“It is hard to imagine peace while State actors continue to be involved in gross human rights violations,” said Commission member Barney Afako, presenting the latest report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva. “A true demonstration of the Government’s stated commitments to peace and human rights would involve dismissing the responsible officials and initiating…
“Malawi is really experiencing the deadliest cholera outbreak in its recorded history – nothing less than that – and the country is also struggling to respond to an earlier outbreak and ongoing COVID-19 cases across the nation,” said Rudolf Schwenk, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Malawi Representative. In an update to journalists in Geneva, Mr. Schwenk…
Today, the world counts 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24: the largest such generation in history. Close to 90 per cent of those in this age range live in developing countries, where they make up a large proportion of the population. However, from the ever-increasing effects of climate change to…
Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, was speaking during a Council meeting to reaffirm the importance of Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, adopted in October 2000, and to take stock of implementation since it turned 20 nearly three years ago. “As we meet today at the mid-point between the 20th and 25th anniversaries, on…
The current human rights landscape is compounded by conflict, discrimination, poverty, shrinking civic spaces, and the emergence of new human rights challenges such as the rise of artificial intelligence and surveillance, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk noted. “Fresh thinking, political leadership, renewed commitments, and dramatically scaled-up financing, with the centrality of human…
Among the many challenges they face, the world’s least developed countries (LDCs) remain hotspots of chronic and acute food insecurity, with an average prevalence of chronic undernourishment of 22.1 per cent, and in some countries, reaching more than 50 per cent. Despite some progress since 2020, the overall situation has worsened over the past decade due…
The unprecedented flooding, triggered by severe monsoon rains, submerged a third of the country and resulted in some 1,700 deaths. Millions displaced, infrastructure damaged More than 33 million people were affected overall, or one in seven Pakistanis, while eight million were displaced and 13,000 injured, according to the UN Office in the country. Around one…
Over the next two weeks, participants from across the world – including representatives from governments, the UN, civil society and youth groups, as well as activists – will examine how gender equality, empowerment and sustainable development can be achieved in the digital era. The meeting, known as CSW67, will also highlight online violence and other…
In a statement released by his Spokesperson, António Guterres welcomed the international and regional efforts which took place last week, led by the President of Angola and African Union (AU) Champion for Peace and Reconciliation, João Lourenço, with the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23). Eastern DRC is home to multiple armed groups, including the rebel M23 force, which has been…
“We see 2023 as a ‘make or break’ year and as a test for all parties on the peace agreement,”said Nicholas Haysom, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Briefing the Council on the UN Secretary-General’s latest report on South Sudan, he offered a priority action…
