With internal displacement at a record high, aid chief backs action call

Chaos across Haiti amid high risk of famine

The lack of goods and resources is worsening an already precarious economic situation, with water and basic services being “stretched to the limit”, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said. The UN Secretary-General called on all Haitian stakeholders to act responsibly and expressed appreciation to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and partners’ for facilitating a way forward to resolve…

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5 ways to accelerate women’s economic empowerment

UN chief calls for global action to defend women’s rights amid disturbing trends

Addressing the opening of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the pivotal forum dedicated to promoting and safeguarding the rights of women and girls worldwide, Secretary-General António Guterres stressed the disproportionate impact of wars on women. “In conflict zones around the globe, women and girls are suffering most from wars waged by men,”…

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World News in Brief: Syria violence intensifying, heavy weapons threat in Myanmar, justice call for Thai lawyer

World News in Brief: Syria violence intensifying, heavy weapons threat in Myanmar, justice call for Thai lawyer

The UN Syria Commission of Inquiry, which reports to the Human Rights Council, warned that fighting escalated on 5 October last year, when consecutive explosions at a military academy graduation ceremony in government-controlled Homs killed at least 63 people, including 37 civilians. The Syrian Government and Russian forces “responded with bombardments” that struck at least…

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UPDATING LIVE: Civilians in Israel and Palestine 'cannot be abandoned', says top UN official on sexual violence in conflict

UPDATING LIVE: Civilians in Israel and Palestine ‘cannot be abandoned’, says top UN official on sexual violence in conflict

4:02 PM Mozambique: Intervention urgently needed Domingos Estêvão Fernandes, Deputy Permanent Representative of Mozambique to the UN, said that the relentless violence between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, coupled with the bombardment in the Gaza Strip demanded the “immediate intervention” of the Security Council. “All parties must fully respect international humanitarian…

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Waves of violence hit Haiti hard, as Security Council condemns gang attacks

Waves of violence hit Haiti hard, as Security Council condemns gang attacks

Council members urged the armed gangs to “immediately cease their destabilizing actions” and reiterated the call for the “perpetrators of these abhorrent acts to be brought to justice”, according to a statement issued following a closed-door briefing last week by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH). In…

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UN chief urges ‘genuine, credible’ political solution in Syria, as conflict approaches thirteenth anniversary

UN chief urges ‘genuine, credible’ political solution in Syria, as conflict approaches thirteenth anniversary

March marks the thirteenth anniversary of the conflict in Syria, with systematic atrocities and untold suffering of civilians. According to UN estimates, 16.7 million people, equivalent to 70 per cent of the total population, will require humanitarian assistance in 2024. Roughly half the pre-war population remains displaced inside or outside Syria. Compounding the crisis, a…

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Gaza: Rafah ground assault would increase risk of atrocity crimes

Gaza: Rafah ground assault would increase risk of atrocity crimes

Spokesperson for Volker Türk in Geneva, Jeremy Laurence, told journalists that an already catastrophic situation could “slide deeper into the abyss” in the coming days if Israeli forces make their move on the southern border city, carrying through with their threat to invade, unless Hamas militants hand over remaining hostages by the start of Ramadan….

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International Women’s Day: UN chief launches plan to tackle ‘baked-in bias’

International Women’s Day: UN chief launches plan to tackle ‘baked-in bias’

“Equality is overdue; to achieve it, we must match rhetoric with resources,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “We must invest in women and girls, turbocharge progress and build a better world for us all.” His new UN System-Wide Gender Equality Acceleration Plan “commits to placing women and girls at the centre of our work across…

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