year Archives - Page 2 of 3

UN rights chief deplores Ukraine death toll one year after Russian invasion

·February 22, 2023·5 min read

Matilda Bogner, Head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), told journalists in Geneva that the civilian death toll in the southern city of Mariupol – besieged and bombarded by Russian missiles – had been particularly high. “My colleagues interviewed a former prisoner of war, and he...

Fake medicines kill almost 500,000 sub-Saharan Africans a year: UNODC report

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·February 2, 2023·1 min read

A lack of access to healthcare and medicines has been fuelling a host of opportunists aimed at filling the gaps, the report Trafficking in Medical Products in the Sahel shows. But, this supply and an imbalance in demand, has triggered deadly results. Bitter pill of trafficking In sub-Saharan Africa, as many as 267,000 deaths...

Mali: ‘Critical year’ begins in country’s return to constitutional order

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·January 30, 2023·4 min read

The envoy was addressing ambassadors at what he called a “unique juncture” in the efforts to promote lasting peace and security in the West African country. “Mali is ushering in a critical year in terms of returning to constitutional order,” he said, with several votes scheduled starting in March....

Syria: WFP chief calls for action now, as hunger soars to 12 year high

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·January 30, 2023·3 min read

WFP Executive Director, David Beasley, said that if we don’t address this humanitarian crisis, “things are going to get worse than we can possibly imagine”. Following 12 years of brutal conflict, an economy crippled by runaway inflation, a currency that has collapsed to a record low and soaring food prices,...

Ukraine: ‘Multiple civilian causalities’ as new year dawns

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·January 4, 2023·1 min read

Citing UN humanitarian colleagues, he informed the media at the regular daily press briefing that intensified violence in different regions of the war-torn country caused “multiple civilian casualties”, which included children and journalists. “Ukrainian authorities reported more than 50 civilian casualties on December 31st alone”, said Mr. Haq. Mounting casualties ...

2022 Year In Review: Celebrating women fighting for their rights

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·December 30, 2022·7 min read

It often takes considerable bravery to stand up for the rights of women. The UN, which is committed to empowering women and girls, works relentlessly with activists and organizations across the world, to protect women from abuse, support health initiatives, and improve lives. Graduating university students in Afghanistan. Women are...

2022 Year In Review: As conflicts rage, international dialogue remains ‘the only hope’ for peace

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·December 29, 2022·11 min read

February saw a furious round of diplomacy at the UN, as it became increasingly clear that Russia was intent on invading Ukraine, a crisis which UN Secretary-General António Guterres said was testing the “entire international system”. “We need restraint and reason. We need de-escalation now,” spelled out the UN chief,...

2022 Year in Review: Amid global turmoil, UN doggedly pursues international climate agreements

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·December 28, 2022·7 min read

At the end of 2021, when the UN climate conference (COP26) wrapped up in Glasgow, none of those present could have suspected that a war in Ukraine would throw the global economy into turmoil, convincing many nations to suspend their commitments to a low carbon economy, as they scrambled to...

2022 Year In health: New Ebola and cholera outbreaks, mpox emergency, COVID-19 ‘not over’

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·December 27, 2022·8 min read

A global population weary of the chaos caused by COVID-19 pandemic had to contend with a new, highly transmissible variant at the beginning of the year: Omicron. Omicron and on This latest version swept across Europe, leading to record weekly case numbers, although the number of deaths was relatively low,...

2022 Year in Review: 100 million displaced, ‘a record that should never have been set’

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·December 26, 2022·8 min read

The 100 million figure, which includes those fleeing conflict, violence, human rights violations and persecution, was announced by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in May and described by Filippo Grandi, the head of the agency, as “a record that should never have been set”. The figure is up from some...

WHO’s Tedros recaps challenging year, appeals for more information on COVID spread in China

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·December 25, 2022·1 min read

To make a comprehensive risk assessment of the situation on the ground, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu told journalists at a regular briefing in Geneva that WHO needs more detailed information on disease severity, hospital admissions and requirements for ICU support. “WHO is supporting China to focus its efforts on vaccinating people at...

UN envoy reports ‘sharp increase’ in violence this year in Israel-Palestine conflict

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·December 20, 2022·3 min read

He reiterated deep concern over the high levels of violence in the past several months, characterized by clashes, protests, attacks, Israeli security operations and other incidents. “I am gravely concerned by the sharp increase in violence against civilians on both sides, which exacerbates mistrust and undermines a peaceful resolution to...