Dr. Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, was speaking during a press briefing on emergencies in the occupied Palestinian territory and Lebanon, but also in war-ravaged Sudan and beyond. She also upheld the critical role of UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA in Gaza, and appealed for peace....
This year’s commemoration pays tribute to the people and organizations that have been on the frontlines of the disease – from fighting stigma and discrimination, to advocating for access to affordable interventions and community-led services. They “have left an indelible mark on the world with their activism,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. ...
Despite wide international condemnation of terrorism, victims and survivors of violence often struggle to have their voices heard, their needs supported, and their rights upheld. Most need long-term support – physical, psychological, social and financial. However, few Member States have the resources or the capacity to help those affected by...
Gerard Quinn, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, said that “dead-end jobs, low wages, poor conditions and little room for social mobility” in the care sector are not a way to build resilient systems – as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown. Women carers ‘severely disadvantaged’ Speaking...
In statements on Wednesday, Secretary-General António Guterres was joined by deputy chief Amina Mohammed, in describing the latest escalation of the de facto authorities’ suppression of women, as a violation of their inalienable fundamental human rights. “It also violates Afghanistan’s obligations under international human rights law, and infringes on the principle of non-discrimination,...
“Our colleagues on the ground at the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) received word of an order by the de facto authorities that bans female national staff members of the UN from working,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, told reporters at UN Headquarters during the regular daily briefing....
“Our immediate priority must be to prevent further escalation, reduce tensions, and restore calm,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at a meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. Against a backdrop of deadly accelerating surges of violence, “sky high” tensions, and a...
Ambassadors were briefed by Khalid Khiari, a UN Assistant Secretary-General, who expressed concern over the developments and the broader ongoing tensions and violence in the occupied West Bank. On Monday, Israel’s new National Security Minister, far-right party leader Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited the hilltop compound in Jerusalem’s old city that is...
A statement issued by Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said that Secretary-General António Guterres was “deeply disturbed by the reported order of the de facto Taliban authorities” and that the UN chief “reiterates the rights of all women to participate in the workforce thus contributing to the greater good.” According to media reports, the Taliban ordered all...
“I am in charge of cases pertaining to women and children in Nimba county. The most prevalent cases I handle here are rape, persistent non-support (failure to pay alimony) and domestic violence. Rape is the most commonly reported of these cases. It is a very difficult issue to work on,...