7 April 2015 – The world must make use of the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda to look back on the past – and to squarely confront the challenges of the present, renewing collective resolve and summoning the courage to prevent such atrocities from happening again, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today. “Our annual sombre observance is all the more meaningful this year as we mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, said Mr. Ban in his message on the Day, which honours the memory of the more than 800,000 people…
Author: UN News
5 April 2015 – With fighting near Yarmouk intensifying, the United Nations agency concerned with the well-being of Palestinian refugees today made a strong appeal to all armed actors to cease hostilities that place civilians in acute danger and to withdraw immediately from civilian populated areas. “Never has the hour been more desperate in the Palestine refugee camp of Yarmouk, in Damascus,” read a press release circulated by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). “We demand that all parties exercise maximum restraint and abide by their obligations under international law to protect…
4 April 2015 – The United Nations Secretary-General today expressed his disappointment at the failure to hold the Sudanese pre-dialogue meeting in Addis Ababa because of the decision by the ruling National Congress Party and its allies not to attend the meeting. In a statement released by his Spokesperson today, Ban Ki-moon stressed that a fully inclusive, free and transparent dialogue is critical to addressing the root causes of the recurrent crises in Sudan and achieving sustainable peace, adding that the pre-dialogue meeting would have been an important step in this regard. He urged all stakeholders to continue to engage…
4 April 2015 – The United Nations has condemned the terrorist attack carried out by Al Shabaab in Garissa, Kenya, in the strongest terms, with the Security Council members stressing their “outrage” at what the President of the General Assembly called a “heinous” attack. The Secretary-General, who had previously condemned the attack in a statement released on Wednesday, sent a personal letter yesterday to the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, to once again expressed his sincere condolences following the “horrendous” attack. “There is little more appalling than targeting young people for murder and mayhem.” Mr. Ban wrote in the letter.…
2 April 2015 – The United Nations Security Council today adopted a resolution authorizing the third phase of a drawdown of the UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia to 3,590 military personnel and 1,515 police personnel, and deciding that the Mission’s mandate would no longer include electoral support. The text reaffirms the Council’s expectation that the Government of Liberia will assume fully its complete security responsibilities from the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) no later than 30 June 2016 and also reaffirms its intention to consider the continued and future reconfiguration of UNMIL accordingly. Council members requested that the Secretary-General streamline…
2 April 2015 – Syrians must unite for the protection of their shared cultural heritage amid a recent escalation in hostilities across the war-torn country, the head of the United Nations cultural agency declared today. A recent uptick in violence and shelling in the cities of Bosra and Idleb has sparked widespread concern across the UN system for the safety of the cities’ inhabitants as well as their historical sites, including the Idleb, Maarrat al Numaan and Bosra Museums. “This heritage belongs to all Syrians and to all humanity,” Irina Bokova, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural…
1 April 2015 – Fierce fighting has erupted between armed groups in the area of Yarmouk, a camp of Syrian and Palestinian refugees, putting thousands of people in danger, warned the spokesperson of the United Nations agency tasked with the ensuring the well-being of Palestinians across the Middle East. “UNRWA is extremely concerned about the safety and protection of Syrian and Palestinian civilians in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk in Damascus, where since early afternoon today, intensive armed conflict has been ongoing between armed groups present in the area,” Chris Gunness, spokesperson for the UN Relief and Works Agency…
1 April 2015 – Tanzania should take steps to revise or repeal laws, customs and practices that discriminate against women, a United Nations Committee said today after considering the case of two widows who were prevented from inheriting their late husbands’ property and were left homeless. The Geneva-based Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) issued its call after considering a complaint by the women, who under local customary laws could not inherit upon their respective husband’s death and were subsequently evicted from their homes by their in-laws. In 2005, the women, referred to as E.S and S.C,…
1 April 2015 – A new project aimed at restoring the livelihoods of some 33,000 households affected by armed conflict and climate change in northern Mali has been launched today by the country’s Government and the United Nations agriculture agency. “This work represents a contribution to Mali’s peace process, because without security there cannot be food security and where there’s food insecurity, conflicts often erupt,” said the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), José Graziano da Silva, during an official visit to the country. The implementation phase of the project has now begun, with the FAO and the…
31 March 2015 – The United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, today called the signing of a landmark declaration by military commanders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) a “milestone” on the road to ending conflict related sexual violence. “This is a day we will all remember as a giant leap forward in the fight against conflict-related sexual violence,” SRSG Bangura said in a statement from the DRC capital of Kinshasa. “The signing of this declaration by commanders, and the implementation of the FARDC (Armed Forces of the…