Speaking at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, High Commissioner Volker Türk asked Member States whether enough was being done to protect people from the escalating impacts of climate change “Are we taking the steps needed to protect people from climate chaos, safeguard their futures and manage natural resources in ways that respect human […]
Loneliness is linked to approximately 100 deaths every hour – more than 871,000 deaths annually. By contrast, strong social connections are associated with better health and longer life, the UN health agency said on Monday. WHO defines social connection as the ways in which people relate to and interact with one another. Loneliness is the […]
That’s where the Sevilla Platform for Action (SPA) comes in – a major step to begin implementing the Seville Agreement without delay. It features over 130 concrete actions to support the renewed global financing framework that world leaders just adopted at the international conference. They will help countries mobilise resources for an SDG investment push, build developing […]
António Guterres issued his clarion call noting that sustainable development powered by international cooperation, is now facing “massive headwinds.” Addressing the opening session of the 4th Financing for Development Conference (FFD4) in baking hot Sevilla, Spain – basking in record high June temperatures – the Secretary-General noted multilateralism itself is also feeling the heat, while […]
In an alert, the UN agency warned that it faces having to make “drastic cuts” to life-saving food assistance, which may “grind to a halt” in the Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya in the coming months as resources run out. WFP noted that the situation for many Sudanese refugees is already dire, more […]
From rising debt and shrinking investment, to the aid funding crisis and struggles to meet ambitious development goals, the global financial system is failing the people it’s supposed to serve: that’s the challenge facing world leaders gathered in Spain’s sweltering southern jewel of Sevilla this week, as the UN’s 4th International Conference on Financing for […]
The accord is “a significant step towards de-escalation, peace and stability in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Great Lakes region,” he said in a statement that evening. A breakthrough amid crisis Since the 1990s, eastern DRC has been plagued by dozens of armed groups who have terrorized the population. The Government […]
The Southeast Asian country has already raised close to $12 billion in thematic bonds, including blue bonds and Islamic investment instruments over the last seven years. These efforts have been supported by development partners, including the United Nations. Putut Hari Satyaka, is the Deputy Minister for Development Financing and Investment at Indonesia’s Ministry of National Development Planning […]
“Our country can no longer tolerate children being born and growing up with HIV, when tools exist to prevent, detect and effectively treat this infection,” President Félix Tshisekedi declared at a recent government conference in the south-eastern Lualaba province, as he launched the five-year initiative. Backed by an initial commitment of $18 million in national […]
Onshore, women in this tropical zone gather to mend torn nets, sort the day’s catch, and prepare their harvests for the market. Among them is Christina Guevarra, who gently frees a blue swimming crab from her net. “From February to May, we are grateful,” she told the UN ahead of the International Day of the […]
For decades, helping the least developed countries to develop has been seen as beneficial for the international community as a whole, as well as a duty of the countries with more resources. However, this philosophy is being challenged by some wealthy nations, which have decided to reduce or even end funding for projects and initiatives […]
Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro highlighted the establishment of the National Transitional Authority and the National Authority for Missing Persons which are expected to help reveal the fate of the more than 100,000 Syrians estimated to have been forcibly disappeared or gone missing. They are also expected to expose the truth about systematic violations like arbitrary detention, […]
On Friday, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed launched a new report, Confronting the Debt Crisis: 11 Actions to Unlock Sustainable Financing. She was joined by experts Mahmoud Mohieldin and Paolo Gentiloni, along with Rebeca Grynspan, Head of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). A growing crisis “Borrowing is critical for development,” Ms. Mohammed said, […]
On Friday, the UN Security Council heard sobering briefings from Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, and Shayna Lewis, Sudan Specialist and Senior Advisor with Preventing and Ending Mass Atrocities (PAEMA), a US-based organization. Ms. Pobee stressed that front lines continue to shift as the RSF and SAF press on with their military objectives, […]
Since January, the region has seen a new escalation of violence as the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group launched an offensive in North and South Kivu provinces. While tensions persist in the DRC, both frontlines and negotiation positions are shifting, paving the way for peace, the Security Council heard this Friday. The path to lasting peace in the DRC requires […]
Jean-Pierre Lacroix briefed journalists on his recent visit to the two countries ahead of Security Council meetings on the extension of the mandates of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan. He said UNIFIL “has been working very hard” in the wake of the cessation […]
According to the rights mission, while the majority (89 per cent) of civilian casualties were documented in Ukrainian-controlled territory as a result of attacks by the Russian armed forces, the remaining occurred in territory occupied by Russian authorities, including in attacks that struck public transport and clearly marked ambulances. While individually less destructive than artillery […]
In a stark briefing to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk described a country gripped by war, repression and deepening suffering. Since the military coup in February 2021, nearly 6,800 civilians have been killed and over 22,000 remain arbitrarily detained, he said. Humanitarian needs have soared, with […]
Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters ahead of his departure to Spain for the International Conference on Financing for Development, the Secretary-General said that while the Israel-Iran conflict had dominated recent headlines, the plight of civilians in Gaza remained urgent and dire. “Families have been displaced again and again – and are now confined to […]
“Definitely, people get shot,” said Gaza-based medic Dr. Luca Pigozzi, WHO Emergency Medical Team Coordinator. “They are victim of blast injuries as well and bodily injuries.” The WHO official’s comments follow reports of another mass casualty incident on Thursday, this time involving a strike on a market in the central city of Deir al Balah. More […]