28 March 2014 – With a total of 103 suspected and confirmed cases of Ebola in Guinea, including 66 deaths, the outbreak must be watched very carefully, a spokesperson for the United Nations health agency said today, noting that there is no treatment or cure for the frequently fatal disease. “A lot of those cases still are only suspect cases,” Gregory Hartl of the World Health Organization (WHO) told reporters in Geneva. “Local health authorities will report any number of syndromic cases that resemble Ebola but turn out not to be. So we don’t expect all of these cases to…
Author: UN News
28 March 2014 – Two United Nations agencies launched today an urgent operation to deliver food, vaccines, nutrition supplements and other vital relief supplies to one of the most isolated areas of conflict-affected South Sudan, as part of a joint response to boost emergency distribution as the crisis escalates. Using helicopters and air drops, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) are now assisting 30,000 people in urgent need in Akobo, in Jonglei State, near South Sudan’s border with Ethiopia. The agencies have set up emergency distribution points for food, health, protection, education and sanitation.…
28 March 2014 – A unique, Africa-led United Nations-backed fund designed to improve food security across the continent has become a reality for the first six countries slated to benefit from the initiative. The Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, the Niger and South sudan today signed agreements in Tunis, Tunisia, with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to receive $2 million each from the Africa Solidarity Trust Fund. “The Africa Solidarity Trust Fund shows that African countries are ready to step up and work with their neighbours to build a sustainable and food secure region, and to have…
28 March 2014 – The United Nations refugee agency today denounced as “scapegoating” the Kenyan Government’s decision earlier this week to order some 50,000 refugees, believed to be mostly Somalis, to report to two camps after a recent upsurge in violence in the region. “All communities are affected by insecurity, and scapegoating refugees is not an answer. Blanket implementation of encampment measures is arbitrary and unreasonable, and carries a threat to human dignity,” Adrian Edwards, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters at a press briefing in Geneva today. On Tuesday, the Kenyan Government announced its…
28 March 2014 – A senior United Nations official expressed deep concern today about the ongoing displacement of Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the destruction of their private property following the Israeli authorities’ recent demolition of a two-story building there, which affected a family of refugees as well as some Palestinian 15 children. The demolished building in At Tur – which included two apartments, a mosque and a medical centre – displaced a family of seven refugees, including five children, and directly affected 24 other Palestinians, including 10 children. “I am deeply concerned about the ongoing displacement of Palestinians in…
28 March 2014 – The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator warned the Security Council today that as the Syrian civil war grinds on and millions of desperate people remain cut off from aid, “the humanitarian situation remains bleak, and will continue to be bleak, unless we are granted full and unhindered access, through the most efficient and direct means.” “I told the Council that we need to see a significant step-change in the speed and scale of humanitarian aid, if we are to save lives and keep pace with the ever-growing needs,” said Valerie Amos, speaking to the press after…
27 March 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon travelled to the Ilulissat Icefjord today as he wrapped up his visit to Greenland, which was aimed at building momentum ahead of the summit he will convene in September on climate change. Designated a World Heritage site by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the fjord is the mouth of a glacier which has been studied for more than 250 years and has contributed to better understanding of climate change. Mr. Ban’s two-day visit to Greenland provided him with an opportunity to see first-hand the impacts of climate change, where the…
27 March 2014 – In a vote that reaffirmed Ukraine’s unity and territorial integrity, the United Nations General Assembly today adopted a measure underscoring that the mid-March referendum in Crimea that led to the peninsula’s annexation by russia “has no validity” and that the parties should “pursue immediately a peaceful resolution of the situation.” By a vote of 100 in favour to 11 against, with 58 abstentions, the 193-member Assembly called on all States, international organizations and specialized agencies not to recognize any alteration of the status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol on the…
28 March 2014 – The Security Council today extended for one year the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) – along with its Intervention Brigade – noting the need for the Mission to strengthen its support so the Congolese Government can address security challenges in line with the aims of a regional peace and security accord. Unanimously adopting a wide-ranging resolution, the Council renewed the mandate of both MONUSCO and its Intervention Brigade within the peacekeeping mission’s authorized troop ceiling of 19,815 military personnel, 760 military observers and staff officers, 391 police personnel,…
28 March 2014 – One year after rebels seized power in the Central African Republic (CAR), the situation in the country is marked by rising hatred between communities, deteriorating security and humanitarian conditions, and increasing fear and trauma among the population, United Nations relief officials warned today. Since the conflict started in December 2012 following attacks from mainly Muslim Séléka rebels, thousands of people are believed to have been killed, and 2.2 million – about half the population of Car – need humanitarian aid. With more than 650,000 people still internally displaced, and over 290,000 having fled to neighbouring countries,…
27 March 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is increasingly concerned about the successive reports of new launches of ballistic missiles by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), according to his spokesperson. “Such launches are contrary to building trust in the region,” the spokesperson stated yesterday. “The Secretary-General urges the DPRK to cease its ballistic missile activities and focus, together with other countries concerned, on the dialogue and diplomacy necessary to maintain regional peace and security.” DPRK reportedly test fired two medium-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday from a site north of the capital, Pyongyang, into the sea off its eastern…
26 March 2014 – A group of United Nations independent human rights experts today called on the Vietnamese Government to “intervene urgently” in a case of forced eviction of the last remaining residents of Con Dau, a small village located on the outskirts of Da Nang city in the centre of the country. “This appears to be a clear case of land grabbing for the benefit of private entrepreneurs and at the expense of local communities,” said Raquel Rolnik, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing. According to a news release from the Office of the UN High…
26 March 2014 – Stressing the need to ensure justice and accountability, the United Nations human rights chief today called for the establishment of an independent and credible investigation into alleged violations committed in 2009 during the final phase of the conflict in Sri Lanka. “This is essential to advance the right to truth for all in Sri Lanka and create further opportunities for justice, accountability and redress,” High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in her address to the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council, which wraps up this Friday in Geneva. The Sri Lankan Government…
26 March 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the timely holding of the parliamentary election in the Maldives, which international observers have assessed as peaceful, orderly and well administered. According to media reports, the party of former president Mohamed Nasheed has conceded defeat in weekend parliamentary elections, making way for a political coalition led by the country’s new president, Yaamin Abdul Gayoom, who was elected in November. In a statement issued by his spokesperson yesterday evening, Mr. Ban encouraged the governing coalition to reach out to the opposition and to lead the country in the interest of all its…
27 March 2014 – The United Nations independent expert tasked with assessing the human rights situation in Côte d’Ivoire, expressed concern over unresolved issues in the national reconciliation process as the country prepares for presidential elections next year, and stressed that “impartial justice for all” is the key to stability and recovery from the unrest after the disputed 2010 disputed. “The 2015 presidential election has to be the ultimate test and proof that Côte d’Ivoire has recovered from this crisis,” stated Special Rapporteur Doudou Diène as he presented his latest report to the Human Rights Council. Drawing attention to some…
27 March 2014 – Getting more African youths involved in agriculture and investing in the continent’s vulnerable small family farmers will be pivotal to improving nutritional and economic well-being in the years to come, a sensor United Nations official said today, citing water scarcity and conflict as some of the biggest challenges to achieve food security in the region by 2025. “The region’s economic growth rate is above the global average and most of the world’s fastest-growing economies are in Africa,” noted José Graziano da Silva Director-General of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) today during the agency’s 28th…
27 March 2014 – United Nations and African Union officials today voiced deep concern at increasing violence affecting civilians in Sudan’s Darfur region and the growing constraints on the international community’s ability to help those affected. Over the last month, a wave of violence has been under way in Darfur, affecting tens of thousands of people, according to a joint statement issued by Joseph Mutaboba, deputy head of the joint UN-AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID), and Ali Al-Za’tari, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in sudan. They noted that since the beginning of 2014, more than 215,000 people in Darfur…
26 March 2014 – “With some of the most perfect palm-lined sands on the continent, it won’t be long before Sierra Leone takes its place in Europe’s packaged beach-holiday scene.” That’s how the Lonely Planet describes Sierra Leone today. The travel guide also calls Sierra Leone “one of West Africa’s safest destinations” – an inconceivable description of a country that a little over a decade ago made headlines with unspeakable atrocities committed by teenage soldiers in the course of a brutal civil war. On top of that, Sierra Leone – once home to the largest peacekeeping force in the history…
26 March 2014 – United Nations officials in the Central African Republic (CAR) highlighted today the lack of sufficient funding for humanitarian operations and the constant instability as the main challenges in pulling the country out of its current crisis, and urged the international community for support. Comparing the country to “a boat in the middle of a storm” where everyone on-board needs to exercise their responsibilities, General Babacar Gaye, head of the UN peacebuilding mission in Car (BINUCA), asked that the population, political stakeholders and religious leaders react and speak out about the dire situation their nation is facing.…
26 March 2014 – With more than 15 years of United Nations peace operations in Sierra Leone set to wrap up at the end of this month, the top UN official there said today that while the West African nation has gained solid footing on the path to recovery, it will still require sustained international attention and support to address the lingering challenges from a brutal civil war in the 1990s. “The general atmosphere of peace that now prevails is the culmination of more than 15 years of successive Security Council-mandated peace operations in the country,” said Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen,…