Unifeed

As 2020 begins, the IMF is warning that failure to act on widening global inequality could risk repeating the boom-bust cycle of a century earlier in the 1920’s, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in Washington DC. IMF

The UN mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has called for the immediate release of Libyan parliamentarian Siham Sergewa who was “ceased at night from her home in Benghazi six months ago,” according to a UN spokesperson. UNIFEED

Commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Haiti Earthquake, UN Chief António Guterres renewed the Organization’s commitment to “honour the legacy of those we have lost, by working alongside the people and Government of Haiti, and with the country’s friends and supporters throughout the international community.” UNIFEED

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet condemned the continued killing and displacement of civilians in north-western Syria despite the announcement of a ceasefire nearly a week ago. UNTV CH

The global economy has suffered a significant slowdown amid prolonged trade disputes and wide-ranging policy uncertainties. While a slight uptick in economic activity is forecast for 2020, the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2020 (WESP 2020) warns that economic risks remain strongly tilted to the downside, aggravated by deepening political polarization and increasing scepticism over the benefits of multilateralism. UNIFEED

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths said the country had been kept safe from the recent regional crisis as “Yemeni leaders and leaders from the region have deliberately exercised restraint and withheld from acts of provocation.” UNIFEED

Growth in Europe is projected to remain moderate, as the region continues to face multiple downside risks, according to the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2020, which was launched today. UNTV CH

Children in Syria have been “robbed of their childhood” and forced to “endure numerous violations” in more than eight years of conflict, according to the latest report by the independent body set up by the UN’s Human Rights Council to investigate violations during the civil war in Syria. UNTV CH

Secretary-General António Guterres congratulated Guyana as it assumed the Presidency of the of the Group of 77 and China (G77) and said 2019 “was a crucial year for the Organization, and the Group of 77 was central to securing a good outcome for the United Nations in many important negotiations.” UNIFEED

“The UN peacekeepers are now patrolling the city to protect civilians,” following the last week clashes in the Central African Republic’s city of Alindau killing two members of the country’s armed forces, UN spokesperson said on Wednesday in New York. UNIFEED