“I am the daughter of a housewife and a car painter” is how Nicaraguan activist Ms. Mesén describes herself, while sitting behind her office desk in San José, the capital city of Costa Rica, where she is now living. Born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a condition that causes bones to break easily and damages hearing, muscles,…
There are currently 46 so-called Least Developed Countries (LDCs), a United Nations designation. They have been participating in an international conference in Doha, Qatar, focused on how best to support their development and future graduation from the LDC group. Subharsh Nepali (left) and colleagues (file) “In the 1970s, when Nepal was first included in the…
Ndeye Rose Sarr When a girl starts to menstruate, that’s when the problems usually start. From the age of 10, she begins to be looked at as a potential bride for an older man. And if she has not yet undergone FGM, there will be those in her community who will want to make…
Gender equality in the judiciary has been historically unbalanced, including at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. The first woman to be elected as a member of the ICJ in 1995 was Dame Rosalyn Higgins, who in 2006 also became the first female President of the Court. …
The report on children’s rights is the first of its kind to bring together existing data and analysis for all countries in the region, while highlighting critical data gaps that need to be filled. Data deficit UNICEF Regional Director Afshan Khan said the war in Ukraine, the pandemic, climate change and the current economic and…
The Doha Political Declaration was adopted to a round of applause in the plenary hall of the Qatar National Convention Centre, where LDC5 has been under way since 5 March. Ushering in new era of solidarity, and enormous socio-economic benefits for world’s 46 least developed countries, today’s action comes nearly one year after the DPoA…
She was speaking during the Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), in Doha, Qatar, where other participants stressed that graduation from LDC category must be sustainable and irreversible. Speakers argued that the appeal for continued and innovative financing and support measures “has fallen on deaf ears”, as the LDC5 held the last…
Issuing the warning at the launch of its annual report, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) cited data indicating that the trend caused “negative health effects and psychotic disorders” among some recreational cannabis users, while also contravening the UN 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. “In all jurisdictions where cannabis has been legalized, data show that cannabis-related…
Many attendees wore suits, scarves or other items of clothing in shades that spanned from periwinkle to indigo, in tribute to women working in tech, a sector that remains overwhelmingly male. “I see this room seldom so packed and so full of energy. It is a clear indication of the noble goals that we are…
At noon on Wednesday, LDC5 held a moment of celebration near Maman, the iconic bronze and stainless-steel sculpture by the artist Louise Bourgeois that towers over the main atrium at the Qatar National Convention Centre in Qatar, where the Conference has been under way since last Sunday. A celebration of motherhood, the giant statue, Ms….
