Articles by UN News Centre
We found 50 results.
Conditions in Myanmar Not Yet Suitable for Rohingya Refugees to Return Safely – UN Agency
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Jan 2018
23 Jan 2018 – The necessary safeguards for Rohingyas to return to Myanmar are absent, and there are ongoing restrictions on access for aid agencies, the media and other independent observers, the UN warned today, two months after Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed on a plan for the refugees’ voluntary return to their homes.
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After 1,000 Days of Conflict, Yemen Sliding into ‘Deepening Catastrophe,’ UN Agencies Warn
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
8 Jan 2018
30 Dec 2017 – As the conflict in Yemen passes the grim 1,000-day milestone, the United Nations is warning that if humanitarian workers cannot gain greater access and the violence does not subside, the cost in lives will be incalculable.
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Suspected Cholera Cases in Yemen Surpass One Million, Reports UN Health Agency
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Jan 2018
22 Dec 2017 – The total number of suspected cholera cases in Yemen has crossed one million, the World Health Organization reported today. “If we cannot bring in medicines and medical supplies, we cannot save lives.”
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UN Rights Expert ‘Disappointed’ by Myanmar’s Decision to Refuse Visit
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Dec 2017
20 Dec 2017 – The UN expert on the human rights situation in Myanmar today expressed disappointment at the government’s decision to deny her all access to the country. “This declaration of non-cooperation with my mandate can only be viewed as a strong indication that there must be something terribly awful happening in Rakhine, as well as in the rest of the country.”
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Careless Disposal of Antibiotics Could Produce ‘Ferocious Superbugs,’ UN Environment Experts Warn
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Dec 2017
5 Dec 2017 – Growing antimicrobial resistance linked to the discharge of drugs and some chemicals into the environment is one of the most worrying health threats today. “The warning here is truly frightening: we could be spurring the development of ferocious superbugs through ignorance and carelessness.”
→ read full articleIssue of Jerusalem Must Be Resolved through Direct Negotiations between Parties, UN Chief Stresses
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Dec 2017
6 Dec 2017 – “In this moment of great anxiety, I want to make it clear: there is no alternative to the two-state solution. There is no Plan B,” said Mr. Guterres. In his remarks, the UN chief noted that it is only by realizing the vision of two states “living side-by-side in peace, security and mutual recognition, with Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and Palestine, and all final status issues resolved permanently through negotiations,” that the legitimate aspirations of both peoples will be achieved.
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With UN Support, More Countries Confronting Threat of Drug-Resistant ‘Superbugs’
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Nov 2017
17 Nov 2017 – Antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals or antiparasitics are widely used in livestock, poultry and aquaculture to treat or prevent diseases. However, their over-use and misuse, such as for “promoting growth” is leading to the emergence of microbes resistant to these drugs, making the diseases they cause impossible to treat. Humans exposed to these antimicrobial resistant pathogens are also affected in the same way.
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UN Envoy Urges Greater Support for Rohingya Victims of Sexual Violence
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Nov 2017
16 Nov 2017 – “My observations point to a pattern of widespread atrocities, including rape, gang-rape by multiple soldiers, forced public nudity and humiliation, and sexual slavery in military captivity directed against Rohingya women and girls,” UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten said today.
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Afghanistan Opium Production Jumps 87 Per Cent to Record Level – UN Survey
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
20 Nov 2017
15 Nov 2017 – A profoundly alarming trend in the cultivation and production of opium in Afghanistan reveals an 87 per cent production increase compared to 2016, the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime said today.
→ read full articleUN Security Council Calls on Myanmar to End Excessive Military Force in Rakhine State
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
13 Nov 2017
6 Nov 2017 – In a statement, the 15-member body also called on the Government “to restore civilian administration and apply the rule of law, and to take immediate steps in accordance with [the Government’s] obligations and commitments to respect human rights, including the rights of women, children, and persons belonging to vulnerable groups, without discrimination and regardless of ethnicity, religion, or citizenship status.”
→ read full articleUN Special Advisers Statement on Crimes against Rohingya in Myanmar
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
23 Oct 2017
19 Oct 2017 – UN sources indicate that more than 530,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh. “Once again, our failure to stop atrocity crimes makes us complicit. When will we live up to our countless promises of ‘never again’?” the Special Advisers asked. The expression “atrocity crimes” refer to three crimes under international law: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
→ read full articleUS Withdrawal from UNESCO ‘Loss for Multilateralism,’ Says Cultural Agency’s Chief
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
16 Oct 2017
12 Oct 2017 – UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova voiced “profound regret” today over the United States’ decision to withdraw from the agency. “This is a loss to the United Nations family. This is a loss for multilateralism,” she said in a statement.
→ read full articleUN Rights Experts Urge Member States to ‘Go Beyond Statements,’ Take Action to Help Rohingya
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
2 Oct 2017
26 Sep 2017 – “No one chooses, especially not in the hundreds of thousands, to leave their homes and ancestral land, no matter how poor the conditions, to flee to a strange land to live under plastic sheets and in dire circumstances except in life-threatening situations,” stressed the experts. According to estimates, more than 430,000 people have crossed into Bangladesh since the violence erupted.
→ read full articleIran Implementing Its Nuclear Commitments, UN Atomic Agency Chief Stresses
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Sep 2017
18 Sep 2017 – Iran is implementing its commitments under “the world’s most robust nuclear verification regime,” the United Nations atomic agency head said today, while at the same time voicing “grave concern” at the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) nuclear programme.
→ read full articleUN Human Rights Chief Points to ‘Textbook Example of Ethnic Cleansing’ in Myanmar
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
18 Sep 2017
11 Sep 2017 – He lashed out at the treatment of the Rohingya in Myanmar which has led to more than 300,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh in the past three weeks, as security forces and local militia reportedly burn villages and shoot civilians.
→ read full articleSouth-South Cooperation Key to Overcoming Inequalities, Says UN Deputy Chief
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
18 Sep 2017
12 Sep 2017 – “South-South cooperation should not be seen as a substitute for North-South cooperation but as complementary, and we invite all countries and organizations to engage in supporting triangular cooperation initiatives,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said today, urging all developed nations to fulfill their Official Development Assistance commitments.
→ read full articleWorld Needs to Move beyond ‘Conceptual Debate’ and Improve Protection from Atrocities, Urges Guterres
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
11 Sep 2017
6 Sep 2017 – “All of us are well aware of the grim human reality that lies behind the words, ‘war crimes’, ‘crimes against humanity’, ‘ethnic cleansing’, and ‘genocide’,” Mr. Guterres said. “It is time to move beyond the conceptual debate towards improved protection of people from atrocity crimes.”
→ read full articleLandmark UN-Backed Treaty on Mercury Takes Effect
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Aug 2017
16 Aug 2017 – A ground-breaking global convention on mercury today goes into effect, the United Nations environment wing said, protecting millions of children and infants from possible neurological and health damage.
→ read full articleMyanmar/Burma: UN Welcomes Final Assessment of Independent Advisory Panel on Rakhine State
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
28 Aug 2017
24 Aug 2017 – The United Nations today welcomed the release of the final report of an independent advisory body looking into the situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. UN Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric acknowledged its endorsement “to address the root causes of violence and reduce inter-communal violence.”
→ read full articleDeadly Combination of Cholera, Hunger and Conflict Pushes Yemen to ‘Edge of a Cliff’ – Senior UN Official
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Aug 2017
1 Aug 2017 – Describing the situation in Yemen as “very bleak,” with “no end in sight,” a senior United Nations official envoy today said the war-torn country, already reeling from malnutrition and dwindling health care, is plummeting into further distress amid a deadly cholera outbreak and looming famine.
→ read full articleUN Conference Adopts Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
10 Jul 2017
7 Jul 2017 – The treaty – adopted by a vote of 122 in favour to one against (Netherlands), with one abstention (Singapore) – prohibits a full range of nuclear-weapon-related activities, such as undertaking to develop, test, produce, manufacture, acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, as well as the use or threat of use of these weapons.
→ read full articleOn World Refugee Day 20 Jun UN Urges Support, Solidarity for Record Number of Displaced People
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
26 Jun 2017
20 June 2017 – With a record 65.6 million people last year forcibly uprooted from their homes by violence and persecution, UN Secretary-General António Guterres today called on the international community to provide support and solidarity. World Refugee Day is a moment to ask what each of us can do to overcome indifference or fear and embrace the idea of inclusion, “to welcome refugees to our own communities, and to counter narratives that would seek to exclude and marginalize refugees and other uprooted people.”
→ read full articlePolitical Will, Financial Support Needed to Bolster New Approach to Cholera in Haiti – UN Deputy Chief
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 – The UN deputy chief Amina Mohammed today called on Member States to fund the Organization’s new strategy to counter cholera in Haiti. “Without your political will and financial support, we have only good intentions and words.”
→ read full articleJoint African Action Crucial to Protect Persons with Albinism from Violence, Highlights UN Expert
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Jun 2017
13 Jun 2017 – Highlighting the importance of cooperation among countries to overcome the violence and discrimination faced by persons with albinism, a United Nations rights expert has urged African nations to fully implement a regional action plan on ending attacks on persons with albinism.
→ read full article‘BRICS’ Countries Well Placed to Help Lead Global Efforts to Tackle Hunger
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Jun 2017
16 Jun 20187 – With the clock ticking toward the 2030 deadline for meeting the international goals to eradicate hunger and poverty, five of the world’s most important emerging economies are well positioned to take a leading role in helping to achieve these objectives, according to the UN: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
→ read full articleChildren Hardest Hit as Cholera Spreads in War-Torn Yemen – UNICEF
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Jun 2017
14 Jun 2017 – As the outbreak of cholera in Yemen continues to spread at an alarming rate – with terrible impact on children – the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called for immediate support to enable the country’s health workers respond or risk even more deaths from the deadly disease.
→ read full articleUN Chief Praises ‘Vision, Tenacity’ of the Late Helmut Khol, Chancellor Who Reunited Germany
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
19 Jun 2017
16 Jun 2017 – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has lauded the vision and tenacity of the former Chancellor of Germany, Helmut Kohl, who died today at the age of 87.
→ read full articleCatastrophe of Aral Sea Shows ‘Men Can Destroy the Planet’, Warns UN Chief Guterres
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Jun 2017
António Guterres today visited Muynak, Uzebkistan in the Aral Sea – once the world’s fourth largest inland sea, that has now shrunk to a quarter of its original size due to human mismanagement– the ‘cemetery of ships’ – once a port city but now devoid of all water. “It shows that if in relation to climate change, if we are not able to act forcefully to tame this phenomenon, we might see this kind of tragedy multiply around the world,” he warned.
→ read full articleManaging National Borders ‘Cannot Be Based on Any Form of Discrimination’ – UN Chief Guterres
UN News Centre | Human Wrongs Watch – TRANSCEND Media Service,
6 Feb 2017
Refugees fleeing conflict and persecution are entitled to protection, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on 31 Jan 2017, expressing concern at decisions around the world that have undermined the integrity of the international refugee protection regime.
→ read full articleUN Report Details ‘Devastating Cruelty’ Against Rohingya Population in Myanmar’s Rakhine Province
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
6 Feb 2017
3 Feb 2017 – In a report issued today, the United Nations human rights arm said that the widespread human rights violations against the Rohingya population by Myanmar’s security forces in the country’s northern Rakhine state indicate the very likely commission of crimes against humanity.
→ read full articleMyanmar Must Strengthen Effort to Diffuse Tension in Northern Rakhine State – UN Special Adviser
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
12 Dec 2016
The UN said that authorities need to take proactive measures to protect the local civilian population and allow humanitarian access to the areas of conflict. This call follows last month’s visit by nine local ambassadors, the UN Resident and various UN agencies who voiced their concerns after a trip to the Rakhine state.
→ read full articleSouth Sudan: Hundreds of Children Recruited into Armed Groups, Reports UNICEF
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Aug 2016
19 Aug 2016 – Reporting that 650 children have been recruited into armed groups in South Sudan since January, the United Nations Children’s Fund called today for an immediate end to recruitment and an unconditional release of all children by armed actors.
→ read full articlePhoto of Boy Pulled from Rubble Reminder of ‘Unimaginable Horrors’ Syrian Children Face – UNICEF
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
22 Aug 2016
19 Aug 2016 –“No child in Syria [is] safe while the conflict drags on,” Christophe Boulierac, a spokesperson for the UN Children’s Fund told the press in Geneva, referring to the photograph which went viral on social media yesterday and has galvanized world attention to the suffering in Aleppo, Syria’s iconic second city.
→ read full articleOn International Day of Cooperatives, UN Hails Them as Drivers of Sustainable Future
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
4 Jul 2016
UN estimates: One person in six is either a member or a client of a cooperative and some 2.6 million cooperatives employ 12.6 million people worldwide. Cooperatives’ assets are worth about $20 trillion and they generate about $3 trillion in annual revenue.
→ read full articleGaza Could Become Uninhabitable in Less Than Five Years Due to Ongoing ‘De-Development’– UN Report
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
7 Sep 2015
1 Sep 2015 – A new report by UNCTAD warns that the Gaza Strip could become “uninhabitable” by 2020 if current economic trends persist. In addition to eight years of economic blockade, over the past six years, Gaza has endured three military operations that have shattered its ability to export and produce for the domestic market, ravaged its already debilitated infrastructure, and left no time for reconstruction and economic recovery.
→ read full articleIsrael’s Demolition of Palestinian Homes ‘Contrary to International Law,’ UN Experts Warn
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
1 Dec 2014
25 Nov 2014 – The Israeli Government’s use of house demolition as a punitive measure must end immediately, UN experts urged today. The practice – which targets Palestinian homes in both Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory – is a violation of human rights law.
→ read full articleHonouring Gandhi’s Legacy, UN Reaffirms Power of Peaceful Protest
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
6 Oct 2014
2 October 2014 – UN urges the international community to reaffirm the power and potential of change through peaceful means, following Mahatma Gandhi who inspired today’s International Day of Non-Violence.
→ read full articleIndependent UN Panel Calls for Diplomatic Surge to End ‘Daily Reality’ of War Crimes in Syria
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
10 Jun 2013
4 June 2013 – With Syria engulfed in an escalating and increasingly brutal civil war, a panel of United Nations human rights experts today issued its latest report on the crisis, detailing war crimes it says were committed by both the Syrian Government and opposition forces, and calling for a “diplomatic surge” to end the violence.
→ read full article[Tragicomic] French President François Hollande Awarded UNESCO Peace Prize
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Feb 2013
The President of France, François Hollande, will receive the United Nations cultural agency’s peace prize this year for his “valuable contribution to peace and stability in Africa,” it was announced today [21 Feb 2013].
→ read full articleUN Kicks Off Year Promoting International Cooperation on Water Management
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
18 Feb 2013
11 February 2013 – The United Nations today launched the International Year of Water Cooperation, which seeks to provide a platform for countries to collaborate in the management of this precious resource in the interest of peace and development.
→ read full articleUNESCO Recognizes Brazilian Friar’s Contribution to Social Justice in Latin America and Caribbean
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
21 Jan 2013
11 Jan 2013 – The United Nations has recognized a Brazilian Dominican friar, Frei Betto, with a leading international prize for his “exceptional contribution” to building a universal culture of peace, social justice and human rights in Latin America and the Caribbean. The author of more than 50 books, Frei Betto was born in 1944 and joined the Dominican Order at the age of 20 while studying journalism, and during the time of military dictatorship in Brazil, he was imprisoned twice, in 1964 and again from 1969 to 1973.
→ read full articleUN Relief Agency Estimates 1.8 Million Haitians Have Been Affected By Hurricane Sandy
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
5 Nov 2012
2 November 2012 – Some 1.8 million Haitians have been affected by Hurricane Sandy, the United Nations relief agency said today after its first assessment of the situation in the region, adding that food security remains an urgent concern in the Caribbean nation.
→ read full articleUN Independent Expert Calls For Boycott of Businesses Profiting From Israeli Settlements
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
29 Oct 2012
A United Nations independent expert today [25 Oct 2012] called on the world body’s General Assembly, as well as civil society, to take action against Israeli and international businesses that are profiting from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.
→ read full articleBan Ki-moon Hails Latin American Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone on 45th Anniversary
UN News Centre- TRANSCEND Media Service,
27 Feb 2012
14 February 2012 – On the 45th anniversary of the treaty that created a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Latin America and the Caribbean, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today hailed the pact as an example of how regional initiatives can advance global norms on nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and the peaceful use of atomic energy.
→ read full articleMoldova Becomes Latest State Party to International Criminal Court
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
25 Oct 2010
Moldova has become the latest country to ratify the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is tasked with trying people accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
→ read full articleUN-Backed Anti-Corruption Academy Inaugurated in Austria
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service,
4 Oct 2010
2 September 2010 – An anti-corruption academy co-sponsored by the United Nations opened today in Austria with the aim of filling the rising global need for training, research and contemporary measures and techniques in the fight against corruption. The International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA), based in Laxenburg, will educate public and private sector anti-corruption practitioners in more effectively implementing the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).
→ read full articleLANDMARK PACT INDICATES GLOBAL SUPPORT FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, SAYS UN EXPERT
UN News Centre,
24 Oct 2009
19 October 2009 – The international community showed its support for the world’s nearly 400 million indigenous people by adopting the landmark 2007 declaration outlining their rights, a United Nations independent human rights said today.The adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People came after more than two decades of debate. “The adoption […]
→ read full articleSUDANESE GOVERNMENT AND UNICEF SIGN AGREEMENT TO PROTECT CHILDREN
UN News Centre,
25 Jan 2009
Sudan’s military and child welfare authorities have partnered with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to protect children’s rights and prevent the recruitment of child soldiers in the war-torn African nation. The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), Sudan’s National Council for Child Welfare (NCWW) and UNICEF signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday to create a Child […]
→ read full articleUN WELCOMES UAE’S PLAN TO TACKLE PLIGHT OF STATELESS PEOPLE
UN News Centre,
12 Oct 2008
The United Nations refugee agency has welcomed a decision by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to resolve the situation of thousands of stateless people living there, and voiced the hope that the Persian Gulf nation’s efforts will encourage other countries in the region to do the same. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees […]
→ read full articleLEADERS AT UN LAUNCH CAMPAIGN TO VIRTUALLY ELIMINATE MALARIA DEATHS BY 2015
UN News Centre,
12 Oct 2008
Government, business and civil society leaders gathered at the United Nations today to launch a global campaign to reduce malaria deaths, currently at more than 1 million each year, to near zero by 2015, with an initial commitment of nearly a $3 billion. The Global Malaria Action Plan (GMAP) aims to cuts deaths and illness […]
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