Haiti crisis: UN chief calls for ‘urgent action’ to end rampant insecurity

Haiti crisis: UN chief calls for ‘urgent action’ to end rampant insecurity

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters in New York that António Guterres wanted to see “urgent action, particularly in providing financial support for the multinational security support mission”, which has been authorized by the Security Council in a bid to restore law and order to the crisis-wracked nation, the poorest in the western hemisphere. Kenya…

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South Sudan: Top UN official calls for greater political investment as polls loom

South Sudan: Top UN official calls for greater political investment as polls loom

Briefing ambassadors at the Security Council, Jean-Pierre Lacroix said that if the parties display greater political will and invest adequate resources, credible elections can still take place before the end of the transition period. “Despite the shortcomings in implementation, the peace agreement did instill a period of stability at the national level and brought opponents…

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‘Widespread’ sexual abuse of children in entertainment business revealed

‘Widespread’ sexual abuse of children in entertainment business revealed

“The sexual abuse and the exploitation of children within the entertainment industry resulting from unethical systems, structures, practices or abuse of power and authority is widespread,” said Mama Fatima Singhateh, the UN Special Rapporteur on sale and sexual exploitation of children. Child performers in the entertainment industry are exposed to sexualized, violent and aggressive environments that…

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UN rights expert condemns ‘systematic’ war-time mass destruction of homes

UN rights expert condemns ‘systematic’ war-time mass destruction of homes

Citing alarming examples in Aleppo, Grozny, Mariupol, Myanmar, Sudan and Gaza, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, said an “increasingly systematic, massive and arbitrary destruction of civilian housing and infrastructure” during too many conflicts around the world is in blatant violation of international human rights and humanitarian laws. “We have seen or are…

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North Gaza aid mission reveals more infants may die from hunger

North Gaza aid mission reveals more infants may die from hunger

“WHO and partners managed to access (Al) Shifa (hospital) in the north and deliver fuel, some lifesaving supplies for 150 patients and treatment of 50 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition and also bring it vaccines,” said Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, UN World Health Organization (WHO) Representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  For the first time…

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UPDATING LIVE: UN General Assembly votes by large majority for immediate humanitarian ceasefire during emergency session

UPDATING LIVE: General Assembly meets to examine US veto of Gaza draft resolution

10:51 AM Israel: Ceasefire must have pre-conditions Gilad Menashe Erdan, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Israel to the UN, said that it has been 150 days since Hamas committed “the most brutal and barbaric massacre since the Holocaust”. “Once again, this body [General Assembly] has convened not to condemn Hamas, no. Not to condemn their…

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‘Mega election’ 2024 could be a landmark for democracy: UN rights chief

‘Mega election’ 2024 could be a landmark for democracy: UN rights chief

In an update to the UN Human Rights Council, Mr. Türk described 2024 as a “mega election year” with more than 60 countries slated to hold elections involving nearly half of the world’s people. “Every election – even an imperfect one – constitutes an effort to at least formally acknowledge the universal aspiration to democracy,” the…

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