The unanimous declaration of the Decade of Sustainable Energy for All in 2012 aimed to hone on the importance of improving “access to reliable, affordable, economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally sound energy services and resources for sustainable development.” Dennis Francis said there have been both achievements and shortcomings in meeting the goal throughout the…
Dr Jeremy Farrar, Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the avian influenza virus – which is also known as H5N1 – has had an “extremely high” mortality rate among the several hundred people known to have been infected with it to date. To date, no human-to-human H5N1 transmission has been recorded….
Palestine’s current status Right now, Palestine is a “Permanent Observer State” at the UN, enjoying the status that allows it to participate in all of the Organization’s proceedings, except for voting on draft resolutions and decisions in its main organs and bodies, from the Security Council to the General Assembly and its six main committees….
“Failure to make progress towards a two-State solution will only increase volatility and risk for hundreds of millions of people across the region, who will continue to live under the constant threat of violence,” he said. Regional conflict, global impact With the Middle East “on a precipice”, he appealed for maximum restraint, warning against the…
Since the brutal 7 October attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian militants on southern Israel, and the ensuing military assault by Israel, over 5,800 students and teachers have been killed and a further 8,575 have been injured across the enclave. Many others have been arrested, while attacks on places of learning have left more than…
1948: UN invention records multiple languages Precision, speed and accuracy were the hallmark of a brand-new machine the UN developed and deployed in 1948 to record multilingual meetings. At the time, note takers hired to cover the meetings had to pass a 200-words-a-minute test. Alas, human beings are only human and could suddenly become ill…
The huge central African nation has seen years of violence in the restive but resources-rich east, which have uprooted millions of people – some 2.7 million in North Kivu alone and more than seven million nationally. “What breaks my heart is to see a population exhausted by violence, exhausted by conflict, exhausted by the horrors…
In a special meeting dedicated to building resilience and promoting sustainable development through infrastructure connectivity, Dennis Francis emphasized the importance of quality and endurance. “Quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure – including regional and transborder infrastructure – is important to sustain trade and commerce, facilitate effective transportation, connect us to virtual grids, maintain energy flows,…
In a vote of 12 in favour to one against, with two abstentions, the Council did not adopt a draft resolution that would have recommended the General Assembly to hold a vote with the broader UN membership to allow Palestine to join as a full UN Member State. The draft resolution is among the shortest…
Renewable energy is generally defined as any energy source that is continuously replenished. It includes solar and wind power as well as bioenergy (organic matter burned as fuel) and hydroelectric power. IRENA’s Francesco La Camera, spoke to UN News ahead of a special meeting on Friday on transitioning to sustainable sources of energy which is…
