The latest strikes in the centre and south occurred on the eve of the solemn commemoration marking two years of war and one day after deadly attacks in the Donestsk region, located in the east. ‘Grim reality’ unchanged Denise Brown, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, took to social media to voice her condemnation. “Today’s attacks…
UNESCO first developed its Recommendations on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence back in 2021, when much of the world was preoccupied by another international threat, the COVID-19 pandemic. The Recommendations, which were adopted by the 194 UNESCO Member States, contain concrete guidance on how public and private money can be channelled to programmes that benefit society. Since…
“Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine, which is about to enter its third year with no end in sight, continues to cause serious and widespread human rights violations, destroying lives and livelihoods,” he said in a statement launching a new report. This month marks not only two years since Moscow’s all out assault, but also 10…
Tor Wennesland, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, told ambassadors that “there is still no end in sight” as the war approaches its 140-day mark. “No end to the trauma of those impacted by the horrors unleashed on 7 October. No end to the suffering and desperation the people in Gaza. No…
Appointed by the Secretary-General in early February following Israeli allegations that 12 UNRWA employees were involved in the Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel in October, the group also aims to meet Palestinian Authority officials and may request a visit to Gaza, said its chair, former French former minister Catherine Colonna, who spoke outside the Security Council after…
In a new study, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimated that over the past two months, the volume of trade through the Suez Canal has fallen by a whopping 42 per cent. “With major players in the shipping industry temporarily suspending Suez transits, weekly container ship transits have fallen by 67 per…
In a letter addressed to the President of the UN General Assembly, which provides the agency with its mandate, he said the agency’s ability to fulfil that mandate “is now seriously threatened”. “In just over four months in Gaza there have been more children, more journalists more medical personnel and more UN staff killed than…
The 11th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) kicked off in Bangkok, with participants echoing a compelling plea for nations to swiftly implement urgent actions, fostered by robust and sustained multilateral cooperation. The stern warning suggested that countries risked lagging further behind in their pursuit of sustainable development goals amid recent global crises. Addressing the…
Briefing ambassadors on the UN Security Council, Valentine Rugwabiza, Special Representative for the Central African Republic (CAR), recalled the 15 January explosion which targeted a patrol from the mission, killing one peacekeeper and wounding five others. “Explosive ordinance devices (EODs) and light weapons are not only a threat to the population and peacekeepers but equally…
Since the brutal 7 October terror attacks by Hamas and other militants on southern Israel and the ensuing military onslaught by Israel on Gaza, more than three quarters of the enclave’s population have been displaced from their homes, many multiple times. There are widespread shortages of food, water and sanitation, and the health system continues…
