22 December 2013 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the international community to scale up support for the massive typhoon recovery plan under way in the Philippines, where the Government-led effort that is helping millions of people rebuild their lives must be underpinned by measures to improve the country’s preparedness and resilience to natural disasters. “We must not allow this to be another forgotten crisis,” said Mr. Ban during a press conference earlier today in Manila with Albert F. Del Rosario, Secretary of Foreign Affairs. He added: “I have come … to show solidarity with the Government and…
Author: UN News
21 December 2013 – Visiting the storm-ravaged Philippine city of Tacloban, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed the resilience of the people and pledged the commitment of the United Nations to keep working with the Government to “build back better and safer” all the communities devastated by super Typhoon Haiyan, which ripped through the archipelago a little over a month ago. “I’m deeply saddened and humbled by what I have seen – the immense loss of life and total destruction,” said the UN chief during a press conference after touring the area. He said that while pleased by the community’s warm welcome,…
20 December 2013 – Proceeds from the annual United Nations all-star charity football game, led by legends Ronaldo and Zinédine Zidane and which will be held next March in Switzerland, will benefit recovery efforts in the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, the world body has announced. Ronaldo and Zidane – who are Goodwill Ambassadors for the UN Development Programme (UNDP) – will mobilize their team of internationally renowned football players for a friendly game against the Bern professional football club, the BSC Young Boys and Friends, for the 11th Match Against Poverty, slated for 4 March. “Through the…
20 December 2013 – The United Nations human rights office today called on Egyptian authorities to immediately release all individuals detained in relation to their work as human rights defenders, noting a “worrying escalation” in the harassment and intimidation of civil society in the country. The call comes after at least 50 men in civilian clothes, who were later identified as police and security officers, raided the Cairo office of the Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights on Wednesday. According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), six members of the non-governmental organization (NGO)…
20 December 2013 – The Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi today announced that more than 30 nations have been invited to attend the long-sought Syria peace conference to be held in Geneva next month. Mr. Brahimi said invitees to the so-called “Geneva II” conference include the UN, the five permanent members of the Security Council (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States), the League of Arab States, the European Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and 26 other countries. “On Iran, we haven’t agreed yet. But…
20 December 2013 – The United Nations voiced deep concern today about the intimidation and prosecution of individuals in Saudi Arabia for exercising certain fundamental freedoms, noting in particular the treatment of an activist who seemed to have been targeted for his work on civil and political rights. “We call on Saudi authorities to immediately release all those imprisoned for exercise of their fundamental human rights,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said at a news conference in Geneva. Ms. Shamdasani cited the recent case of 23-year-old Omar bin Mohammed Al-Saeed, who…
19 December 2013 – Enforced disappearances are being committed throughout Syria as part of a campaign of intimidation and as a tactic of war, says a report published today by the United Nations panel investigating human rights violations in the country. “Without a trace: enforced disappearances in Syria,” the second thematic report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, concludes that there are reasonable grounds to believe that acts of enforced disappearances were committed by Government forces as part of widespread and systematic attacks against civilians amounting to a crime against humanity. The report, released today in Geneva,…
18 December 2013 – The Security Council today extended the nearly 40-year-old United Nations observer force in the Golan Heights for another six months, calling on all parties in the Syrian civil war to cease military actions in the area. In a unanimously adopted resolution, the Council extended the mandate of the 1,350-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) which monitors the 1974 disengagement accord between Syria and Israel after their 1973 war, until 30 June, and strongly condemned recent intense fighting on the Syrian side of the area of separation. Calling on the parties to exercise maximum restraint and prevent…
18 December 2013 – The search for suitable vendors to assist in the commercial transport and destruction of Syrian chemical agents is due to begin tomorrow, the head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said today, announcing a multinational effort for that will require additional funding. The goal, which OPCW Director-Genera Ahmet Üzümcü submitted in a plan yesterday to the Organisation’s Executive Council, is to transport the chemical agents to the Syrian port city of Latakia, where they will be shipped on commercial vessels provided by some Member States. They will then be loaded onto a…
17 December 2013 – The long-sought international peace conference on Syria is set to begin on 22 January with a one-day meeting in the Swiss town of Montreux, the United Nations confirmed today. The conference, originally scheduled to take place in Geneva, will now be held in two parts, with the opening session in Montreux, and, after a day’s break, moving on 24 January to the world body’s headquarters in Geneva. The conference will bring the Syrian Government and the opposition to a negotiating table for the first time since the conflict started in March 2011. “After the date had…