Cambodia: UN rights expert launches fact-finding ion on women and indigenous peoples
Mar 18, 2016, at 03:03 pm
New York, Mar 18 (Just Earth News/IBNS):The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia on Thursday announced she will be visiting the country Monday to assess the enjoyment of rights by women and indigenous peoples in the country.
UN officials call for concrete commitments on gender equality at World Humanitarian Summit
Mar 18, 2016, at 03:00 pm
New York, Mar 18 (Just Earth News/IBNS):Top United Nations officials on Thursday called on leaders to attend the World Humanitarian Summit in May and make concrete commitments to enhance gender equality, as women and girls are “central†to humanitarian action.
Mar 18, 2016, at 02:58 pm
New York, Mar 18(Just Earth News/IBNS):While noting that the ceasefire between South Sudan’s warring factions has “largely held,†the United Nations Security Council on Thursday said it was deeply alarmed by ongoing violence in the country and set out specific steps for the parties to take towards full implementation of a seven-month–old peace deal, saying it would review their progress by the end of the month.
FEATURE: A conversation with female ambassadors about the UN Security Council
Mar 18, 2016, at 02:56 pm
New York, Mar 18(Just Earth News/IBNS):While the gender ratio between female and male diplomats at the United Nations is becoming more balanced overall, the number of women ambassadors in the Security Council has fallen from its peak of six women in 2014 to four in 2015 to just one this year. How has this influenced the top collective decision-making body on peace and security, and what, if anything, does this say about the future of UN diplomacy and peacebuilding?
Haiti’s only path to institutional and political stability is going to the polls – UN envoy
Mar 18, 2016, at 02:52 pm
New York, Mar 18(Just Earth News/IBNS):A protracted political crisis in Haiti may hamper the stabilization gains achieved in recent year and further decline the island nation’s economic growth, the top United Nations official in the country on Thursday told the Security Council.
‘Raise your voices’ to create a better world, Ban urges students at New York’s Lehman College
Mar 18, 2016, at 02:50 pm
New York, Mar 18(Just Earth News/IBNS):Delivering a lecture at Lehman College in New York, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday urged students to join the global fight against conflicts, poverty, inequality, migration crisis, diseases, and climate change.
Future of Liberia and UN presence in the country discussed at Security Council
Mar 18, 2016, at 02:48 pm
New York, Mar 18(Just Earth News/IBNS):One year since Liberian authorities launched a “historic undertaking†to assume full responsibility of the country’s security by the end of next June, top United Nations officials on Thursday discussed what measures are needed to support the implantation of the plan.
Addressing violent extremism ‘urgent human rights priority,’ warns UN chief
Mar 18, 2016, at 02:38 pm
New York, Mar 18(Just Earth News/IBNS):Top United Nations officials on Thursday urged the international community to develop effective, rights-based responses to violent extremism by examining its drivers and shifting away from the “security only†approach to dealing with the scourge.
Ukraine: UN calls on all parties to ensure access to safe drinking water in eastern region
Mar 18, 2016, at 02:35 pm
New York, Mar 18(Just Earth News/IBNS):Concerned about the continuing impact of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine on civilians, the United Nations on Thursday called on all parties to ensure access to safe water in Donetsk, after security concerns forced the evacuation of staff from a water treatment facility that serves thousands of people in the area.
UN chief condemns double suicide bombing in north-east Nigeria
Mar 18, 2016, at 02:32 pm
New York, Mar 18(Just Earth News/IBNS):United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned yesterday’s double suicide attacks in Maiduguri in Nigeria’s restive Borno state by suspected Boko Haram elements, which left 20 people dead and many injured.
North Korea fires ballistic missile into East Sea
Mar 18, 2016, at 02:29 pm
Seoul, Mar 18 (IBNS): North Korea on Friday fired a ballistic missile into the East Sea, South Korean media said.
Mar 18, 2016, at 02:29 pm
New York, Mar 18(Just Earth News/IBNS):IMAX Corporation, the company that creates entertainment technology best known for its big-screen IMAX theatres, has partnered with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to launch an ambitious corporate social responsibility initiative called ‘Big Picture,’ which aims to address the host of environmental, societal and economic issues.
UN confirms Sierra Leone’s Ebola flare-up is over, but cautions more are possible
Mar 18, 2016, at 02:26 pm
New York, Mar 18(Just Earth News/IBNS):The latest flare-up of Ebola in Sierra Leone is over, the United Nations health agency on Thursday reported, but cautioned that the West African region remains at risk and should remain on alert.
Myanmar: UN recommends measures to address ongoing food insecurity in cyclone-hit areas
Mar 18, 2016, at 02:23 pm
New York, Mar 18(Just Earth News/IBNS):More than seven months after Cyclone Komen struck Myanmar, poor rural communities are still seeing increased levels of food insecurity, a situation highlighting their vulnerability to withstand similar emergencies in the future, warns a joint United Nations agency report released on Thursday.
UN agency expands relief programme in Zimbabwe after El Niño deepens food insecurity
Mar 18, 2016, at 02:19 pm
New York, Mar 18 (Just Earth News/IBNS):The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has announced that – for the first time – it would not suspend relief operations to vulnerable people in Zimbabwe during the spring and summer but continue food and cash assistance throughout the year.
UN Women chief, Canadian Prime Minister spotlight need to build global movement for gender equality
Mar 17, 2016, at 02:22 pm
New York, Mar 17 (Just Earth News/IBNS):During a conversation on how to achieve gender equality on the sidelines of the Comion on the Status of Women (CSW), the Prime Minister of Canada and the head of UN Women – the United Nations entity tasked with promoting gender rights – highlighted that the movement needs to involve everyone in society, not just women.
Mar 17, 2016, at 02:20 pm
New York, Mar 17 (Just Earth News/IBNS):The United Nations is sending a very strong signal that the days of silence and comproion with behaviour related to sexual exploitation and abuse by its troops are over, according to the UN envoy in the Central African Republic (CAR).
In Greece, UN envoy Angelina Jolie Pitt shines light on emergency response for thousands of refugees
Mar 17, 2016, at 02:14 pm
New York, Mar 17 (Just Earth News/IBNS):Angelina Jolie Pitt, the United Nations refugee agency’s special envoy,on Wednesday visited Greece, which has become the main entry point to Europe for refugees and asylum seekers fleeing Syria and other strife torn countries.
Mar 17, 2016, at 02:10 pm
New York, Mar 17 (Just Earth News/IBNS):Condemning the airstrikes that hit a market in northern Yemen on Tuesday, reportedly killing and wounding scores of civilians, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has underscored that “attacks directed against civilians and civilian objects, including populated markets, are strictly prohibited.â€
On eve of migration summit, UN rights expert urges EU countries to revisit border controls
Mar 17, 2016, at 02:07 pm
New York, Mar 17 (Just Earth News/IBNS):Making Turkey the “gatekeeper’ does not absolve Europe from its responsibility of welcoming migrants, a United Nations human rights expert on Wednesday, warning that the only way for Europe to secure its borders is to offer safe and regular channels for mobility.
Myanmar: UN chief welcomes election of first civilian President in more than 50 years
Mar 17, 2016, at 02:02 pm
New York, Mar 17 (Just Earth News/IBNS):Following the historic national polls last 8 November, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated Htin Kyaw, who was elected on Wednesday by the Myanmar Parliament as the first civilian President in more than five decades.
UN agency launches food voucher scheme for families in Yemen
Mar 17, 2016, at 01:56 pm
New York, Mar 17 (Just Earth News/IBNS):The United Nations food relief agency has begun distributing vouchers to assist nearly 120,000 people living in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, with plans to reach one million people across the country by the end of 2016.
On visit to Central African Republic, UN rights expert urges support for new Government
Mar 17, 2016, at 01:44 pm
New York, Mar 17 (Just Earth News/IBNS):The United Nations independent expert on the human rights situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) on Wednesday called on the international community to support that country's newly elected President Faustin Archange Touadéra, and the government he will form, as he takes measures to meet the high expectations of the population.
Clinton and Trump likely to win Missouri primary by narrow margins
Mar 16, 2016, at 07:45 pm
New York, Mar 16 (IBNS) Although vote counting was completed on Tuesday night in Missouri, which went to polls same day, for the nomination for the US Presidential election,, no one was willing to project both Clinton and Trump as winners as they were clinging to tight leads of less than half a percentage point, according to media reports.
Brussels shootout: One suspect killed
Mar 16, 2016, at 03:16 pm
Brussels, Mar 16 (IBNS) At least one suspect was killed during Belgian-French anti-terror operation in Brussels on Tuesday, media reports said.
Mar 16, 2016, at 02:50 pm
Quito, Mar 16 (IBNS): At least 22 people were killed as the army plane in which they were traveling crashed in Ecuador's Amazon region on Tuesday.
As UN Human Rights Council marks 10th anniversary, Ban urges body to increase 'impact'
Mar 16, 2016, at 01:52 pm
New York, Mar 16(Just Earth News/IBNS):Human rights are, sadly, “under attack†worldwide, and the United Nations Human Rights Council must increase its impact on the ground over its second decade, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday as the Organization's main human rights body marked the 10th anniversary of its creation.
Syria: opposition raises issue of detainees, aid access as UN-mediated talks continue
Mar 16, 2016, at 01:36 pm
New York, Mar 16(Just Earth News/IBNS):On a day that began with a minute of silence in honour of those that have lost their lives during the five-year conflict in Syria, the United Nations envoy mediating peace talks among the Syrian parties gave a progress report, saying that opposition representatives raised the issue of detainees on Tuesday, as well as humanitarian aid to Daraya and other sites of heavy fighting.
Ashley Judd appointed Goodwill Ambassador by UN Population Fund
Mar 16, 2016, at 01:31 pm
New York, Mar 16(Just Earth News/IBNS):The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the lead UN agency for delivery a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled, on Tuesday appointed actor and activist Ashley Judd as its Goodwill Ambassador.
Lauded for his advocacy, Ban urges renewed pledges to improving lives of women and girls
Mar 16, 2016, at 01:28 pm
New York, Mar 16(Just Earth News/IBNS):Committed to improving the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday urged everyone to join the Every Woman Every Child movement for “greater health, equality and prosperity†around the world.