Try to be a global citizen and have a global vision, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a group of UN interns who were wrapping up the internship at the United Nations. The Secretary-General says it is his hope that they have learned what the UN is doing and what they can do for the Organization. He [...]
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, also known as UNCLOS, is often called the "constitution for the oceans". It governs all aspects of ocean space, including the delimitation of maritime boundaries and the settlement of international disputes involving marine issues. Former UN Ambassador Tommy Koh of Singapore was instrumental in bringing UNCLOS [...]
The Security Council has condemned the arrest of Mali's Prime Minister by members of the armed forces. In a statement on Tuesday, Council members stressed that such action contravenes repeated calls for the military to cease interfering in the work of the country's transitional authorities. Cheick Modibo Diarra was arrested on Monday in the [...]
The UN Human rights office has expressed concern about recent violent clashes between students and police in Khartoum, Sudan. The Office says that on Monday, 10 December, hundreds of students continued to protest, for a third day, over the deaths of four Darfuri students belonging to El-Gezira University in Central Sudan. Spokesperson Rupert Colville says [...]
The Princess of Africa is calling for more action to stamp out homophobia. Yvonne Chaka Chaka says lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people should be free to be themselves and should not be subjected to discrimination and violence. The South African singer was speaking to journalists at UN Headquarters on Tuesday ahead of an [...]
Women around the world face higher unemployment rates than men, according to a new report issued by the International Labour Organization (ILO) on Tuesday. The ILO's Global Employment Trends for Women 2012 has been produced in collaboration with UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. Derrick Mbatha reports: [...]
The UN human rights office has welcomed South Sudan's decision to investigate the murder of a journalist which took place earlier this month. Diing Chan Awol, a local blogger and well-known political commentator, was killed outside his home by unidentified gunmen on 5 December. According to his family, Awol—who was also known by his [...]
Despite advances in implementing a landmark law on the Elimination of Violence against Women, Afghanistan still has a long way to go in its application. That assessment comes from Georgette Gagnon, Director of the Human Rights Section at the UN mission in the country (UNAMA), which on Tuesday released a report reviewing progress on the [...]
In Syria, in the Sahel and Sudan … in Haiti, West Africa and Pakistan … in Columbia, Peru and Paraguay … around the world where people are suffering, CERF – the Central Emergency Response Fund – offers relief. That's what UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in remarks at the opening of a high-level conference for [...]
It’s time to stop neglecting mountains. That is the call from the United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Organization on the occasion of International Mountain Day, celebrated every year on the 11th of December. FAO reports that over 50 percent of the world’s population relies on freshwater from mountains for drinking, cooking, irrigation, hydropower [...]
Women worldwide are facing higher levels of unemployment than men, according to a report launched on Tuesday by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Produced in collaboration with UN Women, it says this is unlikely to change over the coming years. José Manuel Salazar is ILO Executive Director of Employment. "From 2002 to 2007, in those [...]
Governments have taken the next essential step in the global response to climate change in their just concluded climate conference in Doha. Countries have successfully launched a new commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol, agreed to a firm timetable to adopt a universal climate agreement by 2015 and agreed to a path to raise necessary [...]
Nearly five million people have been affected by Typhoon Bopha which hit eastern Mindanao region in the Philippines a week ago. Assessments done by United Nations relief agencies indicate that many survivors are so desperate that they have left the overcrowded and flooded emergency shelters to return to their storm- ravaged homes. UN agencies say they [...]
The number of Syrians who have fled into neighbouring countries has now surpassed the half a million mark, according to the UN Refugee agency UNHCR. The agency says 510,000 Syrians are registered or are in the process of being registered in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and North Africa. UNHCR however says less than half of [...]
Representatives of governments from around the world are gathering at UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday to pledge money to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). Since its inception in 2006, CERF, which is one of the world's largest sources of humanitarian assistance, has given relief aid to 49 countries in different parts of [...]
