Volker Türk said he had been “following developments closely” in Israel, where parliamentarians supporting the hard-line nationalist Government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu passed a bill on Monday which in effect strips the Supreme Court of its power to block Government decisions. Opposition parties boycotted the vote which came after...
The Thai authorities are working alongside UN agencies to not just improve the availability of services following the change in the way people are sentenced for drugs crimes, but also reduce the stigmatization of people who use drugs and ensure they have access to services where they feel comfortable. UN...
Mr. Guterres offered his condolences to the families of the victims and expressed hopes for a speedy recovery to the dozens who were injured, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a statement issued that day. The Sudanese army and rival military group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have been...
Briefing correspondents at UN Headquarters in New York just a few days after visiting Haiti along with the head of the World Food Programme (WFP), Catherine Russell said “the current situation of insecurity is unacceptable. “Women and children are dying. Schools and public spaces should always be safe. Collectively the...
“The effects of climate change are becoming more severe, and the number of people displaced across international borders is rapidly increasing,” said Ian Fry, independent human rights expert on climate change, who took up the new post last year. “In 2020 alone, 30.7 million people were displaced from their homes...
Achim Steiner, head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Vice-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group told delegates he had just returned from the war-torn country, noting civilians’ “extraordinary determination to adapt, to recover and to rebuild.” “The UN had developed a clear picture to inform a targeted recovery...
“I first started taking drugs when I was 15,” says 49-year-old Prapat Sukkeaw. “I smoked marijuana, but it was laced with heroin. I felt like I was floating, and it meant that I could forget about all the problems that I faced as a teenager. It was a beautiful feeling.”...
The explosion of ethnic violence in Darfur largely by nomadic “Arab” groups in alliance with the RSF who have been battling national army forces for control of the country since mid-April, has led tens of thousands to flee into neighbouring Chad. ‘Horrifying accounts’ In a statement, OHCHR Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani...
Speaking in the UN Security Council, António Guterres said: “Let me be clear: the United Nations is not leaving Sudan. Our commitment is to the Sudanese people, in support of their wishes for a peaceful and secure future. We stand with them, at this terrible time.” In blunt terms, he said the...
The annual commemoration, now in its 10th year, highlights the positive role sport plays in communities and lives across the globe. Elite and amateur athletes of all ages joined industry experts, diplomats and UN officials for the event – the first to be held in-person since the start of...
Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, said that amid severe underfunding, the move would “further undermine humanitarian partners’ ability to support the population, especially the most vulnerable such as women and girls”. “The world cannot abandon the people of Afghanistan at this precarious moment,” Dr. Alakbarov insisted, before...
The heads of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN-backed World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) have come together in the face of multiple global emergencies – from COVID-19 to Ebola – continued threats of disease spillover between...