Despite worsening violence and significant funding gaps, UNICEF is stepping up its delivery of humanitarian assistance in Syria, targeting increasing numbers of the more than 4 million people known to be in need of humanitarian assistance. UNICEF says at least half of the total affected population are children. Many have been internally displaced by [...]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is deeply concerned over the rapidly deteriorating condition of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody who are on hunger strike, in particular the critical health condition of one Palestinian detainee, Samer Issawi. A statement from the Spokesperson's Office says "the Secretary-General calls for a solution to be reached without delay in order [...]
Representatives from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and several UN agencies have drafted an Action Plan to bring forward the global agenda for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The Task Force also decided to continue with individual or joint initiatives among UN agencies and discussed models for funding and further coordination. [...]
A major campaign to cut massive levels of global food loss and waste, was highlighted in Nairobi on Tuesday as hundreds of ministers and high-level officials dined on perfectly good food grown by Kenyan farmers, but rejected by UK supermarkets due to cosmetic imperfections. The zero-waste reception, taking place at the headquarters of the [...]
The situation in Syria is getting worse, warns UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos. She told a Geneva press conference Tuesday that the violence is causing widespread destruction and having a devastating impact on the lives of ordinary Syrians, women, men and children. She recalled her fourth visit to Damascus in January during which she [...]
Synthetic chemicals found in many households and industrial products could have significant health implications, according to a new report released by two UN agencies. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are calling for more research on the association between endocrine disrupting chemicals, or EDCs, and specific diseases and disorders such [...]
As the United Nations forum dealing with disarmament issues continued its session in Geneva, the issue of North Korea's recent nuclear test took centre stage on Tuesday. Representatives of member states criticized the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for its nuclear test last week. The underground nuclear test was condemned by the international community, [...]
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea said it feared that existing double standards and inequality were disturbing the progress of the Conference on Disarmament and reiterated that its recent actions to conduct a nuclear test were aimed at countering aggressions and were defensive countermeasures. The DPRK, or North Korea made its comments in Geneva where [...]
Many synthetic chemicals, untested for their disrupting effects on the hormone system, could have significant health implications. That, according to the “State of the Science of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals”, a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The joint study calls for more research to understand fully [...]
A humanitarian tragedy is unfolding before our eyes in Syria, but only a political solution can solve the crisis, according to Valerie Amos, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Baroness Amos was speaking after the 7th Syrian Humanitarian Forum in Geneva, which focused on securing access to the millions of Syrians [...]
A new partnership launched Tuesday by four UN agencies aims to support 30 countries over the next seven years in building national green economy strategies that will generate new jobs and skills, promote clean technologies, and reduce environmental risks and poverty. The new Partnership for Action on Green Economy, or PAGE, is a response [...]
Civilian casualties in Afghanistan's armed conflict decreased for the first time in six years, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). In its 2012 Annual Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict prepared in coordination with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNAMA documented a 12 [...]
