Climate action ‘cannot trample over the poor’, says Guterres, launching new initiative to protect key minerals for clean energy transition

PNP DeskApril 26, 2024September 20, 202404 mins

The newly established Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals brings together a diverse group of governments, organisations and UN bodies to develop a set of common and voluntary principles to protect environmental and social standards aimed at embedding justice in the energy transition. “A world powered by renewables is a world hungry for critical minerals,”…

We must do all in our power to protect Rafah, say UN humanitarians

PNP DeskFebruary 6, 2024September 18, 202404 mins

“We as the UN and Member States of the UN can bear witness,” OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke told journalists in Geneva. “We can warn what might unfold with a ground invasion and we can make clear what the law says… under international humanitarian law, indiscriminate bombing of densely populated areas may amount to war crimes.”…

Biodiversity: What is it, and how can we protect it?

PNP DeskJanuary 22, 2024September 18, 202409 mins

What does ‘biodiversity’ mean and why is it important? In simple terms, biodiversity refers to all types of life on earth. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), describes it as “the diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems, including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi”. These three levels work together to create life on…

Rights experts urge France to protect children from sexual abuse

PNP DeskJanuary 19, 2024September 18, 202405 mins

The experts had previously written to the authorities after receiving information about three cases regarding allegations of sexual abuse of several children by their fathers and violations against the mothers who sought to protect them. They found that, according to the allegations, the children were victims of sexual abuse or at high risk of sexual…

Rights experts concerned over intimidation around mega tourism project in Indonesia

Indonesia urged to protect refugees following mob attack

PNP DeskDecember 27, 2023September 18, 202403 mins

Hundreds of young people stormed a building basement where scores of Rohingya refugees were sheltered, according to media reports. The Rohingya are a mainly Muslim community who have fled waves of persecution in Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country. Nearly one million are living in camps in Bangladesh and more than 1,000 have arrived in Indonesia…

Protect those on the move using deadly Darién crossing

PNP DeskDecember 7, 2023September 17, 202403 mins

That figure is more than double the crossings made in all of 2022. Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, underscored the scale of the crisis. “The challenges that the unprecedented population movements in the Americas pose are formidable…no country on its own is equipped to address them,” he said. “Only by coming together with…

Gaza: UNRWA chief underscores duty to protect civilians at all times

PNP DeskOctober 21, 2023September 17, 202403 mins

“Let me be clear: protecting civilians in times of conflict is not an aspiration or an ideal; it is an obligation and a commitment to our shared humanity,” UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement. Relentless air strikes and bombardments, coupled with evacuation orders from Israel, have displaced nearly one million people in…

Guterres: Turn ‘infrastructure emergency’ into opportunity, but also protect nature

PNP DeskOctober 17, 2023September 17, 202407 mins

António Guterres was speaking at the third international forum on China’s Belt and Road initiative, which has funded and built roads, power plants, bridges, ports and other facilities across developing countries over the past decade. Although infrastructure “is the foundation of everyday life for people and economies”, Mr. Guterres recalled that billions in the developing…

UN agencies call on Pakistan to protect Afghan refugees

PNP DeskOctober 7, 2023September 16, 202403 mins

Amid a “severe humanitarian crisis”, Afghanistan currently faces several human rights challenges, particularly for women and girls, according to the UN. Pakistan’s new plans would have “serious implications” for all who have been forced to leave the country and may face serious protection risks upon their return, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and the International…

UN and Red Cross call for restrictions on autonomous weapon systems to protect humanity

PNP DeskOctober 5, 2023September 16, 202407 mins

“We call on world leaders to launch negotiations of a new legally binding instrument to set clear prohibitions and restrictions on autonomous weapon systems and to conclude such negotiations by 2026,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres and ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said on Thursday. “In the current security landscape, setting clear international red lines will benefit…