The meeting follows two years of intergovernmental negotiations to develop a legally binding global instrument that covers land and the marine environment – a blink of an eye in diplomatic circles, where multilateral deals can be decades in the making. “Our world is drowning in plastic pollution. Every year, we...
“This campaign is a major milestone in our drive to vaccinate every child in the DPRK and protect them from common childhood diseases,” said UNICEF’s Acting Representative for the country – more commonly known as North Korea – Roland Kupka. “This is the first step in restoring routine immunization and...
“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...
The country, commonly known as North Korea, claimed to have carried out a third attempt to launch a ballistic missile on Tuesday, according to media reports. Comply with obligations Any such launch is contrary to relevant Security Council resolutions, Mr. Guterres said in a statement issued later that day by...
The experts were alarmed that hundreds of escapees – the vast majority of whom are women – have been sent back, despite repeated appeals by multiple international human rights bodies. Hundreds more reportedly are in detention awaiting the same fate. There are long-standing and credible reports that people returned to...
“I emphasize the importance of re-establishing communication channels, particularly between military entities,” said Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, briefing ambassadors at the Security Council. “Exercising maximum restraints is critical to avoid unintended escalation. Diplomacy and dialogue – not isolation – is the only...
“There is no such thing as disability in the world of art,” said Soomi Jeon, Director of the Vichae Art Museum. “We often think the persons with disabilities are the receivers of charity, and we are the givers,” she explained. “This belief actually divides us. It is not sharing. I...
A new report by the UN human rights office (OHCHR) details enforced disappearances and abductions dating back to 1950. Heart-breaking testimony from some 80 victims shows how the crimes have caused long-lasting trauma, said UN rights chief Türk, who added that “entire generations of families have lived with the grief...
“The Republic of Korea can play a vital leadership role in denying the Myanmar junta the means to continue holding 54 million people hostage while becoming a leader in providing humanitarian support to those in desperate need’’, said Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in...
And yet, despite having conducted missile tests on Wednesday and Thursday, Mohamed Khiari informed the ambassadors that DPRK, more commonly known commonly as North Korea, “has yet to publicly provide details” on the launches. He pointed out that yesterday’s missile launch was “assessed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)”,...