law and order to Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, long known for lawlessness and insecurity, is a challenging task. The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which has helped the government wrest control of the city from the Al-Shabaab Islamist insurgents, is doing just that. AMISOM has a special unit of 140 men from Uganda and [...]
A new report suggests that time may be running out to temper the rising risks of climate change. "Turn Down the Heat," prepared by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Climate Analytics for the World Bank, says the world is barreling down a path to heat up by 4 degrees at the end of [...]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday commended Yemen on the occasion of the first anniversary of its historic transition agreement and he urged Yemenis to build on the progress made over the past 12 months. The historic transition agreement was signed on 23 November 2011. It provided for former President Ali Abdullah Saleh to [...]
While piracy and the armed robbery of ships mostly take place in East Africa, West Africa and the Far East, it affects the entire international community. That assessment comes from French Ambassador Gérard Arraud, speaking during a Security Council debate on piracy held on Monday. Council members have welcomed what they see as a sharp [...]
The Millennium Development Goals to sharply reduce poverty by 2015 are set to fail the poor in terms of sanitation, according to Catarina de Albuquerque, the United Nations expert on the right to clean water. Ms. de Albuquerque made her comments on the occasion of World Toilet Day, November 19th. Access to sanitation currently ranks [...]
The situation in Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the DRC, remains volatile and unpredictable, with thousands of displaced persons on the move in search of safety and security, according to Yvon Edoumou. Mr. Edoumou of OCHA, the UN humanitarian agency in the DRC, says while the displacement is caused by on-going conflict [...]
An exhibition on how developing countries are sharing solutions to address the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is taking place this week in Vienna. Among the exhibitors at the fifth Global South-South Development Expo is the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which promotes the use of nuclear science and technology in solving development challenges. The agency [...]
The resumption of attacks by the rebel movement known as the M23, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has been condemned by the United Nations. The Security Council held an emergency meeting on Saturday as the rebels were reported to have advanced to within a few kilometres of Goma, [...]
Loss of soils, forests and fisheries, as well as rising resource costs, are likely to become increasingly important to a nation's economic health, says UNEP, the UN Environment Programme. A report issued by UNEP's Finance Initiative says resource degradation has the potential to make worse the debt crises that have already helped trigger, and deepen, [...]
The World Health Organization (WHO) has denied recent allegations that it is receiving funding from the food and beverage industry in relation to its work to reduce non-communicable diseases. Director-General Margaret Chan says these allegations are wrong. Dr. Chan says WHO is committed to reducing the public health impacts associated with non-communicable diseases. She says [...]
Two hundred-and-forty-five schools in Gaza have been closed as a result of the ongoing conflict. But according to Christopher Gunness, Spokesperson for UNRWA, the UN Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA has found some innovative ways to help the 245,000 children who have been affected. Colleagues in Gaza have developed a distance learning TV channel so that [...]
As the conflict continues in Gaza with Israel launching air strikes into the territory and rockets being fired from Hamas into Israel, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has reiterated his call on the parties to stop their attacks. In fact, Mr. Ban has gone to the Middle East as part of his efforts to work with [...]
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed alarm at the ongoing violence in the Middle East and has urged the parties to cooperate with efforts led by Egypt to reach a ceasefire. Meanwhile, a Spokesperson for UNRWA, the UN Relief and Works Agency, Christopher Gunness, echoes the Secretary-General's call. He reports that the civilian death toll is [...]
Congolese forces and UN peacekeepers are attempting to hold off a possible rebel advance towards the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the head of UN peacekeeping operations. Hervé Ladsous spoke to journalists on Saturday after briefing an emergency Security Council meeting which was called following an early [...]
The Security Council has condemned the latest attacks by the M23 movement in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. In an emergency meeting on Saturday, the Council expressed its deep concern regarding the rapidly deteriorating security and humanitarian crisis brought on by the ongoing military activities of the rebel group. An M23 attack on [...]
According the World Health Organization, every 20 seconds somewhere in the world, someone is killed in a road traffic crash. "Learning from the past" is the theme of this year's World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, 18 November. Etienne Krug, Chair of the UN Road Safety Collaboration, told Gerry Adams it is possible [...]
Children have been victims of the recent escalation of conflict in Gaza and southern Israel. The Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict says that since Wednesday, 60 Palestinian children were reportedly injured and at least four reportedly killed during Israeli airstrikes including an 11 month old boy, as [...]
Thousands of Burundian refugees in Tanzania will be returning to their homeland over the next few weeks after losing their refugee status, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). UNHCR says the refugees, who have been in Tanzania for 20 years, are taking advantage of a last opportunity to get help so that they [...]
The continued firing of rockets on Israel from Gaza and Israeli airstrikes on Gaza are dangerous and must stop, says UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. In a statement on Friday, the Secretary-General warns that a new cycle of bloodshed will make neither Israelis nor Palestinians more secure. UN Spokesperson Martin Nesirky says the Secretary-General plans [...]
Fifteen million babies globally are born prematurely each year and one million of them die, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Yet, the agency adds, 75 per cent of these children could be saved without expensive, high technology care. WHO says that more than half of the world's pre-term babies are born in Southern [...]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is determined that the United Nations learns from its failure to meet its responsibilities during the final months of the Sri Lankan civil war. Mr. Ban this week received a report from a panel he commissioned to look into criticisms from another expert group on the UN's response to [...]
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is providing over 9,000 cholera kits to respond to an outbreak of the disease in Haiti. It says that with several new outbreaks of cholera recorded by Haiti's national alert since the passage of Hurricane Sandy, there are now more than 3,500 confirmed cases. The Haitian Ministry of Health [...]
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is providing over 9,000 cholera kits to respond to an outbreak of the disease in Haiti. It says that with several new outbreaks of cholera recorded by Haiti's national alert since the passage of Hurricane Sandy, there are now more than 3,500 confirmed cases. The Haitian Ministry of Health [...]
NARRATOR: Despite recognizing the need to make the Security Council more representative and fit to tackle complex global challenges, delegates remained divided on the future makeup of the 15-nation body, as the General Assembly on Thursday discussed the Council's work and reforming its structure Jamaica, spoke on behalf of the L69 Group of countries –a [...]
NARRATOR: St. Vincent and the Grenadines says that in this era of economic globalization and international diplomatic engagement across the ideological spectrum, the Embargo against Cuba harkens back to an isolationist era. Ambassador Camillo Gonsalves pointed out that throughout the extended struggle with the effects of the Embargo, Cuba has remained a staunch and abiding [...]
NARRATOR: The Caribbean Community – CARICOM has stressed that despite significant challenges, Cuba continues to show itself to be a key regional and international partner and actor. Word of this comes from Barbados' representative Ambassador Joseph Goddard, who spoke on behalf of CARICOM.. TAPE: CARICOM Member States, in keeping with our policy of mutual respect, [...]
The UN General Assembly on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to condemn the U.S. commercial, economic and financial embargo against Cuba for the 21st year in a row. The final vote was 188-3, with Israel and Palau joining the United States. The Marshall Islands and Micronesia both abstained. Last year’s vote for the symbolic measure was almost [...]
More than 2,000 Sudanese refugees have arrived at South Sudan's largest refugee settlement in Yida over the past week to escape fighting in their country, according to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR). UNHCR says it is building a water point on the road between Yida and the border to ensure refugees have access to [...]
More than 222 million women around the world would like to use family planning but cannot, says Richard Kollodge, editor of the State of the World Population Report 2012. The theme of this year's report, By Choice, Not by Chance: Family Planning, Human Rights and Development, emphasizes a woman's right to decide on the [...]
Two Croatian officials have been acquitted of crimes against humanity and war crimes related to the Yugoslavia war in the 1990s. The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Friday ordered the release of Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač. Donn Bobb reports. Mr. Gotovina, a Colonel General of the [...]
India holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council in November. Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri says the agenda will cover "every possible global hotspot," as well as thematic debates, including on piracy and women, peace and development. UNFPA calls for redoubling of efforts to provide family planning More than 220 million women worldwide want [...]
Former South Sudanese refugees are now helping Sudanese refugees who have fled to their country. The refugees have escaped fighting between the Sudanese army and armed rebel forces in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states. The work of helping the refugees has a special meaning for the field workers of the United Nations refugee agency [...]
The people of Sierra Leone head to the polls on Saturday in their third elections since the end of 11 years of civil war in 2002. That's another sign that the country is moving from the post-conflict state to the path of development, says Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen, Executive Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Sierra [...]
A major vaccination campaign is to be carried out in Sudan's Darfur region, to contain the outbreak of yellow fever, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). To-date over 370 suspected cases have been reported, including 110 deaths. Most of the cases have been reported in Central, South, West, North and East Darfur region. The [...]
The UN Human Rights Office(OHCHR) says it was unacceptable that civilians continue to bear the greatest burden of tension between the Israeli government and Palestinians. UN Human rights chief Navi Pillay says the protection of civilian lives was an obligation for all states under international law. The High Commissioner says she was concerned over the [...]
The people of Sierra Leone are being urged to come out to vote and refrain from violence in the general elections on Saturday. The appeal has come from Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen, Executive Representative of the UN Secretary-General in the West African country. He says the United Nations has provided technical and political support to Sierra [...]
The United Nations on Thursday celebrated 60 years of guided tours at its headquarters in New York. More than 40 million visitors have visited the UN during that time. Elena Vapnitchnaia took a walk down memory lane with Elisabeth Waechter, Chief of Visitors Services. Duration: 3’46″
As the violence in southern Israel and Gaza continues, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been consulting with leaders in the Middle East region to discuss the crisis. This follows what has been described as an "alarming escalation" of indiscriminate rock fire from Gaza into Israel and the targeted killing by Israel of a Hamas [...]
1. Nuclear power remains option for energy requirement: India 2. Weather information vital in managing health risks. 3. Kyrgyzstan villages fight land degradation by reviving beekeeping tradition. 4. " No Woman No Peace" says award winning activist from Nepal. Narrated and Produced by Ambalika Misra Duration: 15’00″
1. Diabetes kills three to five million people every year: WHO 2. Strategy for disability inclusive society in Asia Pacific launched. 3. Continuing violence displaces more than 100,000 people in Myanmar. 4. Emergency health care center in an Indian village provides 24 hour services. 5. Juvenile justice programme helping children in Afghanistan. [...]
Members of the UN Security Council and other UN member States met late Wednesday evening behind closed doors to discuss what UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called the "deteriorating situation in southern Israel and Gaza". Gerry Adams reports. Duration: 2’41″
The United Nations on Thursday celebrates 60 years of guided tours at its headquarters in New York. More than 40 million visitors have come to the United Nations where a multinational, multilingual team of guides introduces them to the work of the Organization. The Chief of Visitors Services, Elisabeth Waechter, says the tours have changed [...]
• Former South Sudanese refugees are now helping Sudanese refugees who have fled to their country. The refugees escaped fighting between the Sudanese army and armed rebel forces in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states. The work of helping the refugees has a special meaning for the field workers of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). [...]
A new report released on Thursday details a range of human rights violations committed in the North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between April and September 2012. The report has been compiled by the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) in the country. Donn Bobb reports. The report says [...]
The pace of the return of over 35,000 Burundian refugees to their country from Tanzania has picked up as the deadline for them to go home approaches, according to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR). The agency says more than 1,000 refugees are returning to their country almost daily, after losing their refugee status in [...]
Today is World Philosophy Day. It's being observed under the theme: "future generations". And in a message marking the occasion, UNESCO's Director-General Irina Bokova reiterated the urgent need to pass on to young people the taste for philosophy, its rigour and its joys, from the earliest age. She says UNESCO supports the practice of teaching [...]
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has suspended schooling in Gaza as Israel continued airstrikes on the territory. There are also reports that an UNRWA teacher was killed in a car near the scene of an airstrike in northern Gaza. Adnan Abu Hasna is the agency's spokesperson in Gaza. "There will be no [...]
November traditionally is a busy month in the Security Council, according to India's ambassador to the United Nations, Hardeep Singh Puri. The ambassador, who holds the presidency of the Council for this month, is preparing for several thematic debates on the issues of piracy, women, peace and development, and the working methods of the chamber. [...]
The violence by Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza has to stop, says the representative of India to the United Nations, Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri. Ambassador Puri is the President of the Security Council for this month, but following an emergency meeting late Wednesday, he spoke to reporters as the representative of his country, saying the [...]
On the eve of general elections in Sierra Leone, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging Sierra Leoneans to ensure that the electoral process is peaceful. On 17 November, the West African country will hold its third general elections since the 11-year civil war ended in 2002. Charles Appel reports. On Saturday Sierra Leoneans will [...]
The United Nations Security Council this month authorized the extension of the mandate of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to early March 2013. The AU troops are helping to stabilize a country which did not have a functioning central government for more than two decades. But this year, a new Parliament was sworn [...]
Fighting in the Darfur region of Sudan has escalated in recent months, according to the joint United Nations-African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID). The Mission is calling on the Sudanese Armed Forces and an armed group in North Darfur to stop fighting. To find out more about this, UN Radio's Derrick Mbatha spoke on the [...]
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is determined that the Organization learns from its failure to meet its responsibilities during the 2009 war in Sri Lanka. Mr. Ban made the comments through his spokesperson on Wednesday following a briefing by Charles Petrie who led the Internal Review Panel on United Nations Action in Sri [...]
They were civilians, police and peacekeepers of the United Nations, all with one goal in mind – to work for the sake of peace. But 29 individuals lost their lives in that pursuit this year and the United Nations on Wednesday honoured their ultimate sacrifice. Gerry Adams reports. Duration: 2’48″
Asia-Pacific countries must ensure transparency and accountability in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), crucial for bridging major infrastructure gaps which are keeping the region from realizing its full growth potential and making it more balanced and sustainable. That's what the United Nations told a high-level forum in Teheran, Iran on Wednesday. Donn Bobb reports. Executive Secretary of [...]
More than 70 per cent of workers worldwide have no statutory access to unemployment insurance or any type of unemployment assistance, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). The ILO says that unemployment insurance schemes exist in 72 countries out of 198 monitored by the agency, most of them being middle- and high-income countries. Donn [...]
The United Nations on Wednesday held its annual service in tribute to its personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty from 1 November 2011 to 31 August this year. The Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council joined the Secretary-General in lighting candles representing the eternal flame for the fallen [...]
Conflict, recurrent drought and volatile food prices have countries in Africa and the Near East in a hunger trap, but there is a way out. That's what the Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva told an International Conference on Food Security in Drylands Wednesday, in Doha, Qatar. He said “We are [...]
At least 264 people were arbitrarily executed by armed groups in attacks on villages in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo between April and September of this year. That's the finding of a UN human rights investigation report which says 83 children were among the victims, many of whom were hacked to death or [...]
The international community must show that it cares about the Sahel region of Africa, says Romano Prodi, the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy. The former Italian Prime Minister spoke to reporters late on Tuesday about his mission to help the Sahel region which faces a number of problems, including drought, hunger and conflict in Mali. [...]
At least 264 civilians, including 83 children, were executed by armed groups in Eastern Democratic republic of Congo between April and September this year, according to investigations conducted by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR). Investigators found that the Raia Mutomboki armed group, was responsible for most of the killings, which were often perpetrated with [...]
More than 220 million women around the world would like to use family planning but cannot, says Richard Kollodge, editor of the State of the World Population Report 2012. The theme of this year's report, By Choice, Not by Chance: Family Planning, Human Rights and Development, emphasizes a woman's right to decide on the number [...]
The need for family planning in developing countries is the focus of this year's World Population Report of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). According to Richard Kollodge, the Editor of the report launched on Wednesday, there are many barriers to accessing family planning, not only in developing countries, but throughout the world. Mr. Kollodge [...]
Diabetes rates are escalating across the globe, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) which observes World Diabetes Day on 14 November each year. Diabetes occurs when the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin, or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces, resulting in increased glucose in the blood. The illness is also [...]
Nearly 350 million people worldwide have diabetes, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The United Nations health agency estimates that 3.4 million people die of diabetes every year, and almost 80 per of the deaths occur in developing countries. Tarik Jasarevic is WHO spokesperson in Geneva. "WHO projects that diabetes deaths will increase by [...]
The 193-member General Assembly on Tuesday urged the United States to lift the embargo it imposed against Cuba in 1962. The resolution was adopted by 188 votes in favour to three against: the United States, Israel and Palau. The Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia abstained. The Foreign Minister of Cuba, Bruno Rodriguez [...]
1. Lack of funds limiting UN response to Syrian humanitarian crisis 2. Flooding affects about 8 million people in Nigeria 3. UN supports hurricane-hit Caribbean countries 4. Progress is made in stabilizing Libya, says UN envoy 5. Libya cooperates with ICC as it seeks to try Qadhafi 6. Security Council authorizes African Union to continue [...]
Hurricane Sandy has been classified as the largest Atlantic tropical system on record. After cutting a destructive path through the Caribbean, it caused widespread damage to the east coast of the United States. Gerry Adams reports. Duration: 2’22″
Bosnia and Herzegovina is being left behind in making the reforms necessary for it to join the European Union (EU) and NATO, according to the EU High Representative Valentin Inzko. Mr. Inzko told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that six months ago he was cautiously optimistic about the direction in which the country was [...]
More than 40 students from developing countries recently took part in a week-long study tour of Germany where they learned first-hand about best environmental practices. The students, who range from 16 to 25 years old, were chosen as this year's participants in the Young Environmental Envoy Programme run by the pharmaceutical company, Bayer in partnership [...]
Foreign investments that involved local farmers and leave them in control of their land stand a better chance of improving local economies and social development. That's the conclusion of a report titled "Trends and Impacts of Foreign Investment in Developing Country Agriculture," issued by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Tuesday. Charles Appel [...]
In this drama narrated by British actor Herbert Marshall, an officer from the International Refugee Organization (former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees) reunites with two displaced persons whom he assisted two years earlier. Language: English Genre: Drama 1959 Duration: 28’35″
Actor Charles Boyer discusses the cruelties of war, highlighting the urgency for peace in troubled areas such as Korea, India, Iraq, Germany and Syria, and giving a voice to soldiers and civil society. Language: English Genre: Report 1953 Duration: 30’00″
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says she is shocked to hear about the levels of discrimination against women in Indonesia. Speaking to reporters in Jakarta on Tuesday during her mission to the country, Navi Pillay said that Indonesia is to be commended for ratifying international human rights treaties. However, she added, these [...]
A humanitarian aid convoy and warehouses storing relief supplies have come under attack in Syria, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR). More than 13,000 blankets destined for displaced Syrians were destroyed after a warehouse belonging to the Syrian Red Crescent was hit by a motor shell in Aleppo, while a truck transporting over 600 [...]
The United Nations is appealing for $40 million to provide urgent humanitarian assistance in Haiti following the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says the hurricane had generated critical humanitarian needs and exacerbated existing ones. Heavy rains and flooding caused extensive damage to agricultural lands in [...]
The Joint United Nations-African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID) is calling on the Sudanese Armed Forces and an armed group in North Darfur to stop fighting. According to UNAMID, there has been an escalation of armed confrontations near Shangil Tobaya in the region. UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky says UNAMID is gravely concerned about the escalating [...]
Young people are making sure that their perspectives are included in global discussions on development over the coming years. Several youth representatives had the chance to interact with the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Post-2015 development, which met last week in London. The panel, which consists of numerous eminent persons, is co-chaired by three world [...]
The top United Nations envoy for Western Sahara has urged Morocco and the Polisario Front to move swiftly into what he calls "serious negotiations" to resolve the conflict over the future of the territory. Christopher Ross issued a statement on Monday following his meeting in Madrid with the Foreign Minister of Spain. Western Sahara, which [...]
Timor-Leste will do its best to give back to the international community for the support it has received over the years. That's what the country's Foreign Minister, José Luis Guterrez told UN Radio on Monday. Mr. Guterrez is in New York to participate in a meeting of the Security Council on the UN Mission in [...]
The General Assembly on Monday elected 18 members to the UN Human Rights Council for three years. The 47-member Council, created in 2006, is an inter-governmental body responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the world. It meets in Geneva to address situations of human rights violations and make recommendations. [...]
Israelis and Palestinians have been urged to avoid further escalation of violence in Gaza and Southern Israel and to ensure the protection of civilians. The appeal comes from UN Secretary-General Ban following reported rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza and Israeli air strikes on Gaza which killed six Palestinians. Charles Appel reports. In a statement [...]
A recent food assessment survey in the People's Democratic Republic of Korea conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme, (WFP) has found that nearly three million people continue to face food insecurity in the country. However, the survey also noted that there were improvements in the harvests of [...]
The vast majority of the world population supports the international treaty to control and stop tobacco use, according to the head of the World Health Organization (WHO). Dr. Margaret Chan spoke in Seoul, South Korea, as delegates from more than 140 Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control began their session on Monday. [...]
The Gambia's first woman village chief is not only changing perceptions of what a chief looks like, but also of what they do. Fatou Danso, who is also a farmer, has redistributed land that previously was farmed solely by men so that women can grow crops to support their families. The vegetable garden scheme got [...]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for restraint in the Golan Heights where United Nations peacekeepers are monitoring the ceasefire between Syrian and Israel forces since 1974. The call came amid reports of clashes between Syrian forces and the armed opposition near the ceasefire line which drew a response from the Israeli military. Donn [...]
Children in North Korea continue to suffer from malnutrition despite an increase in the production of staple food, according to two United Nations agencies. The World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization recently conducted a crop and food security assessment in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The results of the [...]
The story of influenza and the fight against the virus led by the World Health Organization. Language: English Genre: Drama 1954 Duration: 14’26″
Pneumonia is a preventable and treatable disease, yet 1.3 million children die of the disease a year, according to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). World Pneumonia Day is observed on 12 November to focus attention on the disease which claims children's lives mainly in developing countries. UNICEF says that inoculating children for diseases such [...]
Over 350 people have died and almost eight million others have been affected by the worst flooding to hit Nigeria in over 40 years. The United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA) in Geneva says that about 6,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed and over two million Nigerians have registered as internally displaced persons or IDPs. [...]
Sri Lankan migrant workers, many of whom are women who work in the Gulf region, suffer abuses at on the job, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The agency is supporting authorities in the country as they design a comprehensive national migration health policy to help Sri Lankans who work abroad. IOM [...]
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has warned that it is running out of money to contain an outbreak of Hepatitis E among Sudanese refugees in South Sudan. The agency says the disease, which damages the liver and is caused by consuming contaminated food and water, has killed 26 refugees in Upper Nile state. According [...]
The United Nations human rights chief has urged the government of South Sudan to reverse an expulsion order against a senior United Nations human rights officer issued two weeks ago. In a statement released on Friday, Navi Pillay says the expulsion of the officer working for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is in [...]
A decision by the Brazilian government to grant permanent residency to nearly 2,000 former Angolan and Liberian refugees has been welcomed by the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR). Brazil's Ministry of Justice issued a decree on October 26 confirming the new status for this group. UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards says the measure was adopted by the [...]
Representatives of governments and international aid organizations meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday heard reports of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria. UN agencies participating in the sixth Syria Humanitarian Forum fear a lack of funds could threaten their assistance to people inside and outside the country who depend on aid relief. Charles Appel reports. [...]
Parliaments around the world are making unprecedented use of social media and mobile technologies to facilitate the work of their members and increase citizens' engagement. That's according to a report jointly published by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the United Nations. IPU spokesperson Jemini Pandya says that for the first time, social media is among [...]
Hardy, strong, adaptable to local conditions and easy to care for: these are some of the traits that small livestock farmers value in their animals. But some farmers are being urged to abandon indigenous chickens, goats, sheep, pigs and other animals for high-performing hybrid breeds such as Holstein-Friesian cows, the world's leading milk producers. Women [...]
The United Nations is supporting the Caribbean countries that have been affected by Hurricane Sandy, says UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Mr. Ban briefed the General Assembly on the impact of the hurricane which also disrupted the work of the United Nations Headquarters in New York. He said that five million people were affected in [...]
Over 408,000 Syrians have now crossed into neighbouring countries to escape the violence in their country according to United Nations agencies. The UN refugee agency UNHCR says in the last two days, over 11,000 Syrian refugees have entered Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. UNHCR says there were little efforts by both sides of the conflict to [...]
Humanitarian agencies in Nigeria are appealing for $38 million to respond to widespread flooding in Nigeria which has affected over 7.7 million people. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says over two million people have been driven out of their homes by rising waters of the River Niger. The bulk of [...]
The number of internally displaced people in Myanmar's Rakhine State has risen to more than 110,000, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Patrick Maigua in Geneva sat down with OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke who describes the situation as "volatile" and "tense." ILO works to get Indian child laborers [...]
Hardy, strong, adaptable to local conditions and easy to care for: these are some of the traits that rural women who keep livestock value in their animals. But some of these pastoralists and family farmers are being urged to abandon their indigenous chickens, goats, sheep, pigs and other animals for high-performing hybrid breeds. Women comprise [...]
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging people around the world to join a campaign to support a Pakistani girl shot for advocating for education. In a recorded video message, Mr. Ban says that on November 10th, citizens from across the globe are speaking out for Malala Yousafzai and on behalf of the 61 million [...]
• An operation to airlift 1,300 South Sudanese from Khartoum to South Sudan started on Tuesday. The International Organization for Migration says they are part of 40,000 people who moved to open places in 2010 hoping to be transported to South Sudan. According to IOM there are two flights a day transporting the people [...]
The United Nations is ready to help authorities in Guatemala which was hit by a 7.4 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday, says UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The earthquake which was reportedly centred off the Pacific coast of Guatemala struck during the working hours leaving more than 40 people dead. UN spokesman, Martin Nesirky says the Secretary-General [...]
The first shipment of humanitarian aid from United Nations agencies in Cuba arrived in Santiago de Cuba on Thursday to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy. A flight with 40 tonnes of basic commodities including hygiene, cooking and school kits, waterproof canvas, water storage tanks and water purification tablets landed at Antonio Maceo Airport from [...]
The government and people of Libya have made progress in stabilizing the country over the last year despite challenges that still remain. That's what the top United Nations envoy in the North African country Tarek Mitri told the Security Council during his briefing via video teleconference on Thursday. He told the Council that there have [...]
1. Humanitarian situation deteriorates in Syria as winter looms 2. More than 2 billion people at risk of malaria in Asia Pacific Region 3. WHO : Haiti faces threat of cholera following Hurricane Sandy 4. Number of internally displaced people in Mali growing, says UNHCR 5. WHO study says polio eradication efforts not reaching everyone [...]
1. UNRWA : Israeli TV station corrects wrong claims against UN in Gaza 2. UN expert calls for boycott of businesses that profit from Israeli settlements 3. UN expert : Freedom of religion violated for political control 4. On UN Day Ban Ki-moon reaffirms pledge to tackle global problems 5. WHO says Polio eradication efforts [...]
The Security Council has failed to adopt resolutions on Syria under a chapter in the United Nations Charter that gives enforcement powers to maintain international peace and security. That's what Ambassador Néstor Osorio of Colombia told the Security Council on as he introduced its annual draft report to the General Assembly. He described the period [...]
The Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has called on the Libyan authorities to ensure justice is served in relation to crimes committed during the overthrow of former leader Muammar Qadhafi in 2011. Fatou Bensouda on Wednesday briefed the Security Council on cases concerning Libya which is undergoing political transition following more than four [...]
An estimated 10 million people from The Philippines have left their homeland in search of economic opportunities abroad. The money they send home helps to support their families and is vital to the country's economy. However, very little of this money is saved or invested. In this feature from the International Fund for Agricultural Development [...]
Food prices fell by one per cent in October, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). FAO also says that the food import bill for 2012 may drop as a result of lower international prices and freight rates combined with lower cereal purchases. Charles Appel reports. The UN agriculture agency says the [...]
The Libyan government is cooperating with the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to its Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, who has spoken to UN Radio after briefing the Security Council on Wednesday. Last year her office requested arrest warrants for Saif Al-Islam Qadhafi, his late father, Muammar Qadhafi, and the former intelligence chief Abdullah Al-Senussi for crimes [...]
The United Nations is encouraging its staff members to make voluntary contributions to support the victims of the Storm Sandy which devastated parts of New York. UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky told reporters on Wednesday that many of the UN's own staff members were severely affected by the storm. He says that the Secretary-General and [...]
More than 70,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon are getting food assistance from the World Food Programme, according to the head of the agency Ertharin Cousin. Ms. Cousin spoke in Beirut on Wednesday at the end of her visit to Lebanon on the first stop of a three-day regional trip to see first-hand the increasing humanitarian [...]
Six trade unions in the state of Tamil Nadu in India have banded together to eliminate child labour. In one district alone, they have removed nearly 100 youngsters working in auto and motorcycle repair shops and placed them where they belong: back in school. Dianne Penn reports Duration: 2’40″
There have been differences in the Security Council on what has to be done to help the transitional government of Somalia, according to the Deputy Representative of South Africa to the United Nations. Doctor Mashabane spoke to reporters on Wednesday after the Council adopted a resolution authorizing the extension of the African Union Mission [...]
The international community has been urged to help the government of Libya combat impunity and reinforce a culture of the rule of law. The appeal has come from the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, who presented her report to the Security Council on Wednesday. She told the Council that the government [...]
The Security Council has decided to authorize the African Union to maintain the deployment of its mission in Somalia (AMISOM) until 7 March next year. The Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Wednesday which, among other things, allows AMISOM to take all necessary measures to reduce the threat of Al-Shabaab insurgents and other armed groups [...]
An operation to airlift South Sudanese from the Sudanese capital Khartoum back to South Sudan started on Tuesday this week. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) hopes that at the end of the two-week operation, 1,300 people it says are the most vulnerable will have returned to South Sudan. They are among approximately 40,000 people [...]
The death toll from the yellow fever outbreak in Sudan's Dafur region has risen to 67 according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The outbreak which was first reported in October has now affected 17 localities in Central, South, West and North Darfur. Patrick Maigua reports. The World Health Organization says the number of suspected [...]
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warmly congratulated President Barack Obama on his re-election as President of the United States. A statement issued by his spokesperson on Wednesday says the Secretary-General is looking forward to continuing to work with President Obama and his administration. Charles Appel reports. The Secretary-General says that working with President Obama [...]
Deforestation is depriving Kenya of millions of dollars a year, according to a report issued on Monday. The report has been jointly compiled by the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). To find out more about the report and the problem of deforestation in Kenya, Derrick Mbatha spoke on the [...]
The United Nations has condemned bombings that took place in Bahrain on Monday killing two foreign nationals and critically injuring a third. The government is reported as saying that the five bombs that exploded in three districts of Bahrain's capital Manana were improvised explosive devices. One victim was reportedly killed after he kicked one of [...]
The situation in Syria is turning grimmer every day and risks spreading to neighbouring countries in a volatile region. That's what United Nations Political Affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman told reporters on Tuesday after briefing the Security Council on the situation in Syria. Mr. Feltman said that a proposed pause over the Eid al-Adha Muslim [...]
A senior United Nations humanitarian officer is visiting The Philippines to see first hand how the country is well prepared for natural disasters. Rashid Khalikov, the Director of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva, began a week-long mission to the country on Monday. OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke says that The [...]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for the prevention of conflicts over natural resources and for maximizing the benefits of these resources for maintaining and building peace. Mr. Ban's call comes in his message to mark the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict observed on 6 November. [...]
Haiti can capitalize on its natural and cultural resources to get the country back on the world tourism map, thereby contributing to its overall recovery and development. This was the main message of UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, during his first official visit to Haiti (27-30 October 2012). According to UNWTO figures, Haiti benefited from the [...]
The West African nation of Côte d'Ivoire is the world's leading exporter of cocoa beans which are used to make chocolate. But with the economic crisis affecting pricing, cocoa farmers are struggling to make a living. Dianne Penn reports Duration: 2’56″
International tourist arrivals grew 4 percent between January and August year-on-year and are heading for the 1 billion mark for the first time by December, the UN World Tourism Organization said on Monday. In 2011, international tourist arrivals reached 990 million. With an expected growth of 3% to 4% in 2012, this figure is forecast [...]
Waste experts from around the world have gathered in Osaka, Japan for a two-day conference which started on Monday to discuss the global waste crisis. The conference is convened every two years by the Global Partnership on Waste Management which is hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Donn Bobb reports. UNEP is warning [...]
The World Food Programme (WFP) is helping to feed thousands of people in Haiti and Cuba who have lost their homes and livelihoods due to Hurricane Sandy. WFP is urgently appealing for more than $20 million to support more than 425,000 people in Haiti alone, particularly pregnant women, new mothers and children under five years [...]
The World Food Programme (WFP) is appealing for more than $20 million to provide food for hundreds of thousands of Haitians affected by Hurricane Sandy. The agency says the impact of the hurricane and a recent drought is still being felt in the poor Caribbean country which suffered from an earthquake in 2010. Spokesperson Elisabeth [...]
More than 1,300 South Sudanese stranded in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum are being airlifted to South Sudan in an operation that started on Tuesday. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says the people are among approximately 40,000 South Sudanese who moved to open places in Khartoum in 2010 expecting to be transported to South [...]
The Internet is posing challenges to governments that want to combat racism, according to Mutuma Ruteere, the United Nations independent expert on racism. The UN Special Rapporteur on racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance spoke to reporters on Monday after presenting two reports to the General Assembly. The first report was on racism and [...]
The role that women play in the conservation of indigenous livestock must be recognized, argues a new report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). According to the study, entitled "Invisible Guardians: Women manage livestock diversity", about two thirds of the 600 million poor livestock keepers in the world, are women. It says [...]
The humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is dire with more than two million internally displaced people, or IDPs. That's according to John Ging, the Director of Operations for the United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA), who has just returned from the country. Mr. Ging who was accompanied by senior officials from the [...]
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is protesting a recent government decision to expel one of its Human Rights officers from the country. The staff member is currently working in Uganda after being given 48 hours to leave South Sudan, according to a statement from the mission. Derrick Mbatha spoke to UNMISS spokesman [...]
Deforestation is depriving Kenya millions of dollars a year, according to a new report out on Monday. The report has been jointly compiled by the Kenyan Forest Service (KFS) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Donn Bobb reports. The report says that deforestation deprived Kenya's economy of 5.8 billion shillings, an equivalent of $68 [...]
Nuclear power is still seen as an option for meeting energy requirements, despite the nuclear accident in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan last year. That's what Annu Tandon, a member of the Indian delegation to the United Nations told the General Assembly as it discussed the report of the International Atomic Energy [...]
The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Myanmar's Rakhine State has risen to more than 110,000, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Inter-communal violence during October has resulted in the deaths of nearly 90 people while more than 130 others were injured. Over 5,300 houses and religious buildings [...]
The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is protesting the expulsion of one of its human rights officers from South Sudan. The top United Nations envoy in South Sudan, Hilde Johnson, says the expulsion is in violation of international law. UNMISS says that it recently received official communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of [...]
The number of people displaced by the on going inter-communal violence in Myanmar's Rakhine province has reached over 110,000, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Over 35,000 people have been displaced in the recent wave of violence which began in October. At least 89 people have been killed since [...]
United Nations agencies are moving to help Cuba which has been hit by Hurricane Sandy, according to the UN Resident Coordinator in the country, Barbara Pesce-Monteiro. According to the United Nations humanitarian agency, OCHA, Hurricane Sandy caused severe destruction to Santiago de Cuba, the second largest city in the Caribbean island country. OCHA says that [...]
November is likely to be the busiest month for the Security Council, according to Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri of India, the President of the Council for the month. Ambassador Puri told reporters in New York on Friday that some of the work of the Security Council in October was disrupted by Hurricane Sandy which struck [...]
Farkhunda Zahra Naderi, a parliamentarian from Afghanistan, has been an advocate for educating and empowering women in her country. This year she was among the winners of the N-Peace Award which recognize women leaders and peace-builders across the Asia-Pacific region. Gerry Adams recently spoke to Ms. Naderi to learn more about the situation of women [...]
Authorities in Bahrain have been urged by the UN Secretary-General to lift the restrictions they imposed on 30 October on public demonstrations and other public gatherings. In a statement read by his spokesperson on Friday, Ban Ki-moon says he is concerned about the restrictions and reiterates his appeal to Bahraini authorities to fully abide by [...]
Millions of people across the Caribbean and the eastern United States are still reeling from the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. The damage is still being assessed one week after the storm first hit, but in the affected American states alone, estimates are in the billions of dollars. Charles Appel reports Duration: 2’39″
The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate as the crisis deepens in Syria and the winter season approaches. This warning has come from the United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA) in the latest issue of its Humanitarian Bulletin. Donn Bobb reports. OCHA says that an increasing number of Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance as at [...]
There are more internally displaced people (IDPs) in Mali than previously reported, according to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR). The Commission on Population Movement in Mali, which is a working group under the Protection Cluster led by UNHCR, puts the number of people currently displaced at more than 203,000. UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards says [...]
The destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy in the Caribbean and the eastern United States has made news across the globe. As the head of the UN office for the region (ESCAP) recently observed, Asia-Pacific certainly is not immune to natural disasters. In launching the 2012 Asia-Pacific Disaster Report, Dr. Noeleen Heyzer said floods, earthquakes, [...]
A cholera outbreak is becoming a serious threat in Haiti where treatment facilities have been destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. This warning comes from the World Health Organization, WHO, which says that poor sanitation conditions in much of the country could increase the risk of communicable diseases. According to WHO, Haiti has been recording increasing cholera [...]
Malaria, a disease often associated with Africa, is also a major threat to public health in the Asia Pacific region where over 2.2 billion people are at risk, according to the UN funded Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership. India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar and Papua New Guinea bear the largest burden of the disease in the [...]
Syrian babies are dying in large numbers for lack of critical life saving medical equipment such as incubators, according to the UN Children's Fund UNICEF. A team from UNICEF which visited the Syrian province of Al-Raqqah says the general hospital there has only 14 functioning incubators with a waiting list of more than 60 babies. [...]
The United Nations human rights chief is urging the Chinese authorities to promptly address human rights issues that have led to an alarming escalation of desperate forms of protests including self immolations in Tibetan areas. According to Navi Pillay, over 60 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since 2011. Ms. Pillay says she is disturbed by [...]
• Health workers in Namibia provide services to children of the nomadic Ovahimba community. The project has been launched by the government of Namibia and UNICEF as part of the efforts to reduce the number of children who die before their fifth birthday. Thirty four health workers have been trained to reach out to [...]
Efforts are under way in the Kunene region of Namibia to reduce the number of children who die before reaching the age of five. The government of Namibia is working with the UN Children's Fund to ensure that the nomadic Ovahimba community in the region have access to health services. To achieve this, 34 health [...]
Over the past week, Hurricane Sandy tore a deadly and destructive path through the Caribbean and the eastern part of the United States. The full extent of the damage is still being tallied but in Haiti, as many as 20,000 people have had their homes destroyed, damaged or flooded. Dianne Penn spoke on the line [...]
Haiti is facing a threat of food insecurity as a result of the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, according to a senior United Nations humanitarian official in the country. Johan Peleman the head of the Office of the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) in Haiti says his agency is still consolidating data of the destruction [...]
Governments of countries in Asia and the Pacific on Thursday launched a new 10-year strategy to promote the rights and wellbeing of persons with disabilities. The strategy was launched at a meeting in Incheon, South Korea attended by ministers, government representatives as well as members of civil society from 37 nations in the region. Charles [...]
A group of United Nations independent human rights experts have called on the Iranian authorities to immediately release two prominent human rights activists. The detained Iranians are Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent human rights lawyer, and Jafar Panahi, an internationally acclaimed film-maker. Donn Bobb reports. Nasrin Sotoudeh and Jafar Panahi were recently awarded the prestigious [...]
Polio will not be eradicated in Pakistan unless the national programme reaches out to parents from high risk groups such as low income Pashtun communities. That's the conclusion of a study published this month in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization. Charles Appel reports. The study surveyed just over 1,000 parents of children under five [...]
Concerted efforts are underway in Uganda to control the outbreak of Marburg Haemorrhagic Fever. The first case of the deadly viral disease was reported on October 19 in Kabale district in southwestern Uganda. To date at least 20 cases have been reported in at least five districts including the capital, Kampala. Dr. Joachim Saweka, WHO representative [...]
Eleven people have so far died as a result of the outbreak of Marburg Haemorrhagic Fever in Uganda, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Twenty cases of the deadly viral disease have been reported in at least five districts including the capital, Kampala. The disease outbreak was declared on 19 October with the district [...]
