6 January 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, saddened by the deadly violence that marred parliamentary elections in Bangladesh, has today urged restraint, calling such violence “unacceptable” and appealing to the political parties to urgently address the expectations of the country’s people for an inclusive political process. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, the UN chief expressed sadness at the loss of life and violent incidents that marred the yesterday’s parliamentary elections, which were characterized by polarization and low participation. “He regrets that the parties did not reach the kind of agreements which could have produced a peaceful, all-inclusive election…
Author: UN News
6 January 2014 – The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today applauded China for its first public effort to crackdown on illegal ivory trade, calling the Government’s destruction of six tonnes of confiscated ivory a “milestone event”. “International cooperation is paving the way towards improved law enforcement and increased efforts to reduce demand,” UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner said. “The largest remaining land mammal on the planet is facing one of the greatest crises to hit the species in decades,” Mr. Steiner added, calling for stronger efforts to curb the illegal trade in so-called ‘white gold’, which…
7 January 2014 – The United Nations today resumed food aid for some 100,000 displaced people in Bangui, capital of the strife-torn Central African Republic (CAR), for the first time in nearly three weeks since deliveries were suspended when machete-wielding men stormed the distribution site and food was stolen. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) distributed food, buckets, tarpaulins and water containers provided by other organizations at Bangui airport where an estimated 100,000 people have sought refuge, and plans to reach all the displaced people there within 10 days. The last food distribution took place on 18 December. At the…
7 January 2014 – As the fighting in parts of South Sudan grinds on between Government forces and rebels despite ceasefire talks, more and more civilians are fleeing to neighbouring countries, with some 2,500 people a day now seeking refuge in Uganda, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) reported today. As of yesterday, 23,546 South Sudanese refugees had arrived in Uganda since the conflict erupted a month ago in the world’s youngest country, which only gained independence in 2011 after seceding from Sudan, when President Salva Kiir said soldiers loyal to former deputy president Riek Machar, dismissed last July, reportedly…
6 January 2014 – Three helicopters have been deployed to the South Sudanese capital of Juba today to help reinforce United Nations peacekeeping bases in the country, a UN spokesperson confirmed, warning that relief supplies available for the thousands of civilians seeking refuge in the Bor compound are running low.The Bangladesh military choppers, on temporary loan from the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), are to be used by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to transport personnel and equipment.The effort is part of a Security Council-authorized plan to double the Mission’s armed strength…
6 January 2014 – The worsening strife in the Central African Republic (CAR) with its Muslim-Christian overtones risks escalating into sustained violence along religious lines and spilling beyond the country’s borders, further destabilizing the whole region, the United Nations top political officer warned today. “Killings in Bangui (the capital) and in the rest of the country continue every day, and the population remains divided along religious affiliation,” Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman told the Security Council in a briefing on the impoverished nation, where thousands of people are estimated to have been killed, nearly 1 million driven from their…
5 January 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Jane Holl Lute as his Special Adviser for Relocation of Camp Hurriya Residents Outside of Iraq. Camp Hurriya, located near the Baghdad airport, is home to some 3,200 Iranian exiles, many of them members of a group known as the People’s Mojahedeen of Iran who have been in Iraq since the 1980s. Since 2011, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) together with the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), has been trying to find relocation opportunities outside Iraq for all camp residents. So far, the international community has secured…
3 January 2014 – A United Nations independent human rights expert urged restraint by all sides today after military police opened fire on striking garment workers in Phnom Penh, reportedly killing at least four people, as high social and political tensions in Cambodia boiled over into deadly clashes. In statement issued by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), Surya P. Subedi, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, reiterated his appeal for calm after the incident, which is the third time since the disputed July 2013 general election that the authorities have shot into a crowd…
3 January 2014 – The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom, expressed alarm today at the recent killing of six media workers in two separate incidents in Iraq and called for measures to bring those responsible to justice. The Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, has condemned the killing of Raad Yassin, Jamal Abdel Nasser, Mohamed Ahmad Al-Khatib, Wissam Al-Azzawi and Mohamed Abdel Hamid in an attack on Salaheddin TV in Tikrit, and of Omar Al-Dulaimy in the city of Ramadi. “Once again I call on the authorities to…
4 January 2014 – The security situation in South Sudan remains “fluid”, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country today said, confirming that it is sending reinforcements to areas affected by the current fighting between pro- and anti-Government troops, particularly Bor, Malakal, Bentiu and Juba. “This is critical to enable the Mission to deliver on its mandate to protect civilians,” UNMISS said. It specified that thousands of additional police, military, logistics support and selected civilian staff are being relocated to the affected areas, per the Security Council’s authorization. Three weeks of violence in the world’s newest country have claimed…