11 March 2014 – With 44 people missing and feared drowned after a smugglers’ boat capsized off the coast of southern Yemen, the UN refugee agency today urged the donor community and civil society to develop comprehensive responses to reduce and ultimately prevent these hazardous journeys. Spokesman Adrian Edwards said the Office for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is “deeply saddened” by the boat accident in the Gulf of Aden over the weekend involving refugees and migrants. The boat was reportedly carrying 77 men, women and children from Somalia (31) and Ethiopia (46). “Thirty-three people were rescued, but…
Author: UN News
11 March 2014 – The United Nations refugee agency said today it is increasingly alarmed at the humanitarian impact of continuing violence in north-eastern Nigeria and stressed the importance of protecting civilians. Newly arrived refugees interviewed by the staff of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Niger have spoken of atrocities on the islands and shores of Lake Chad in north-east Nigeria’s Borno state. “One woman described corpses strewn through houses and floating in the water. She said people feared staying even to bury their dead or find missing relatives. Others recounted fleeing a village shooting incident and…
11 March 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay have voiced deep concern about the escalation of violence and its impact on civilians in Sudan’s Darfur region, and urged an immediate halt to hostilities. Since late February, fighting between rebel groups and local militia in South Darfur has left thousands of people homeless, with reports of looting and villages burnt. In North Darfur, over the past few days, thousands of people have fled inter-communal fighting and sought protection at the African Union-UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) camp in Saraf Umra. “The…
10 March 2014 – As the2014 session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women got under way today, the head of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) spotlighted the agency’s joint efforts with the World Bank to address the multidimensional challenges that women and girls face in Africa’s Great Lakes and Sahel regions. “These two regions are similar because they represent the future of Africa, you see young people everywhere, vibrant, wanting to make a difference in their own lives, the lives of their communities and in the lives of their countries,” said UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin…
10 March 2014 – International and well-coordinated support is vital to helping Libya through its democratic transition, a United Nations envoy told the Security Council today, as he described the recent polarization in the country, a dramatic increase in violence, including attacks on the media, as well as difficulties in strengthening the security sector. “Libya faces the risk of embarking on a new trajectory of unprecedented violence,” Tarek Mitri, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), said in his briefing to the 15-member body. Mr. Mitri has been heading the UN’s efforts to…
10 March 2014 – Underscoring the Central African Republic’s (CAR) history of coups, violence and impunity, the head of a United Nations inquiry warned today that the spread of hate speech and the collapse of law and order in the strife-riven country are likely precursors to grave human rights violations, including genocide. “We want to present to the [UN] Security Council a complete file so the appropriate action can be taken,” said Bernard Acho Muna, who chairs the International Commission of Inquiry tasked with probing reports of human rights violations in the CAR, compiling information, and helping identify the perpetrators…
9 March 2014 – Deeply concerned by an outbreak of inter-communal violence in North Darfur, the African Union-United Nations Mission in the region called today for an end to the fighting, which has sent thousands fleeing for safety and left a number of people dead over the past few days. According to a news release from the Mission, known as UNAMID, thousands of displaced civilians from the town of Saraf Omra, located some 90 kilometres east of El Geneina, are currently seeking refuge near UNAMID’s base in the vicinity. “The Mission is providing protection and water to those affected, as…
8 March 2014 – The African Union-United Nations Joint Mediator for Darfur has wrapped up talks between the top African Union (AU) official and leaders of two of the region’s main rebel movements, encouraging the parties to overcome their misgivings and press ahead towards a comprehensive political accord, for the benefit of not only strife-ridden Darfur, but also for wider sudan. “This meeting is a significant opportunity for the movements and the African Union to exchange views and for building a common understanding of the basis for a lasting political settlement for Darfur,” said Mohamed Ibn Chambas, who is also…
7 March 2014 – The United Nations refugee agency today expressed its deep concern about the situation in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state, where needy populations, including refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and, increasingly, host communities are being affected as security conditions have prevented the delivery of food and other relief items to several camps since February. “It has been impossible to deliver food due to the security situation, which is leading to severe malnutrition [and] recent severe cases among children have us particularly worried at the risks of prolonged disruption,” said Adrian Edwards, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner…
7 March 2014 – Painting a grim picture of war-torn Central African Republic (CAR), where months of inter-religious violence has wrecked State institutions, left millions on the brink of starvation and now threatens to suck in the wider region, the top United Nations relief official today called for urgent international action – more peacekeepers and more aid – to end the crisis. “The situation…is extremely grave and urgent action is required by everyone if we are going to prevent further bloodshed,” Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said in Geneva, where she told reporters that the violence in the Car…
7 March 2014 – The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed serious concern today over the conviction of Malaysian opposition leader, Karpal Singh, who was found guilty of sedition late last month and is due to be sentenced on 11 March. Under Malaysia’s 1948 Sedition Act, Mr. Singh was charged “after suggesting at a press conference in 2009 that it was possible to bring a legal challenge against a decision by the Sultan of the Malaysian state of Perak to dismiss the then Chief Minister,” explained OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville in Geneva. “The prosecution…
7 March 2014 – The top United Nations relief official warned today that behind the signs of early recovery in typhoon-hit regions of the Philippines there are still millions of people who are extremely vulnerable, and urged the international community to sustain the emergency response and ensure a smooth transition to long-term development. “You can see the signs of early recovery everywhere,” said Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos, as she briefed reporters in Geneva on the situation in the Philippines four months after Typhoon Haiyan, which tore through the archipelago on 8 November, killing more…
9 March 2014 – Violence has again disrupted efforts to deliver aid to a besieged camp on the outskirts of Damascus, the United Nations agency assisting Palestinian refugees across the Middle East warned today, as UN and other humanitarian agencies launched a global campaign demanding immediate access to all civilians in war-torn Syria trapped by the violence. Spokesperson Christopher Gunness said the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) received credible reports that although substantially reduced in intensity, clashes and shelling have continued in Yarmouk camp for the past two days. “Ongoing hostilities have…
7 March 2014 – The United Nations refugee agency reports today that the security situation in Iraq’s Anbar province continues to deteriorate, with the number of people displaced in the area of Heet increasing by some 25,000 in just this past week, as the crisis enters its third month. “There [are] reports that families are now being displaced for a second time in various locations across the province, moving westwards from previously safe locations including Al-Habaniya, Al-Falahat village, Al-Nassaf village, Al-Azragiyah village and Al-Saqlawiyah,” explained Adrian Edwards, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), at a news briefing…
6 March 2014 – A group of independent United Nations human rights experts has asked the Venezuelan Government for prompt clarification of allegations of arbitrary detention and excessive use of force and violence against protesters, journalists and media workers during recent protests. “The recent violence amid protests in Venezuela need to be urgently and thoroughly investigated, and perpetrators must be held accountable,” the experts stressed in a news release. They also expressed their shock at the reported deaths of at least 17 persons during the demonstrations. “We are deeply disturbed by the allegations of multiple cases of arbitrary detention of…
5 March 2014 – The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom called today for an investigation into the death of Colombian television journalist killed in Buenaventura, a city he had fled earlier this year after receiving death threats. “I condemn the assassination of Yonni Steven Caicedo,” the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, said in news release. “Criminals must not be allowed to use violence to stop journalists from doing their work and deprive society of news and information,” Ms. Bokova added. According to Colombian Fundación para la Libertad…
7 March 2014 – The Security Council today unanimously adopted a resolution setting out practical steps to combat violations against children in armed conflict, as United Nations officials underscored the need to do more to ensure that children are protected and perpetrators are brought to justice. “All children deserve and are entitled to protection, not exploitation. They belong in school, not armies and fighting groups. Children should be armed with pens and textbooks, not guns and grenades,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his remarks at the Council’s open debate on children and armed conflict. Mr. Ban called on the Council…
7 March 2014 – The United Nations human rights chief today voiced concern at the increasing restrictions on civil and political rights in Burundi, following a series of violent acts by the ruling party’s youth wing and the disruption of public meetings organized by opposition parties. “I am concerned that restrictions have increasingly been imposed on freedom of assembly and on the press over the past few months in Burundi,” High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a news release. Recent attacks by the ruling party’s youth wing, including the reported killing of an opposition youth leader on…
7 March 2014 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) today convicted former Congolese militia leader Germain Katanga of war crimes in relation to a deadly 2003 attack on a village in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Hundreds of people were killed and many women were forced into sexual slavery as a result of the February 2003 attack on the village of Bogoro in Ituri district. The Trial Chamber of the ICC found Mr. Katanga, a senior commander from the group known as the Force de Résistance Patriotique en Ituri (FRPI), guilty on four counts of war crimes and…
6 March 2014 – An independent United Nations human rights expert hailed a five-point agreement reached today by Cambodia’s two main political parties to initiate electoral reforms in the country towards a more transparent process, and greater freedom of expression and right to public assembly. “I welcome the agreements reached by the Joint Committee composed of members of the Cambodian People’s Party and the Cambodian National Rescue Party to proceed, among other things, on two concrete measures for electoral reform: to review the voter registry and to elaborate a draft law on the financing of political parties,” said Surya P.…