Uncategorized Archives - Page 28 of 215

‘No life without land’, says campaigning athlete at UN desertification meeting

·December 8, 2024·3 min read

Asmaa Niang, who is from Morocco, spoke to UN News at the UN Convention to Control Desertification (UNCCD) meeting known as COP16 and explained why as an athlete she has the “responsibility to give back and inspire others to protect the land.” As a five-time African judo champion and Olympic...

Syria crisis: UN delivering life-saving assistance; relocates non-critical staff

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·December 7, 2024·2 min read

“The UN is strategically reducing its footprint by relocating non-critical staff outside the country… amid the evolving circumstances,” Adam Abdelmoula said in a statement issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA. At the same time, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator stressed that...

Gaza: No evacuation order given before hospital strike, says WHO

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·December 7, 2024·2 min read

“All night, there was heavy bombing around the Kamal Adwan Hospital”, said Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the UN health’s agency Representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Speaking from the enclave to journalists in Geneva via video, he reported that an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tank was seen outside the hospital at...

First Person: Tears of joy as Argentinian city children encounter nature for first time

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·December 7, 2024·4 min read

Ana Di Pangracio works for the civil society organization Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales or FARN which is involved in projects to restore degraded land in Argentina. She spoke to UN News in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she was attending a UN conference (COP16) focused on desertification, drought and land...

Report exposes systematic torture in Syrian detention facilities

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·December 7, 2024·1 min read

Titled ‘The Syrian Government Detention System as a Tool of Violent Repression,’ the report from the UN International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) draws on over 300 witness interviews, medical forensic evidence and the Syrian Government’s own documentation. It reveals widespread human rights violations including sexual violence and enforced disappearances....

Iraq: Security Council briefed on major milestones and ongoing challenges

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·December 6, 2024·4 min read

“As you have heard many times by now, today’s Iraq is not the same as the Iraq of 20 years ago, or even five years ago. Iraq today is more secure, stable and open, despite the many obstacles facing the country,” Mohamed Al Hassan said in his first briefing to...

Syria crisis: More than 280,000 uprooted in northwest escalation

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·December 6, 2024·3 min read

Aid has continued to flow from Türkiye across three border crossings into the embattled northwest and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that it had opened community kitchens in Aleppo and Hama – cities now reportedly occupied by HTS fighters. In neighbouring Lebanon, meanwhile, senior UN aid official Edem...

‘War on drugs has failed, completely and utterly’: UN human rights chief

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·December 6, 2024·1 min read

Speaking at the ‘Dealing with Drugs II’ conference in Warsaw on Thursday, High Commissioner Volker Türk highlighted the urgent need for a human rights-based approach to drug regulation, pointing to record numbers of drug-related deaths and increasing drug use disorders. The conference, which builds on January’s ‘Dealing with Drugs I’...

Global trade to hit record $33 trillion in 2024, but uncertainties over tariffs loom

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·December 6, 2024·3 min read

However, concerns loom for 2025, where the risks include escalating trade wars, geopolitical tensions and shifting policies, clouding the outlook. According to the UN trade and development body (UNCTAD)’s Global Trade Update, the projected figure for this year marks a $1 trillion increase over 2023, driven by robust 3.3 per...

Children of Sudan show ‘a strength that deserves recognition’

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·December 5, 2024·3 min read

Despite the staggering challenges, he found hope and resilience in their stories. The nearly 19 months of relentless conflict in Sudan has devastated millions, with children bearing the brunt of the crisis. Over five million children have been forcibly displaced, according to the UN. In response, UNICEF and its...

Private sector urged to act as world faces $23 trillion loss from land degradation

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·December 5, 2024·3 min read

Business leaders have been meeting at the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) conference being held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which is focusing on drought, land degradation and restoration issues. According to the UN, droughts have surged by nearly 30 per cent in frequency and intensity since 2000, threatening agriculture...

$1.4 billion needed for sexual and reproductive health services in crisis-hit countries

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·December 5, 2024·1 min read

The funding will be used to deliver life-saving reproductive health services and vital gender-based violence prevention programmes to more than 45 million people. The appeal comes as an estimated 11 million pregnant women will require urgent support in 2025. Record displacement and devastation UNFPA recalled that global crises displaced a record...