14 August 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has spoken with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, reiterating his urgent call to redouble political and diplomatic efforts towards a peaceful resolution in the crisis-torn country. In a telephone call last night, Mr. Ban told Mr. Poroshenko that he “has continued to follow the crisis in Ukraine closely and with increasing concern,” according to a UN spokesperson. The Secretary-General also expressed hope that there will be tangible progress in implementing the President’s peace plan which was announced in June. According to media reports, the peace plan involves proposals for decentralizing power, holding early elections,…
Author: UN News
11 August 2014 – Major General Kristin Lund today officially assumed her duties as Force Commander of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus where the top UN official, Lisa Buttenheim, is also a woman. That UN operation is now the first in the world to have a dual female leadership. At a brief ceremony held in the UN Protected Area in Nicosia, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Ms. Buttenheim, thanked Major General Lund’s predecessor, Major General Chao Liu, a Chinese national who served from February 2011. The Special Representative paid tribute to his “dedication, professionalism and leadership which greater…
16 August 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned the suicide attack on a United Nations base in mali that killed two UN peacekeepers and injured seven others this morning. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban said he was “deeply saddened” by the deaths of the peacekeepers from the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in mali (MINUSMA). He condemned the attack, which took place in Ber in the region of Timbuktu. Any criminal acts against UN personnel will not be tolerated. “Such attacks will not deter the United Nations from its efforts to support the Malian…
14 August 2014 – With the addition of Aguas da Prata, Brazil, two thousand cities worldwide are now enrolled in a United Nations global campaign engaging as many local governments as possible to take on the challenge of integrating disaster risk management into their development processes. The global campaign, Making Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready!, launched in 2010 for a period of five years until 2015, is promoted by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). As it stands now, about 25 per cent of the participating cities are located in the Americas, and approximately 11 per…
15 August 2014 – A United Nations human rights expert today denounced the arrest and sentencing of political activists in Sudan, reiterating his call on the Government to free all the political detainees to enable an inclusive national dialogue. The appeal comes after the arrest of the deputy leader of the sudan National Umma Party, Meriam Al-Mahdi on 11 August, and the continued detention of the leader of the Sudanese Congress Party, Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, since 8 June. “The arrest and detention of Ms. Al-Mahdi and Mr. Al-Sheikh are not conducive to realizing an inclusive national dialogue proposed by the Government…
14 August 2014 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of Mr. Bernardino León of Spain as his Special Representative for Libya. Mr. León will also serve as the Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). He brings to the post years of political and diplomatic experience with the European Union (EU), including most recently as Special Representative for Libya and Special Representative for the Southern Mediterranean from 2011 to 2014. Mr. León previously held several positions with the Spanish Government, including Secretary-General at the Prime Minister’s Office and Secretary of State for Foreign…
14 August 2014 – The United Nations has designated its highest level emergency for the humanitarian crisis in Iraq, citing the scale and complexity of the situation, which is impacting tens of thousands of people that have been forcefully displaced by the armed group, Islamic State (IS). The “Level 3 Emergency” designation will “facilitate mobilization of additional resources in goods, funds and assets to ensure a more effective response to the humanitarian needs of populations affected by forced displacements,” said the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov. UN officials are particularly concerned about the situation on…
14 August 2014 – A senior United Nations official today condemned the murder of six members of the same family in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and urged those living in the town of Mutarule to practice restraint to avoid further escalation. “This new attack against six members of the same family in Mutarule yesterday is unacceptable and I strongly condemn this crime,” declared Martin Kobler, head of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) in a statement. Following the killings, MONUSCO forces were immediately placed on alert and are joining forces with the…
13 August 2014 – As Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi continues to form a new Government, the United Nations Security Council today urged all political parties and their supporters to remain calm and respect the country’s Constitution. The 15-member Council said it was “encouraged” by President Fuad Masum’s decision to nominate the new Prime Minister-designate. In a statement, the Council called the nomination “an important step” toward the formation of an inclusive Government representative of all segments of the Iraqi population. The Government, according to the Council, would also contribute to finding a viable and sustainable solution to the country’s…
13 August 2014 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Maria do Valle Ribeiro of Ireland as his Deputy Special Representative for Guinea-Bissau. Ms. do Valle Ribeiro will also serve as UN Resident Coordinator and UN Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in the West African country. The new deputy envoy possesses more than 25 years of development and humanitarian experience in progressively senior leadership positions with the United Nations and international non-governmental organizations in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, according to a UN spokesperson. Most recently, Ms. do Valle Ribeiro was the UN Resident Coordinator and…