UN deputy chief reminds Taliban: Islam does not ban women from education 

UN deputy chief reminds Taliban: Islam does not ban women from education 

Traveling with UN Women chief Sima Bahous, and other senior officials, she told journalists on Thursday that she had informed Taliban leaders that a society based on exclusion and repression could never flourish.  The first goal of the visit focused on “solidarity and the importance of women’s rights…with a view to education, secondary and tertiary”.  …

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‘Equal rights cannot wait’ on International Day of Women in Multilateralism

‘Equal rights cannot wait’ on International Day of Women in Multilateralism

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay made the appeal in her message to mark the International Day of Women in Multilateralism, which highlights their role in building peace and ensuring sustainable development.  It also provides an opportunity to advocate for increased representation of women in key decision-making positions in global collaboration.  ‘Incomprehensible inequality gap’   “Celebrating their…

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Human rights must be defended in the fight against terrorism: UN chief

Human rights must be defended in the fight against terrorism: UN chief

Speaking at the ninth meeting of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact in New York, he urged for all counter-terrorism policies and initiatives to be “firmly grounded” within their defence.  “Combatting terror must never be used as an excuse for trampling on people’s human rights,” he said.    “When we protect human rights, we are in fact…

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Security Council: 12 years of war, leaves 70 per cent of Syrians needing aid

Security Council: 12 years of war, leaves 70 per cent of Syrians needing aid

“As we move into 2023, the Syrian people remain trapped in a profound humanitarian, political, military, security, economic and human rights crisis of great complexity and almost unimaginable scale,” said Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria. Outlining recent developments, he reiterated his previous calls for calm on the ground, good faith engagement in Syria’s stalled Constitutional Committee…

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Two-thirds of Yemenis need humanitarian support and protection

Two-thirds of Yemenis need humanitarian support and protection

The UN humanitarian affairs office OCHA is calling for $4.3 billion to reach the 17.3 million most vulnerable people in need, whose lives have been turned upside down because of protracted war, displacement and economic collapse, compounded by recurrent natural disasters. Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when Houthi rebels took the capital, Sana’a, forcing…

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Police overwhelmed, development stalled, as gang violence spirals in Haiti

Police overwhelmed, development stalled, as gang violence spirals in Haiti

“Years of hard-fought recovery gains are being undone, and Haitians are grappling with setting the country back on a path to democracy,” said Helen La Lime, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Haiti.    Turf wars  Briefing the 15-member Council, Ms. La Lime said more than 2,100 murders and some 1,300 kidnappings were reported in 2022,…

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Mali: WHO doctor seized by ‘unidentified assailants’, as UNHCR raises alarm over continuing violence

Mali: WHO doctor seized by ‘unidentified assailants’, as UNHCR raises alarm over continuing violence

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a tweet posted on Tuesday that WHO was working with local authorities to investigate the abduction of Dr. Mahamadou Diawara, who had worked for the agency in the town for around three years, “and ensure our colleague’s quick return to his family.” WHO said in a statement that he had…

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Crises hindering victim identification: UNODC human trafficking report

Crises hindering victim identification: UNODC human trafficking report

Globally, the number of victims detected fell by 11 per cent in 2020 from the previous year, driven by fewer detections in low and medium-income countries. The number of convictions for trafficking offences also fell by 27 per cent over the same period, accelerating a longer-term trend registered by UNODC since 2017. Sharper decreases were registered…

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