Although properties protected under the World Heritage Convention make up less than one per cent of the Earth’s surface, they harbour more than 20 per cent of the planet’s biodiversity, new research by UNESCO and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has revealed. The UN agency has urged the 195 States party to…
Wednesday’s military takeover in Gabon came on the heels of Niger last month, Burkina Faso in 2022, and Chad, Guinea, Sudan and Mali in the years prior to that. Overall, all recent coups except Myanmar, in 2021, have taken place on African soil. The announcement of the takeover in Gabon came shortly after election results…
Ghada Waly, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), was speaking at the opening of the first global conference on the topic. Corruption costs the world roughly $2.6 trillion annually, according to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) – money that could go towards fighting hunger, providing healthcare, and ensuring all children have access to quality education. “Developing a…
“I’m in Kyiv, ending a fast-paced visit to IOM operations in Ukraine and Moldova. Sirens awoke me, and I was rushed to a bunker in my hotel. Yes, I was scared, but that’s not why I’m writing this. I now have a glimpse into what millions of Ukrainians, and all of my staff here have…
As of July, there have been more than 34,000 suspected cases of measles and rubella reported, resulting in 413 deaths; a significant increase compared to the 27,000 cases and 220 associated deaths recorded during all of last year, reported the UN health agency. Complicating matters further is limited funding for inoculation programmes, according to Arturo…
Fuelled by record temperatures and high winds, the deadly fires that began across the country in July have so far claimed 27 lives, including two children – both asylum seekers, according to news reports. They were among 18 bodies discovered by Greek authorities on 22 August in the national forest of Dadia, in the northeast,…
“We are outraged that those searching for forcibly disappeared family members and loved ones continue to be targeted and face violence in Mexico,” they said in a statement, issued in the wake of two recent incidents. Brutal killing Human rights defender Teresa Magueyal was shot dead while riding her bicycle in Celaya, Guanajuato state, on 2 May. Her son, José Luis Apaseo Magueyal, 34,…
Enforced disappearance has regularly been used as a tool for instilling fear and exert control over a population. The feeling of insecurity it generates is not limited to close relatives of the disappeared, but also their communities and society as a whole. In a post on social media platform X, The UN chief said enforced…
Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that UN chief António Guterres was following the evolving situation in the capital Libreville “very closely”. While condemning military action as “a means to resolve the post electoral crisis”, the Secretary-General said he had noted the announcement by the Central African nation’s electoral body of a win for incumbent president Ali…
They stressed that more than ever, the world urgently needs humanity to unite and collaborate in a spirit of equality and non-discrimination. “This demands political will to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination, inequality and stratification at both the domestic and international levels,” they said in a statement. Achieving this goal means that inequalities within and among countries…
