“We are at a potentially important juncture, with renewed attention on Syria – particularly from the region – that could assist our efforts in advancing a political solution to this conflict”, he said. “But for this renewed attention to help unlock progress, many actors will need to take concrete steps – not just one set…
The resolution passed unanimously by the 15-member body in New York, calls for the “full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women and girls in Afghanistan”, and urges all countries and organisations with influence on the fundamentalist rulers of the country, “to promote an urgent reversal” of policies which have in effect erased women from public…
“Hundreds of thousands of Tibetans have reportedly been ‘transferred’ from their traditional rural lives to low-skilled and low-paid employment since 2015, through a programme described as voluntary, but in practice their participation has reportedly been coerced,” they said in a statement. ‘Cultural and political indoctrination’ They noted that the labour transfer programme is facilitated by…
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called the Public Order Bill “deeply troubling legislation”, after it completed its passage through parliament on Wednesday. “It is especially worrying that the law expands the powers of the police to stop and search individuals, including without suspicion; defines some of the new criminal offences in a…
The guidance provides a joined-up approach for responding to the threat or arrival of any respiratory pathogen such as flu or the range of coronaviruses, that have the ability to rapidly mutate into different variants. The new Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats Initiative, or PRET, incorporates the latest tools and approaches for shared learning and collective action established…
Gang violence is expanding at an alarming rate in areas previously considered relatively safe in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and outside the city, with a shocking increase in criminality and abuses, and a police force that is unable to handle the situation. At the same time, almost half the population, 5.2 million people, needs humanitarian aid,…
Volker Perthes, who is also head of UN Transition Assistance Mission UNITAMS, welcomed the lull in fighting in some parts of the country between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitaries from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), noting that “it is not being fully respected”. He called on both sides to stick to the final…
Looking back on two of the most difficult periods since the plant opened in 1977, Chernobyl employees shared their personal stories with UN News on the International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day. Ground zero Evgeny Yashin was a 40-year-old chemist at the Chernobyl plant when the nuclear power reactor accident unfolded in April 1986, resulting in…
The landmark resolution, adopted by consensus, calls for the General Assembly to automatically meet within 10 days if any of the five permanent members of the Security Council – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – uses their right of veto. The aim is to hold these countries accountable for exercising…
“Closing the digital divide between girls and boys is about more than just having access to the internet and technology. It’s about empowering girls to become innovators, creators, and leaders,” said UNICEF Director of Education Robert Jenkins. “If we want to tackle gender gaps in the labour market, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math fields (or STEM), we must start…
