Captured in UN Photo’s Flags Avenue, you can view the full photo essay here. Rain or shine When weather conditions are favourable, which means above freezing conditions, the flags begin their ascent at 8am sharp. With steady hands and unwavering resolve, UN security officers undertake the task of hoisting the flags...
After two weeks of intense negotiations, delegates at COP29, formally the 29th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), agreed to provide this funding annually, with an overall climate financing target to reach “at least $1.3 trillion by 2035”. Countries also agreed on the rules...
In April 2021, catastrophic flash floods ravaged Timor-Leste, claiming the lives of more than 30 people and destroying over 4,000 homes. Among the worst-hit areas was Orlalan, a remote mountainous village with a population of nearly 6,000. Residents there had little idea how to protect themselves when floodwaters surged and...
The new draft outcome text, which will surely push this round of talks into the weekend, called for the overall climate financing goal to reach “at least $1.3 trillion by 2035”, but left out specifics – grants, loans, or from the private sector – on how these funds will be...
“You have every right to be angry, and I am too. You are on the sharp end of a colossal injustice. An injustice that sees the very future of your islands threatened by rising seas; your people pounded by record hurricanes; your economies torn apart,” Mr. Guterres said. Addressing the...
In parallel and independent voting conducted by secret ballot, the Assembly and the Council re-elected one judge who is currently serving, Hilary Charlesworth of Australia. Another justice currently on the bench, Kirill Gevorgian of Russia, was not successful in securing another term. Four new justices were elected: Bogdan-Lucian Aurescu...
Leaders from Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea painted a grim picture of a planet marred by the unforgiving impacts of climate change. They left no room for equivocation: This is an existential crisis that demands immediate, collective action. They highlighted the upcoming COP-28 climate conference in the United Arab Emirates...
Increasingly grim accident statistics provided the impetus for action, including two bus crashes in Senegal that claimed 62 lives in January. In nearby Côte d’Ivoire, the daily number of fatal road accidents has risen to 46, from just 12 in 2012. In the world’s region most affected by road crashes,...
Over 200 international participants working with the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme had their first face-to-face meeting, in a bid to make one of the most revolutionary medical technologies which led the field in vaccine development against COVID-19, more widely and fairly available, in the places where it is most needed. ‘Lifesaving’ breakthrough:...
“We mourn the more than one million children, women, and men who perished in one hundred days of horror 29 years ago,” António Guterres said in his annual commemorative message on the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda. He went on to say...
The biennial panel’s theme is human rights violations relating to the use of the death penalty, in particular with respect to limiting the practice to only the most serious crimes. Promise of the Charter Volker Türk said this is ultimately about the United Nations Charter’s promise of the highest standards...
Three countries, this week alone, have reported outbreaks, WHO cholera team leader Philippe Barboza told reporters at a press conference on Friday. For the first time, WHO is asking donors for help to fight the outbreaks, he said. Right now, 22 countries across the world are fighting outbreaks of the...