BENIN / KIDJO
Singer and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angelique Kidjo visits her country, Benin, and promotes birth registration as a means to prevent child trafficking. UNICEF
Singer and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angelique Kidjo visits her country, Benin, and promotes birth registration as a means to prevent child trafficking. UNICEF
A new school in Sri Lanka employs new teaching techniques to help children affected by the 2004 tsunami and the country’s 25-year internal conflict. UNICEF
Five years after the tsunami, Maldives trains its first social service workers to provide protection and care to locals even in the remote parts of the country. UNICEF
Five years on from the tsunami, Maldives continues to face many challenges, made worse by the threat of rising sea levels from climate change. The island of Dhuvaafaru, a community displaced after the tsunami, struggles with a shortage of homes and a lack of space. UNICEF
In Aceh, Indonesia, post-tsunami children are enjoying a better start in life than previous generations through UNICEF humanitarian aid. UNICEF
World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan reflects on the challenges and accomplishments to public health in 2009. WHO
Scientists and inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency test environmental samples from countries like Iran, Iraq and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to monitor any illegal nuclear activities. IAEA
According to the Afghanistan government and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the number of Afghan refugees who returned home from Pakistan and Iran in 2009 has dropped to the lowest level since 2002. FILE
UNICEF is supporting the improvement of sanitation facilities in Krabi Province following the tsunami that struck five years ago. UNICEF
Egypt’s economy depends on the millions of tourists who flock to the country each year. A new air terminal in Cairo aims to increase and better accommodate tourists. WORLD BANK
A remote fishing community in southwest Myanmar is still recovering from the shock and loss of recent disasters. Since the tsunami struck five years ago, they have also suffered through Cyclone Mala in April of 2006 and the devastating Cyclone Nargis in May of 2008. UNICEF
Since the tsunami, UNICEF and its partners have made major efforts in Thailand to put in place systems to protect orphaned children and to ensure that they receive the care and support they need. UNICEF
The mistaken belief that albino body parts have magical powers has driven albino people in Tanzania into hiding, fearful of losing their lives and limbs to unscrupulous dealers. UNTV
Since the tsunami struck the Indian Ocean region five years ago, UNICEF and its partners have been bringing the countries of the region improved social services, clean water, and sturdier schools. UNICEF
Five years after the tsunami and a new generation of school children in the Maldives are benefiting from changes in the education system introduced by several Teacher Resource Centres around the country. UNICEF
Egypt is enhancing the production of the country’s enterprises, by upgrading skills of workers. WORLD BANK
Many of Brazil ‘s poorest people have help coping with the shocks of worldwide recession and high food prices through a program supported by the World Bank, that gives them money as long as they educate their children and keep them healthy. WORLD BANK
Since the tsunami, UNICEF has been supporting and training social workers in Thailand to protect children who have been orphaned due to various circumstances and to work with the communities so their children recover from the tragedy. UNICEF
Nearly half of Sri Lanka ‘s rural population has no access to water and sanitation, making them highly vulnerable to waterborne diseases. The Sri Lankan government is aiming to solve this problem by 2010 with help from the World Bank. WORLD BANK
President of Southern Sudan Salva Kiir says it is, “inconceivable” that the National Assembly passed the referendum bill without the participation of the members of parliament from the south. The bill gives rights to all southern Sudanese living in the north to vote during the referendum process. UNMIS
Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ambassador Atoki Ileka says the Congolese people do not want to be led to the “slaughter-house” and “desire peace now” as the Security Council extends the mandate of its peacekeeping mission in the country calling for a better protection of civilians. UNTV / FILE
With one vote against and one abstention, the Security Council approves sanctions against Eritrea for their role in the Somalia conflict. Djiboutian Ambassador Roble Olhaye accuses Eritrea of border violations and warns the Council about “the option of war.” UNTV
Over 700 people gather at Abu Shouk IDP camp to celebrate a campaign, called “The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.” UNAMID
UNICEF is supporting new and improved mother and child health care in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, a community that still suffers from internal political conflict and the aftermath of the tsunami.UNICEF
Vietnam’s goal to reach middle-income status by 2010 moved a step closer today following the approval by the World Bank’s Board of a $500 million development policy loan that will support the country’s stimulus program and drive a major program of public investment reforms. WORLD BANK
Locals celebrate one Darfurian who returns from the Hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca. UNAMID
MONUC’s military commanders arrive in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s northwest region to support the country’s armed forces to take control of Dongo, where recent tribal clashes have forced thousands to flee. MONUC
Five years after the tsunami, UNICEF and local partners are getting children back into the classroom, first in temporary schools and now into three hundred and forty six earthquake resistant, permanent buildings. UNICEF
The UN mission in Sudan (UNMIS) completes the retrieval of registration materials from remote areas in Southern Sudan ahead of the long-awaited elections UNMIS
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls the climate change deal reached by world leaders in Copenhagen an “essential beginning,” adding that work must now focus on turning the deal into a legally binding treaty. UNTV
Former South African president and chairman of the African Union (AU) panel on Darfur Thabo Mbeki tells the Security Council that a positive outcome for Darfur will have to include, “the necessary balance among the various objectives of peace, justice and reconciliation.” UNTV / FILE
Recovering from both internal conflict and the devastating tsunami, young survivors receive care at a children’s shelter supported by UNICEF on the edge of Aceh. UNICEF
Continued fighting in Yemen forces thousands of families to flee their homes in the north to overcrowded camps further south. UNHCR
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As world leaders wrap up the climate talks in Copenhagen today, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) warns that the longer it takes to reach an agreement, the more “enormous” the consequences of climate change will be. UNEP / FILE
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says the potential export value of Afghanistan’s opium has dropped 18 per cent this year, but cautions that further progress hinges on rooting out corruption in the South Asian nation. FILE
Egypt is managing waste by recycling solids like glass and metal, making compost from kitchen waste and capture and combustion of methane from landfills. WORLD BANK
Afghanistan’s fiercely cold winter, the raging insecurity and funding shortfalls are having a major impact on the health of millions of people in this war-ravaged country. WHO / FILE
The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry says that, “we are in a race against time” to overcome obstacles towards a “political end game,” and urges both Israel and the Palestinians to do more. UNTV / FILE
The UN Human Rights Office is assisting the government of Burundi in leading a truth and reconciliation commission after three decades of conflict that left more than half a million people dead. UNCHR
US Ambassador Susan Rice says that the new measures on terror sanctions approved by the Security Council reflects a commitment by the international community to reject terrorism and deny terrorists access to the international financial system, while preventing their travel and acquisition of arms. UNTV
Afghanistan’s road system, damaged by decades of war and a serious impediment to economic growth, faces reconstruction and rehabilitation. UNAMA
In Colombia, children have been adversely affected by ongoing conflict and natural disasters. Through UNICEF partnerships, educational programs are helping children recover from emergency situations and a legacy of turbulent times. UNICEF
With support from the World Bank, Kosovo is cleaning up its energy sector to enhance long-term power development and electric supply and to mitigate the risk to public health. WORLD BANK
UNEP says that although substituting petrol with biofuels can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 70 percent, not all biofuel production has a positive impact on emissions. UNEP / UNTV / FILE
Head of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) Alan Doss says that under a Congolese directive approved today, MONUC and the Congolese Armed Forces will concentrate on holding ground recovered from the FDLR and preventing attacks on civilians in areas of vulnerability. UNTV / FILE
A refugee camp may seem like an unlikely place for a conservation project, but at Sherkole camp in the western Highlands, environmental education and awareness is being put into place to help fight climate change. UNHCR
A new product is hitting the streets of Haiti’s capital that could help wean the population off charcoal fuel. Burnable briquettes made out of recycled paper and one of the biggest draws is their low price. MINUSTAH
The lates malaria report by the WHO (WHO)says that significant progress has been made in delivering life saving malaria nets and treatments over the past few years, but the coverage of malaria programmes needs to be stepped up drastically in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Eight years after the end of the Taliban rule, women in Afghanistan still continue to face injustice and are often punished for “moral crimes.”UNAMA
Out of an estimated 2 million children who are in institutionalized care around the world, more than 800,000come from Central and Eastern Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States. Many young and disabled children are abandoned in institutions or living at home without specialized care. UNICEF
A UNICEF supported mobile education centre is giving new hope to pastoral Karamijong children of northeastern Uganda. UNICEF
The region of Taiz in Yemen’s highlands is finally recovering from years of seasonal flooding. A new project is building protective structures to safeguard residents and their businesses. WORLD BANK
Before leaving for Copenhagen, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warns that the world stands at the crossroads between a sustainable future and a path to catastrophe. “Time is running out. There is no time left for posturing or blaming. ” UNTV
Two civilian staff members of the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) are released after more than 100 days in captivity in the war-torn western flank of Sudan. UNAMID
Sudan’s National Elections Commission announces it has achieved over 80 percent voter registration ahead of the country’s first democratic elections in over 20 years. UNTV / FILE
According to a Human Rights Watch report, more than 1,400 civilians were deliberately killed this year in eastern Congo during two successive military operations. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says that because of the killings, the UN mission in the DRC (MONUC) has suspended certain operations with the Congolese army. UNTV
The last place inhabited on earth and now the first to go, Kiribati’s president will arrive at the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit tomorrow to try and save his sinking country. IFAD
For decades, Colombia has been in the grips of a brutal conflict that has torn its social fabric apart. It’s been called an, “invisible crisis”, because it fails to make news and its victims prefer to remain anonymous. UNHCR
South Africa’s influx of people seeking refuge and a way to survive has exacerbated tensions with the urban poor who are competing for the same limited resources. Fifty percent of the world’s population or 3.3 billion people live in cities today. UNHCR
UNICEF is providing aid to El Salvador following devastating floods in November that killed over 190 people, left 80 reported missing and displaced thousands. Hundreds of homes were destroyed and thousands damaged. UNICEF
President Anote Tong of Kiribati says that his people are already the victims of climate change and will soon have to be relocated as the low lying pacific Island disappears into the ocean. UNDP
As the political momentum grows to reach a new climate deal in Copenhagen, the private sector is stepping up its efforts to invest in clean energy technology in developing countries. UNTV
Some developing countries have been hit hard by the economic crisis. Yemen is responding by creating jobs so people can afford the rising food costs. WORLD BANK
A memorial marking the second anniversary of the deadly terrorist attack in Algiers which claimed the lives of 17 and injured 40 staff members takes place at UN headquarters. UNTV
Students in El Fasher kick off a, “16 days of activism against gender-based violence” campaign. UNAMID
UNFPA Executive Director Thorya Obaid receives an award for her work on women’s human and reproductive rights. UNFPA
Eight young Climate Ambassadors from around the world speak enthusiastically on the occasion of Youth and Future Generations Day during the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference. UNICEF
Some experts warn that up to ten percent of the world’s population could face displacement because of rising sea levels, drought and natural disasters due to climate change. UNTV / UNEP / TV MALDIVES / FILE
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes says that the affects of climate change on food security is going to be a massive problem in the future. “We already have one billion people who go to sleep without food.” UNTV
A new report by a Security Council committee expresses “grave concern” about “an apparent pattern of sanctions violations” involving prohibited arms transfers from Iran, including two incidents of intercepted cargo containing arms related material to Syria. UNTV
As talks on climate change continue in Copenhagen, Brazil is working to reduce deforestation in the Amazon by providing assistance with help from the World Bank to those who choose sustainable livelihoods. WORLD BANK
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says that in the short time since its formation, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has become “an established part of the humanitarian architecture”, using $340 million in 45 countries last year alone to help “millions of people in need”. UNTV / FILE
World Health Organization’s surgeons strive amid incessant violence and intensifying humanitarian crisis to help train local doctors save lives and care for the local population in war-torn Somalia. WHO
Commenting on the five Rwandan peacekeepers killed in Darfur over the weekend, peacekeeping head Alain Le Roy tells reporters that investigations are going on and added that the morale among peacekeepers was still high. UNTV / FILE
Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Ellen Taucher unveils the new Obama administration’s policy on biological weapons. UNTV
On the occasion of this year’s Human Rights Day (10 December), Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls on people around the world to rally in defense of those targeted by ethnic strife, hate speech, xenophobia and other forms of discrimination. UNTV / FILE
The latest report on the global tobacco epidemic by the WHO says that only 5.4 percent of the world’s population was covered by comprehensive smoke-free laws in 2008, up from 3.1 percent in 2007. WHO / FILE
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and singer Angelique Kidjo visits Cape Town to play sports as part of a program called, “Kicking AIDS OUT!” UNICEF
The “biodigestor” – a pilot project in a poor neighborhood in Port-au-Prince is making methane gas for electricity, using human waste from public toilets. If successful, the project would provide an alternative, green fuel to wood charcoal, and could help the country overcome its massive environmental problems linked to deforestation. MINUSTAH
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says drug traffickers undermine the rule of law and in some countries the huge profits generated through drug trafficking can rival their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). UNTV / FILE
Following the opening of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the Secretary-General tells the media at the Security Council stakeout that he is encouraged and optimistic about a robust agreement when world leaders meet next week. UNTV
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay asks the Iranian authorities to respect the right to protest. She is also looking into the trials of protestors in Iran that followed demonstrations against the election results earlier in the year. UNTV
The Coordinator of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo briefed the press on its recent report which includes a set of 28 observations and recommendations on – including the leakage significant amounts of military equipment to the FDLR before and after the commencement of DRC military operations against the FDLR, known [...]
UNICEF scales up its support to therapeutic feeding programs in Somalia where one in every five children is malnourished and one in 20 children suffers from severe malnutrition, a life-threatening condition if appropriate treatment is not provided. UNICEF
As the International Summit on Climate Change kicks off today in Copenhagen , there’s news from Egypt that it aims to generate one fifth of its electricity from renewable sources, including wind power, by 2020. To help reach that ambitious goal, it is tapping into a World Bank Clean Technology Fund. WORLD BANK
The President of Iceland and the Prime Ministers of Kenya, Lesotho and Tanzania are among the high ranking officials from around the world attending the 5-day General Conference of UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) in Vienna. This year’s thematic focus is on “green industries” and the opportunities they offer for developing countries in the [...]
Secretary General Pagan Amum of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), his deputy for northern Sudan Yasir Arman and Abbas Gumma a state minister at the interior ministry were arrested by security forces on Monday along with over 100 people as they tried to participate in a protest in front of the National Assembly in [...]
Brazil is dealing with another climate change issue often ignored – CFC gasses. In the past, the gasses were thought to only harm the ozone, but scientists believe that they are much more harmful to the atmosphere then CO2. UNDP
Ahead of the climate change talks opening in Copenhagen on 7 December, UN Environment Programme (UNEP) head Achim Steiner calls for “transformational changes” to put the world economy on a low-carbon pathway, and says the only way to achieve this is for all nations to come out of Copenhagen with a framework agreement and firm [...]
Commenting on the claims that scientists may have withheld data about global warming, Director of the Secretary-General’s Climate Change Support Team Janos Pasztor says that this is an unfortunate development but, “nothing changes the science.” UNTV
ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo says that as Milosevic, Kambanda and Taylor did, Sudan’s president Al Bashir, “will face justice.” UNTV / FILE
As officials work on forming a new unity government following the political violence that sparked early this year, Malagasy children are still suffering emotional and psychological trauma. UNICEF has been working to provide psychosocial support to Madagascar’s children and youth. UNICEF
The impact of the economic crisis on the Least Developed Countries’ (LDCs) productive capacities and trade prospects will be the focus of a UNIDO Ministerial-level Conference that opens today in Vienna. UNIDO
Grammy-Award winning songwriter and musician Stevie Wonder is designated a United Nations Messenger of Peace with a special focus on persons with disabilities, who represent one in ten people in the world and 20 percent of the poor in developing countries. UNTV / FILE
Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia Serge Brammertz tells the Security Council that the most critical aspect of Serbia’s cooperation is the need to apprehend the fugitives. UNTV
At the closing of the United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation held in Nairobi, governments urge the UN to “take concrete measures to mainstream support to South-South and triangular cooperation to help developing countries.” UNTV
United States Ambassador Susan Rice says that the UN must continue to play a vital role in Afghanistan and that the personnel of the UN mission (UNAMA) there, “need and deserve” additional resources to ensure their security and to enable them to ramp up their presence and expand into new provinces within Afghanistan. UNTV
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says that Pacific countries must move from planning to implementation. “Action is especially important in Papua New Guinea, which is the overwhelming locus of the Pacific epidemic, with 99 per cent of reported cases in 2008.” UNTV / FILE
A new water station unit is unveiled in the Central Governate of Hama in Syria to secure a safe water supply for 120,000 residents. Ongoing drought is endangering water supplies throughout the country. UNICEF
In Pakistan, an innovative World Bank-supported program aims to help those badly hurt in an earthquake four years ago. The wounds may have healed, but the damage remains. December 3rd marks World Disability Day. WORLD BANK
Another region of the embattled Democratic Republic of Congo is embroiled in violence. More than 90,000 people have reportedly fled a wave of ethnic violence in Equateur province in the northwest of the country. The victims tell of marauding gangs of armed men who fire indiscriminately at civilians. UNHCR
At the request of the UN General Assembly at Serbia’s initiative, the World Court begins a hearing on the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo. ICJ
Leaders in the global fight against HIV/AIDS meet in Washington D.C. to mark World AIDS Day. The World Bank reports that proper nutrition for people with AIDS is key–a new study from Haiti shows that poor nutrition reduces the effectiveness of life-saving drugs. WORLD BANK
As Copenhagen gets ready to receive world leaders and delegations for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15), a group of young people from 44 different countries are already debating the future of the planet. UNICEF
Yukiya Amano begins his first day in office at the helm of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He was appointed as IAEA Director General for a four-year term by the Agency’s Board of Governors in July 2009. IAEA
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says Switzerland’s ban on building minarets is regrettable. Such a ban is, “discriminatory, deeply divisive and a thoroughly unfortunate step for Switzerland to take, and risks putting the country on a collision course with its international human rights obligations.” UNTV
The UN meeting on South South cooperation gets underway in Nairobi as countries from the south assume leading roles in decisions on hot global issues ranging from economic recovery to food security and climate change. UNTV