Volker Türk told the Human Rights Council that the investigation and analysis undertaken by his office, OHCHR, had revealed “an apparent total disregard for the protection of civilians during and after military operations.” The OHCHR’s Fact-Finding Mission in the eastern DRC is also investigating other alleged violations of international humanitarian law, “many of which may […]
António Guterres announced the move in a statement issued on Monday, in response to plans by several UN Member States to withdraw from the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. The 1997 treaty, also known as the Ottawa Convention, prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of these weapons. Landmark global agreeement Since then, it “has led […]
“We are on an indefensible path of escalating conflict and open disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law,” said Volker Türk, addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Offering a global overview, he painted a stark picture of a world in crisis – with surging armed conflict, deepening climate disruption, emerging technological threats, […]
This will entail cutting just under half of all senior positions at the agency’s Geneva headquarters and regional bureaux. Around 3,500 permanent staff posts have been discontinued, hundreds of temporary staff positions have been terminated, and some offices have been downsized or closed worldwide. According to the report, decisions on where to cut costs were […]
“We have been forced into a triage of human survival,” said Mr. Fletcher. “The math is cruel, and the consequences are heartbreaking. Too many people will not get the support they need, but we will save as many lives as we can with the resources we are given.” New priorities The appeal aims to reprioritise […]
After a weekend of massive strikes and counter-strikes between Tel Aviv and Tehran, the UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk on Monday condemned the violence and echoed wider calls for a negotiated end to the attacks. Meanwhile in Gaza, aid workers report that mobile communications networks continue to be cut in the shattered enclave. We’ll […]
The UN is taking part alongside more than 150 countries and organizations at the global gathering, which carries the forward-looking theme: Designing Future Society for Our Lives. The UN Pavilion is divided into four areas; a timeline in the first area explains the history of the UN and its agencies, whilst the second – the […]
A decade ago, the UN General Assembly adopted the Nelson Mandela Rules — a set of 122 guidelines setting minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners, inspired by one of the world’s most influential former political prisoners – the South African civil rights icon, Nelson Mandela. These rules aim to ensure safety, security and respect […]
Since the beginning of the year, Rwanda-backed M23 fighters have swept across eastern DRC, taking key cities including Goma and Bukavu. The violence has displaced more than one million people in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. Speaking from the village of Sake in North Kivu, UNDP Resident Representative Damien Mama described meeting a […]
Any military escalation in the Middle East should be censured, the UN chief said in a short statement issued by his spokesperson’s office. “He is particularly concerned by Israeli attacks on nuclear installations in Iran while talks between Iran and the United States on the status of Iran’s nuclear programme are underway,” said Farhan Haq, […]
The move followed the Security Council’s failure to pass a similar resolution last week due to a lone veto by permanent member the United States. The resolution was backed by 149 Member States, with 12 voting against and 19 abstaining. Among those opposing the resolution were the United States and Israel, who were joined among […]
Tom Fletcher noted that over 30 million people require humanitarian assistance. Moreover, with famine declared in multiple places and over 14.6 million people displaced, Sudan represents the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. “Again and again, the international community has said that we will protect the people of Sudan. The people of Sudan should ask […]
The plane – a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner – crashed into a medical college about a mile from the city’s main airport reportedly killing five students and injuring around 50 who have been hospitalised. The full extent of deaths and injuries on the ground has yet to be established but one British-Indian passenger on the plane […]
The development follows serious warnings from the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) earlier this week that inspectors have been unable to determine whether Iran’s nuclear programme was “exclusively peaceful” – as per the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal from which the United States subsequently withdrew. A fresh round of negotiations between Washington and […]
With the conference, known as UNOC3, set to close Friday, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Li Junhua, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, told UN News on Thursday that the past four days have been marked by a rare sense of solidarity around Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14) – protection life below […]
In December last year, the overthrow of the Assad regime by opposition forces reignited hope that most Syrians could see home again soon. As of May, 500,000 refugees and 1.2 million internally displaced people (IDPs) returned to their areas of origin. But that’s not the only reason Syria is no longer the largest displacement crisis […]
This represents a 24 per cent increase from December 2024 according to the UN agency, which also noted that this increase has produced the largest number of people displaced by violence on record there. “Behind these numbers are so many individual people whose suffering is immeasurable; children, mothers, the elderly, many of them forced to […]
Only around 6,000 tonnes of wheat flour have entered the war-torn enclave since Israel began to allow limited supplies back in last month. However, 10,000 tonnes are urgently needed in the face of rising malnutrition, according to the UN aid coordination office OCHA. “The only way to address the situation on the ground is by […]
The toll includes 1,389 casualties in April (221 killed, 1,168 injured) – the highest monthly total so far this year – followed by 1,019 in May (183 killed, 836 injured). Casualties were reported across 17 out of 24 regions and the city of Kyiv, including areas far from the frontline. The vast majority of attacks […]
There are 10,000 children in Madagascar who, like Tenasoa, work in the largely unregulated mica industry. The silicate is used in paints, car parts, and cosmetics – to add a “shimmer” effect. Alongside parents and grandparents, these children toil in dangerous conditions, inhaling harmful dust particles and entering structurally unsound tunnels. Many of them have […]