Orlando Bloom describes ‘devastating impact’ of DR Congo violence on women and children

Orlando Bloom describes ‘devastating impact’ of DR Congo violence on women and children

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom visited the region  for the first time this week to see the dire conditions there for himself. “The staggering scale of the conflict in eastern DRC, the horrific level of violence, and its devastating impact on the children and women I met is heart-wrenching,” said Mr. Bloom. “No child should…

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UN investigative team hands over key ISIL crime data to Iraq

UN investigative team hands over key ISIL crime data to Iraq

Thus far, some 28 terabytes (TB) of data have been transferred, representing a majority of the 40TB held by UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD). Briefing ambassadors at the Security Council, UNITAD acting head Ana Peyró Llopis said she has regularly engaged with Iraqi officials, notably the judiciary, survivors…

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Continuing restrictions hamper humanitarian access inside Gaza

Continuing restrictions hamper humanitarian access inside Gaza

Humanitarians said that “security and humanitarian access conditions” have been further reduced since May because of increased violence in northern and southern Gaza, especially in Rafah, where Israeli forces continue their bombardment and military offensive.   “Despite the presence of a system to notify and coordinate humanitarian movements, impediments, delays, and denials of missions continue…

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More than 500 Palestinians killed in occupied West Bank: UN rights chief

More than 500 Palestinians killed in occupied West Bank: UN rights chief

Two of the latest fatalities were 16-year-old Ahmed Ashraf Hamidat and 17-year-old Mohammed Musa Al Bitar, both shot “at a distance of about 70 metres while running away after throwing stones and/or Molotov cocktails towards a[n Israeli] military post outside a settlement near Aqabat Jaber, CCTV footage shows”, said the High Commissioner’s Office, OHCHR. The…

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War must never be normalized for child victims: Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine

War must never be normalized for child victims: Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine

In remarks to commemorate the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, Denise Brown also noted that boys and girls in frontline regions have had to spend the equivalent of seven months underground in bomb shelters because of relentless attacks. “I will not stop repeating that the entire international community must never accept as…

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Break free from pollution, climate chaos and ‘biodiversity decimation’, UN chief urges

Break free from pollution, climate chaos and ‘biodiversity decimation’, UN chief urges

In a message marking Wednesday’s World Environment Day, António Guterres emphasized that countries “must deliver” on all their commitments to restore degraded ecosystems and land, and on Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework, the global agreement to protect biodiversity. “They must use their new national climate action plans to set out how they will halt and reverse deforestation…

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Ongoing war destroying social fabric in Gaza, UN aid official says

Ongoing war destroying social fabric in Gaza, UN aid official says

Andrea De Domenico, Head of OCHA‘s Office in the occupied Palestinian territory, recently spent three weeks in the enclave, where over one million people have fled the southern city of Rafah following the step-up in Israeli military operations, according to Palestine refugee agency UNRWA.  Briefing journalists in New York, Mr. De Domenico added that the…

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UN experts concerned about migrant labour exploitation in UK

UN experts concerned about migrant labour exploitation in UK

The experts said they have received allegations that migrants are being deceived about “working and living conditions and the nature of their agreements with employers in the agricultural or care sectors.”  “This is unlawful and highlights the need for urgent reform of the current system governing labour migration, to ensure effective protection of the rights…

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