World News in Brief: Reducing disaster risk for persons with disabilities, Afghan quake latest, global aid funding off track

World News in Brief: Reducing disaster risk for persons with disabilities, Afghan quake latest, global aid funding off track

Persons with disabilities face a “shocking lack of support” with no progress in the last decade, despite a huge increase in climate disasters worldwide, the new UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) report states, and that lack of progress could be a violation of international law. Persons with disabilities make up 16 per cent…

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UN-African Union cooperation a must, as landscape of conflict shifts

UN-African Union cooperation a must, as landscape of conflict shifts

Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the AU, told ambassadors in New York that the alignment between the two organizations is particularly relevant for current challenges. “The African conflict landscape is evolving, becoming more complex and often intractable,” he said. He referred to the report on cooperation between the UN and AU on…

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UN rights body extends mandate of Special Rapporteur on Russia

UN rights body extends mandate of Special Rapporteur on Russia

The UN Human Rights Council also “strongly urged” Russian authorities to comply with all the State’s obligations under international human rights law. It also called for upholding fundamental freedoms, including those of thought, opinion and expression, and peaceful assembly, “in particular by removing restrictions on diversity in ideas, criticism and dissent as well as associated…

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WMO: Stocktake of water resources needed as global hydrological cycle is in distress

WMO: Stocktake of water resources needed as global hydrological cycle is in distress

Destructive droughts and heavy rains are causing harm, while melting snow and glaciers heighten flood risks and endanger long-term water security.  The UN weather agency’s State of Global Water Resources Report 2022 emphasizes the need to better understand freshwater resources and urges a fundamental policy shift. It calls for enhanced monitoring, data sharing, cross-border cooperation,…

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Colombia stepping up efforts achieve historic peace goals, UN envoy says

Colombia stepping up efforts achieve historic peace goals, UN envoy says

Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, told ambassadors at the Security Council, that this weekend, in southern Colombia, land purchased by the Government was handed over to some 500 beneficiaries, among them former FARC-EP combatants, peasants and members of the indigenous communities. “Hopeful moments such as these are an increasingly common occurrence today,…

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In Iceland, UN deputy chief says all conflict – across regions and with nature – must end

In Iceland, UN deputy chief says all conflict – across regions and with nature – must end

During her visit, which concluded on Tuesday, Ms. Mohammed held a number of bilateral meetings with senior government officials, including President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir.  “We must not give up. Times of distress call for courage, solidarity and determination. It starts at…

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UNHCR: more than 7 million refugee children out of school

World News in Brief: recovery efforts in Ukraine, human rights in Sudan and WHO report

“Our team has mobilized and is currently implementing more than $1 billion in recovery and development initiatives across the country,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Wednesday. The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Denise Brown, this week visited some of our recovery initiatives in Invakiv, a town in the Kyiv region. There, the…

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