21 February 2014 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke today with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, urging him to implement a just-proposed deal with opposition leaders aimed at ending a standoff between security forces and protestors in Kiev and other parts of the country that has left scores of people killed or injured. According to press reports, the deal, brokered overnight, calls for the formation of a new coalition government and for early elections. In a statement from his spokesperson, Mr. Ban also welcomed the signing into law of the resolution passed by Parliament yesterday, which has led to the…
Author: UN News
20 February 2014 – The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom today denounced the killing of Ukrainian journalist Vyacheslav Veremyi and called for ensuring the safety of all media workers in the crisis-hit nation. Journalists, police officers and protesters were among the dozens of people killed during violent clashes this week in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, which has been witnessing mass protests since late November. Irina Bokova, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), strongly condemned the killing of Mr. Veremyi, who died in Kiev on 19 February, and voiced concern…
20 February 2014 – As the casualties mount in and around crisis-riven Kiev, so have the calls for restraint from senior United Nations officials, who today once again urged the authorities in Ukraine to exercise restraint amidst a fiery stand-off with anti-Government protestors. “I continue to strongly appeal to all involved to cease the violence, and for the Ukrainian authorities to refrain from excessive use of force,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York. “I am appalled by the use of firearms by both the police and protesters,” stressed Mr. Ban, who has been…
21 February 2014 – The United Nations human rights office today hailed the decision by a Haitian court to open new investigations into former President Jean-Claude Duvalier for crimes against humanity, saying that the move will help ensure accountability for past abuses. Serious human rights violations, including torture, rape, and extrajudicial killings have been extensively documented by Haitian and international human rights groups to have occurred while Mr. Duvalier – known as “Baby Doc” – was in power from 1971 to 1986. Yesterday the Court of Appeals in the capital, Port-au-Prince, reversed a January 2012 decision that stated that the…
21 February 2014 – The head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today that high levels of malnutrition could hold Zimbabwe back from reaching its full potential, during a visit to the country at the peak of its lean season. Food insecurity featured high on the agenda of Executive Director Ertharin Cousin, who arrived on Wednesday in Zimbabwe, where 2 million people are now food insecure, according to the latest assessments. It is estimated that at this point of the lean season – the pre-harvest period when many families have depleted their own-produced stocks – one in…
20 February 2014 – Expressing “deep concern” that the Sudanese authorities have not yet issued their reports on last year’s oil subsidy demonstrations, a United Nations human rights expert today urged the Government to release its documents on the protests, which he said, resulted in killings, injuries, arrests and detentions, and destruction of property. “I regret to note that five months after these incidents, the committees set up by the Government have not yet issued their reports or findings on the incidents,” Mashood Adebayo Baderin, UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan, said as he summed…
20 February 2014 – Time is of the essence if the international community does not want to fail the people of the Central African Republic (CAR), top United Nations officials warned today, as they urged collective action to stop the killing and save the country from its current nightmare. “The crisis that continues to unfold in the Central African Republic poses a test for the entire international community,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his remarks to the Security Council, as he outlined a set of measures to address the greatest risks facing the country. “The situation in the country has…
20 February 2014 – Polling stations are open today across most of Libya in elections that the top United Nations official in the country say is an opportunity for voters to have their voice heard and contribute to a new State’s constitution. The elections, the second vote held in the country since the February 17 Revolution in 2011 that toppled Muammar al-Qadhafi, is to select a 60-member assembly that will draft a new Constitution. “I trust that all who can will participate today in a peaceful and mindful manner,” Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Tarek Mitri stressed, adding that Libyans…
19 February 2014 – As Libyans prepare elect tomorrow the national body that will draft the new Constitution, the United Nations office in the country urged calm and called on voters to contribute positively and “provide the suitable atmosphere” for this important event. “The UN Support Mission (UNSMIL) reaffirms its clear stand of rejecting the threat to use force in the political process, which is contrary to the basic democratic principles,” Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Tarek Mitri, said in a statement from the Mission. Congratulating the Libyan people and the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) for this “long-awaited achievement”,…
19 February 2014 – The independent United Nations expert tasked with monitoring the human rights situation in Myanmar today welcomed the improvements that have been made, but highlighted a number of challenges that, if left unaddressed, could jeopardize the country’s entire reform process. “I believe there is limited space for backtracking, though – as a senior Government official admitted to me in Nay Pyi Taw – the democratic transition is still fragile,” stated Special Rapporteur Tomás Ojea Quintana, as he concluded his last official mission to the country. The South-east Asian nation has witnessed a number of positive changes since…