UPDATING LIVE: Civilians in Israel and Palestine ‘cannot be abandoned’, says top UN official on sexual violence in conflict

PNP DeskMarch 11, 2024September 19, 2024017 mins

4:02 PM Mozambique: Intervention urgently needed Domingos Estêvão Fernandes, Deputy Permanent Representative of Mozambique to the UN, said that the relentless violence between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, coupled with the bombardment in the Gaza Strip demanded the “immediate intervention” of the Security Council. “All parties must fully respect international humanitarian…

UN chief urges ‘genuine, credible’ political solution in Syria, as conflict approaches thirteenth anniversary

PNP DeskMarch 9, 2024September 19, 202403 mins

March marks the thirteenth anniversary of the conflict in Syria, with systematic atrocities and untold suffering of civilians. According to UN estimates, 16.7 million people, equivalent to 70 per cent of the total population, will require humanitarian assistance in 2024. Roughly half the pre-war population remains displaced inside or outside Syria. Compounding the crisis, a…

Gaza: Rafah ground assault would increase risk of atrocity crimes

PNP DeskMarch 8, 2024September 19, 202407 mins

Spokesperson for Volker Türk in Geneva, Jeremy Laurence, told journalists that an already catastrophic situation could “slide deeper into the abyss” in the coming days if Israeli forces make their move on the southern border city, carrying through with their threat to invade, unless Hamas militants hand over remaining hostages by the start of Ramadan….

Over 230 million women and girls subjected to female genital mutilation: UNICEF

PNP DeskMarch 8, 2024September 19, 202404 mins

Released on Friday, coinciding with International Women’s Day, the data compiled by UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) shows that the pace of progress against FGM remains slow and woefully off track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of ending the practice by 2030 (SDG 5, target 5.3). The global pace of decline worldwide would need to…

International Women’s Day: UN chief launches plan to tackle ‘baked-in bias’

PNP DeskMarch 8, 2024September 19, 2024010 mins

“Equality is overdue; to achieve it, we must match rhetoric with resources,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “We must invest in women and girls, turbocharge progress and build a better world for us all.” His new UN System-Wide Gender Equality Acceleration Plan “commits to placing women and girls at the centre of our work across…

Gaza: Kaag working closely with partners on new maritime aid lifeline

PNP DeskMarch 8, 2024September 19, 202404 mins

In a joint statement released on Friday, the Commission, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and the United Kingdom announced their intent to open a new corridor in coordination with the UN’s Sigrid Kaag. The UN coordinator has a mandate from the Security Council to facilitate, boost and monitor the arrival of aid…

Security Council calls for immediate cessation of hostilities in Sudan

PNP DeskMarch 8, 2024September 19, 202403 mins

In resolution 2724 (2024), adopted with 14 votes in favour and one abstention (Russia), the Council also called on all parties to the conflict to seek a sustainable resolution to the fighting through dialogue. The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in April last year in…

Iran: Harassment, reprisals continue for Mahsa Amini’s family

World News in Brief: Rights violations in Iran, Haiti chaos grows, prison reform in face of pandemic threat

PNP DeskMarch 8, 2024September 19, 202408 mins

The report to the Human Rights Council said violations and crimes under international law committed in the protests sparked by the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in September 2022 include extra-judicial and unlawful killings and murder, unnecessary and disproportionate use of force, arbitrary deprivation of liberty, torture, rape, enforced disappearances and gender persecution. “These acts…

UN rights chief urges comprehensive action against religious hatred and discrimination

PNP DeskMarch 8, 2024September 19, 202404 mins

Speaking before a panel of experts at the 55th session of the Human Rights Council, Volker Türk underscored the importance of strengthening social cohesion and increasing respect, with a particular focus on the role of social media. “Social media platforms have a clear responsibility to combat online hate speech that may lead to real-world discrimination…

Ukraine war: Alarm raised in Security Council over civilian attacks

PNP DeskMarch 8, 2024September 19, 202408 mins

“We condemn all attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure,” said Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General at the UN Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations. “They are prohibited under international law; they are unacceptable and must stop now.” “Regrettably, our repeated calls for protection of civilians appear to fall on deaf ears,” he said,…