The 54-member body, which is one of the six main pillars of the UN system, elected Paula Narváez Ojeda of Chile to the top seat. It also elected as Vice-Presidents, Akan Rakhmetullin (Kazakhstan), Ivan Šimonović (Croatia) and Robert Rae (Canada), representing the Asia-Pacific, Eastern European, and Western European and other regional groups, respectively. The…
The Council meeting was convened following the missile strikes on Sunday which damaged the centuries-old Transfiguration Cathedral, the first and foremost Orthodox church in the historic city. Other landmarks in the city centre, a protected World Heritage Site, were also damaged in the attack, which killed one person and injured several others. Culture under fire…
“I hope they will soon, because if not, it will be another missed opportunity to help the Syrian conflict to come to a negotiated end, at a time when the impact of the crisis is deepening,” Geir Pedersen said, briefing the Security Council. While there had been positive humanitarian gestures following the devastating earthquakes in…
“Every new wave of warfare brings with it a rising tide of human tragedy, including new waves of war’s oldest, most silenced and least condemned crime,” she said. The Council meeting to examine implementation of its resolutions on conflict-related sexual violence was convened by the United Kingdom, which holds the rotating presidency this month. Meetings survivors in…
Khaled Khiari was briefing the Council just a day after DPRK conducted the second launch of its Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a system which he said can now “reach most points on Earth.” It represented “potentially” Pyongyang’s longest ever ballistic missile flight, lasting around 74 minutes and travelling over 1,000 kilometres before crashing into…
The disruption comes as humanitarian needs are at an all-time high after more than 12 years of war and in the wake of the devastating double earthquakes that struck the region in February. The UN and partners were hoping for a 12-month extension of the mandate to transport aid through the Bab al-Hawa crossing point…
Addressing the Human Rights Council, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk noted that the tome was the “core of faith” for well over one billion Muslims. Those who had burned the Quran most likely did so “to express contempt and inflame anger”, Mr. Türk said, as he warned that these acts also aimed…
Briefing the Security Council on the state of the JCPOA, Ms. DiCarlo set the tone for the discussion by stating, “diplomacy is the only way to effectively address the Iranian nuclear issue.” The 2015 deal sets out rules for monitoring Iran’s nuclear programme and paves the way for the lifting of UN sanctions. It was agreed…
“We have expressed concerns” over the investigation into her death, said Viviana Krsticevic, a member of the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, speaking at a press conference in Geneva: “in particular over the fact that today her family’s right to truth and justice remains unfulfilled”. She added that the investigations had “fallen short of international human…
The meeting of the Human Rights Council is likely to be held this week: Photo: File Geneva: An emergency meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council was convened at the request of Pakistan to discuss the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden. The spokesperson of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Pascal Sim,…
