Adopting a United States-led draft resolution without a vote, the Assembly also highlighted the respect, protection and promotion of human rights in the design, development, deployment and the use of AI. The text was “co-sponsored” or backed by more than 120 other Member States. The General Assembly also recognized AI systems’ potential to accelerate and…
Briefing ambassadors at the UN Security Council, Geir Pedersen said that recent spike in violence, including airstrikes, rocket attacks and clashes between armed groups, underscored the urgent need for a political resolution. In addition, protests continue in some regions over unaddressed grievances and the presence of six foreign armies in the country are raising fears…
Last year saw a three per cent contraction, equalling roughly $1 trillion, compared to the record high of $32 trillion in 2022. Despite this decline, the services sector showed resilience with a $500 billion (eight per cent) increase from the previous year, while trade in goods experienced a $1.3 trillion, or five per cent, decline compared…
High Commissioner Volker Türk said, from the capital Ouagadougou, that his local office had been “engaging intensely with the authorities, civil society actors, human rights defenders, UN partners and others on many of the multifaceted human rights challenges” the country faces following a coup in January 2022 that saw Captain Ibrahim Traoré assume power. Solidarity…
UN rumour has it that the unofficial tradition began almost 40 years ago, when a delegate from the United Kingdom requested the floor to make a point of order at the end of an intense months-long session. The now annual tradition is flush with ribald diplomatic jocularity and acerbic wit. Watch the UK’s “poem lecture”…
Based on over 2,300 testimonies from victims and witnesses, the report details measures taken by Russia to impose Russian language, citizenship, laws, court system and education curricula in the occupied areas, while at the same time suppressing expressions of Ukrainian culture and identity, and dismantling its governance and administrative systems. “The actions of the Russian…
Focusing on developments in 2023, the report builds on previous findings in the aftermath of large public protests which erupted in 2020 following a disputed presidential poll. Despite a lack of cooperation from Belarusian authorities, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said evidence gathered shows that the scale and pattern of violations has continued. “The…
The review follows serious allegations regarding the alleged involvement of UNRWA staff in the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas, which are being investigated by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). The independent review group presented the interim report findings and recommendations to the Secretary-General on Tuesday. “It has found that UNRWA…
They live in the village of Ankilinanjosoa in Anosy, a region which has suffered a series of droughts leading to the failures of multiple harvests. Twenty-five women formed a grower’s association which has access to water as part of a project supported by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Tenefo Votsirasoa is a member of a…
“As we approach the one-year anniversary of the conflict, we cannot make clearer the desperation that civilians are facing in Sudan,” said Edem Wosornu of the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA – one of three senior officials who briefed ambassadors. The meeting was convened following OCHA’s submission of a white paper on food insecurity in…
