United Nations officials have paid tribute to the late President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez who passed away on Tuesday. The 58 old leader returned to his country last month after cancer treatment in Cuba. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had just briefed the Security Council late on Tuesday when he was asked about the death [...]
The Security Council has been urged to authorize the deployment of an Intervention Brigade to help stabilize the situation in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The call came from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during his briefing to Council on Tuesday. He said the situation remains fragile in that part of [...]
The safe return of displaced people in Yemen is at risk because of landmines and other explosive remnants of war, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Thousands of people are returning to their homes in southern Yemen after government forces reclaimed most of the territory that has been controlled by [...]
An all-female climbing team supported by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Tanzania has reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest mountain. The ten women made the ascent to highlight the importance of girls' education and of school meals. The team which timed their climb to mark the week of International Women's Day [...]
When a rape victim becomes pregnant, she should be able to choose to parent her child without having to worry about a life of being tethered to the rapist, says the organization "Hope after Rape Conception". Rebecca Kiessling, who founded the organization, explained to Gerry Adams that women who conceive as a result of rape are a [...]
This year's Gaza marathon organized by the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has been cancelled. UNRWA says it regrets what it says is a 'disappointing decision" which was made following discussions with the authorities in Gaza who have insisted against women's participation in the event. According to the agency, a total of 256 [...]
The United States has been told to release the findings of a report into the Bush-era CIA programme of secret detention, rendition and torture of terrorist suspects. Ben Emmerson, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms While Countering Terrorism, told the Human Rights Council in Geneva that [...]
The ongoing conflict in Syria is depriving hundreds of thousands of children of their education, according to the United Nations children's agency (UNICEF). The agency says that an assessment conducted in December last year shows that Syria's education system is reeling from almost two years of conflict, with severe damage to infrastructure and attendance rates [...]
There's an increase in attacks against people with albinism in Tanzania and the UN Human Rights Commissioner is calling on the authorities in the country to take stronger measures to halt the crimes and tackle the underlying discrimination. Navi Pillay says she "strongly condemns these vicious killings and attacks, which were committed in particularly horrifying [...]
United Nations officials have welcomed a court decision in Somalia to overturn the conviction of an alleged rape victim accused of maligning the reputation of the state. The woman and a journalist who interviewed her about the claim that she was raped by soldiers were convicted and sentenced last month. On March 3 the [...]
Two out of three of those killed or injured by left-over ammunition and explosive devices in conflict-affected areas of Central and Northern Mali are children, according to the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF. It's thought that around 200,000 children in the region are at risk from unexploded ordnance. Since April last year, 53 people [...]
Authorities in Tanzania must take action following reports of a surge in the number of violent attacks on people with albinism in the country, says the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Navi Pillay says that she's 'appalled' by the vicious killings and attacks, committed in particularly horrific circumstances, which have involved dismembering people, [...]
New psychoactive substances, known as 'legal highs' and 'designer drugs', are a growing threat to public health, as seen by increased emergency room admissions and calls to poison centres, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) says in its Annual Report for 2012, launched Tuesday in London. The report says these new psychoactive substances are easily [...]
