Uncategorized Archives - Page 16 of 215

US: Rights experts urge Senate to reject bill sanctioning the International Criminal Court

·January 11, 2025·4 min read

The ICC issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Go here to read our analysis of the decision and the likely next steps, and here for our ICC explainer. Asked by...

Confirmed: 2024 was the hottest year on record, says UN weather agency

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·January 11, 2025·3 min read

“We saw extraordinary land, sea surface temperatures, extraordinary ocean heat accompanied by very extreme weather affecting many countries around the world, destroying lives, livelihoods, hopes and dreams,” WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis said. “We saw many climate change impacts retreating sea ice glaciers. It was an extraordinary year.” Four of the...

Syria has real opportunity to ‘move from the darkness to the light’

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·January 11, 2025·5 min read

That’s according to Najat Rochdi, the UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, who is in Damascus meeting several members of the transitional authorities to ensure all Syrians are able to participate in the country’s future, which is struggling to cope with an acute humanitarian crisis and faltering economy. In an...

It’s not censorship to stop hateful online content, insists UN rights chief

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·January 10, 2025·1 min read

“Allowing hate speech and harmful content online has real world consequences. Regulating this content is not censorship,” Volker Türk wrote on X. In a longer LinkedIn post on the same theme, Mr. Türk maintained that labelling efforts to create safe online spaces as “censorship…ignore[s] the fact that unregulated space means...

Global growth to remain subdued in 2025 amid uncertainty, UN report warns

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·January 10, 2025·2 min read

The World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2025 report shows that despite withstanding a series of mutually reinforcing shocks, global economic growth has stagnated and remains below the pre-pandemic annual average of 3.2 per cent. The report produced by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), highlights the enduring impact...

UN Commission notes new sense of optimism in Syria during first-ever visit

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·January 10, 2025·2 min read

Commissioner Hanny Megally led the team, which met with officials, including in the Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs. Discussions covered justice for victims and families, the protection of mass graves and evidence, and continued engagement with the Commission, which was established by the UN Human Rights Council in August...

‘Children are now freezing to death’: harrowing updates from Gaza

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·January 10, 2025·2 min read

Tragically in the last month alone, eight newborns have died of hypothermia and 74 children have already died amid the brutal conditions of winter in 2025. “We enter this New Year carrying the same horrors as the last – there’s been no progress and no solace. Children are now freezing...

Lebanon: Election of new President a critical first step

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·January 9, 2025·1 min read

General Joseph Auon was declared President on Thursday following voting in Lebanon’s parliament. UN Secretary-General António Guterres congratulated the new leader as he takes up his functions, saying this is a critical step towards overcoming Lebanon’s political and institutional impasse after over two years of presidential vacuum. The election of...

More than 125,000 refugees return to Syria in desperate conditions

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·January 9, 2025·1 min read

Leading calls for the international community to “move from words to action” to help the country’s most vulnerable returnees urgently, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said that many families have little shelter and few economic prospects. “In recent weeks, there has been talk in high-level international circles of the need...

Rights experts call for immediate release of Abu Zubaydah from Guantánamo

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·January 9, 2025·1 min read

On Monday the United States military sent 11 long-term detainees from the facility to Oman after reaching agreement with the Government there on relocation and resettlement. Only 15 detainees now remain, according to news reports. The prison opened in 2002 and at its peak it held more than 600 prisoners...

DPR Korea’s nuclear quest thwarts disarmament efforts, Security Council hears

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·January 9, 2025·2 min read

Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for peacebuilding and political affairs, briefed ambassadors two days after the DPRK, commonly known as North Korea, fired off what it described as a new type of intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile (IRBM) loaded with a hypersonic glide vehicle. He cited an official statement from Pyongyang which...

Ukraine in grip of third winter of escalating Russian attacks

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·January 8, 2025·1 min read

In a scheduled update mandated by the Council in Geneva, Nada Al-Nashif said that these attacks had led to the deaths of 574 civilians – an increase of 30 per cent over the previous year. She noted that Russian bombardment had also damaged key infrastructure such as water, heating and...