Paulo Pinheiro, the head of a United Nations-backed inquiry intoSyriatoday (16 October) said that although there was a clear disparity in terms of the intensity of human rights violations perpetrated by the Syrian Armed Forces and the opposition groups, "both sides" are perpetrating violations and abuses. UNTV
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) launched last Saturday (13 October) a food Electronic Card program in partnership with the Turkish Red Crescent (TRC) to assist the now 100, 000 Syrian refugees who are under international protection in Turkey, the highest registered number in the region. WFP
The UN Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), Augustine P. Mahiga, today (16 October) told a Security Council meeting onSomalia that the fall of port city ofKismayo, "the last stronghold of the extremist al-Shabaab insurgents in late September, marked a decisive turning point in the conflict." UNTV
To celebrate Global Hand Washing Day UNICEF kicks off educational programs that will last for the next 45 days. UNICEF
With a small but growing number of Syrian asylum seekers arriving in countries of the European Union, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) today (16 October) stressed to EU member states the importance of adhering to the principles of the Common European Asylum System. CH UNTV
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic began his war crimes trial defence today (16 October) claiming he is a "mild man, a tolerant man with great capacity to understand others”. ICTY
The United Nations today marked World Food Day by highlighting agricultural cooperatives as vital weapon in the war on poverty and hunger. FAO