Uncategorized Archives - Page 34 of 184

2023 marked by achievements and ‘avoidable suffering’: WHO chief

·December 27, 2023·2 min read

Reflecting on 2023, which also marked the UN agency’s 75th anniversary, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted key achievements and set out objectives for the coming year. “In May, I declared an end to COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern. This marked a turning point for the world...

UN envoy welcomes ‘significant step’ towards ceasefire in Yemen

Uncategorized

·December 26, 2023·1 min read

The development follows a series of meetings with the sides held in Riyadh and Muscat, his office said in a statement on Saturday. Special Envoy Hans Grundberg welcomed their commitment to a set of measures to implement a nation-wide ceasefire, improve living conditions, and engage in preparations for the resumption...

Gaza health workers pushed to the limit amid airstrike ‘carnage’

Uncategorized

·December 26, 2023·3 min read

World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Medical Teams coordinator Sean Casey said that “100-plus patients” had been brought into Al-Aqsa Hospital on Monday in the space of 30 minutes, following reported blasts, including near Al-Maghazi refugee camp. All of them needed urgent treatment for serious wounds, the WHO official told UN...

Effort to restart Iran nuclear deal ‘at a standstill’ Security Council hears

Uncategorized

·December 26, 2023·3 min read

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreed in 2015 lays out the rules for monitoring Iran’s domestic nuclear programme and paved the way for US sanctions to be lifted. It was agreed by Iran, the five permanent members of the Council (China, France, Russia the United Kingdom and the...

UN envoy to Libyan leaders: Resolve impasse, do not fail the people

Uncategorized

·December 25, 2023·2 min read

Abdoulaye Bathily, UN Special Representative for Libya, told ambassadors on the Security Council that the mood in the country “is ripe for a new political deal, a new dispensation for a brighter future”. “One group of unwilling officials clinging to their seats must not be allowed to fail the people...

Good morning, Mogadishu! Preserving Somalia’s cultural history, one tape at a time

Uncategorized

·December 25, 2023·4 min read

Sitting in a small, windowless room in a government building in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, Mohamed Yusuf Mohamed loops another audio tape onto the dilapidated machine and presses a few buttons. He’s beginning a time-intensive process to digitize some seven decades of unique historical recordings belonging to the government-run Radio...

DPR Korea urged to ‘embrace diplomacy’ after latest ballistic missile launch

Uncategorized

·December 25, 2023·2 min read

“At this particularly difficult moment in securing global peace and security, it is imperative to deescalate the situation on the Korean Peninsula so that it once again becomes an area for cooperation,” said Khaled Khiari, UN Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific. Mr. Khiari briefed the...

Ukraine: Türk calls on Russia to silence the guns in appeal for ‘a just peace’

Uncategorized

·December 25, 2023·3 min read

Since the onset of the invasion the UN human rights office (OHCHR) has meticulously monitored the situation. As of December 4, there have been over 10,000 civilian deaths, including 560 children, with an additional 18,500 civilians confirmed injured, with actual figures believed to be much higher due to the difficulties...

General Assembly approves $3.59 billion UN budget for 2024

Uncategorized

·December 24, 2023·1 min read

In actions taken late evening on Friday, the 193-member General Assembly also adopted nearly $50 million in additional funding for decisions taken by the Human Rights Council, UN’s primary forum on human rights matters. It also decided to establish the Peacebuilding Account, a dedicated multi-year special account, as a modality...

INTERVIEW: Ukrainian children express ‘innocent hope for peace’

Uncategorized

·December 24, 2023·4 min read

The deaths of over 10,000 civilians have been verified by the UN human rights office, OHCHR, since the invasion began in February 2022, although the actual number of fatalities could be much higher. Over 10 million people have been forced to flee their homes, including more than 6.3 million who...

INTERVIEW: Actor Natalie Portman celebrates women and girls’ voices

Uncategorized

·December 24, 2023·6 min read

In an interview with UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming on the sidelines of SDG Summit 2023 held at UN Headquarters in New York in September, Ms. Portman discussed combatting violence against women and reframing masculinity to be less aggressive and more empathetic towards gender issues. Melissa Fleming: The UN...

Afghanistan: Taliban’s return to ‘international norms’ is non-negotiable says UN mission chief

Uncategorized

·December 24, 2023·5 min read

Roza Otunbayeva, who also heads the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), also underscored the need for greater engagement with the de facto Taliban authorities who seized power in August 2021. She told the Council that the human rights situation in Afghanistan is characterized by systemic discrimination against women and...