"Love and justice through music," says David Hinds, lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the band Steel Pulse. The band has been promoting awareness about Africa for more than 35 years and says the continent's well-being has always been something held very close to heart. Steel Pulse is performing at a concert on Friday, [...]
"I love to celebrate freedom in whatever context", says Somi, an American singer/songwriter of Rwandan and Ugandan descent. Somi is performing at a concert on Friday, 22 March at the General Assembly Hall to celebrate "Forever Free: Celebrating Emancipation". The concert pays tribute to the emancipation of slaves as this year marks many key slavery [...]
The United Nations Secretary-General has strongly condemned the bomb attack on a mosque in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Thursday in which more than 40 people are reported to have been killed. Speaking through his spokesperson, Ban Ki-moon warns that deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian objects, including places of worship, are a war [...]
A "political impasse" is affecting progress and the consolidation of democracy in Haiti, according to the head of the UN stabilization mission in the country (MINUSTAH). Nigel Fisher, Acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, this week informed the Security Council that elections set for November 2011 have still not been held. He said holding [...]
The stabilization process in Haiti had hit a number of difficulties — including a missed opportunity to hold elections last year — but the Caribbean nation could still surmount entrenched political divisions and launch institutional reforms vital for meeting the urgent security and economic needs of its citizens. That's what a senior United Nations [...]
The Final United Nations Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty wrapped up its first of a two-week session Friday at Headquarters in New York, building on the work of the July 2012 Conference. The session has been designated as "final" to reflect the overwhelming commitment to conclude the arms trade treaty process and reach an [...]
A concert is being held in the General Assembly Hall on Friday, 22 March, to observe the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. It is part of the week-long events at the United Nations in New York ahead of the day itself on 25 March which was [...]
"Water water everywhere only if we share" "Water, water everywhere only if we share" is the catchy slogan that has been encouraging World Water Day activities for the past year. Gerry Adams reports. Duration: 3’16″
A new book is shedding light on the lives of African Americans in the period following emancipation from slavery in 1863. 'Envisioning Emancipation: Black Americans and the End of Slavery' compiles nearly 150 photographs which depict the strength and resiliency of people who had been enslaved and were now free. It was written by Deborah [...]
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has condemned the car bomb attack at a camp for internally displaced persons in northern Pakistan on Thursday in which approximately ten people died. The agency says the Jalozai camp is the largest in Pakistan with about 12,500 displaced families or close to 60,000 people. Adrian Edwards is UNHCR spokesperson [...]
Water is life and with the threat of climate change and the needs of populations growing in size, the global community must work together to protect and manage this finite resource. That's the message delivered by UN Secretary-General as the General Assembly observed World Water Day on Friday, 22 March. Mr. Ban says this is [...]
The UN humanitarian community has expressed concern about the safety and protection of civilians who are affected by violence between government armed forces and non-state armed groups in Jonglei state, South Sudan. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs –OCHA, says its humanitarian partners report that recent violence has resulted in scores of [...]
Governments, civil society, business and international organizations are being urged to take action to ensure that people have access to sanitation. The call has come from UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson who launched a campaign for access to basic sanitation on the eve of World Water Day observed on 22 March. He said that of [...]
Members of the Security Council have strongly condemned the terrorist attack in a mosque in Damascus, Syria, on 21 March, which caused over 40 deaths, including a senior Muslim cleric, and injuries to dozens of civilians. In a statement, Council President Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of the Russian Federation says members also reaffirmed their condemnation of [...]
The latest session of the Commission on the Status of Women concluded this month with an outcome document that calls for increased attention and accelerated action to prevent and respond to violence against women. A panel discussion during the two-week event looked at the issue of violence against women and girls with disabilities. Michelle [...]
High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has welcomed the Secretary General’s decision to conduct a United Nations investigation into the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria. And she says her office stands ready to join the investigation, if requested to do so. UN chief Ban Ki-moon announced his decision to launch an investigation [...]
The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva has agreed to continue its close scrutiny of human rights abuses in Syria. Delegates voted overwhelmingly to extend an independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria for another year and for a comprehensive, independent and immediate investigation into all human rights abuses, committed by all parties, in the [...]
