21 February 2014 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke today with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, urging him to implement a just-proposed deal with opposition leaders aimed at ending a standoff between security forces and protestors in Kiev and other parts of the country that has left scores of people killed or injured. According to press reports, the deal, brokered overnight, calls for the formation of a new coalition government and for early elections. In a statement from his spokesperson, Mr. Ban also welcomed the signing into law of the resolution passed by Parliament yesterday, which has led to the…
Author: UN News
20 February 2014 – The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom today denounced the killing of Ukrainian journalist Vyacheslav Veremyi and called for ensuring the safety of all media workers in the crisis-hit nation. Journalists, police officers and protesters were among the dozens of people killed during violent clashes this week in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, which has been witnessing mass protests since late November. Irina Bokova, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), strongly condemned the killing of Mr. Veremyi, who died in Kiev on 19 February, and voiced concern…
20 February 2014 – As the casualties mount in and around crisis-riven Kiev, so have the calls for restraint from senior United Nations officials, who today once again urged the authorities in Ukraine to exercise restraint amidst a fiery stand-off with anti-Government protestors. “I continue to strongly appeal to all involved to cease the violence, and for the Ukrainian authorities to refrain from excessive use of force,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York. “I am appalled by the use of firearms by both the police and protesters,” stressed Mr. Ban, who has been…
21 February 2014 – The United Nations human rights office today hailed the decision by a Haitian court to open new investigations into former President Jean-Claude Duvalier for crimes against humanity, saying that the move will help ensure accountability for past abuses. Serious human rights violations, including torture, rape, and extrajudicial killings have been extensively documented by Haitian and international human rights groups to have occurred while Mr. Duvalier – known as “Baby Doc” – was in power from 1971 to 1986. Yesterday the Court of Appeals in the capital, Port-au-Prince, reversed a January 2012 decision that stated that the…
21 February 2014 – The head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today that high levels of malnutrition could hold Zimbabwe back from reaching its full potential, during a visit to the country at the peak of its lean season. Food insecurity featured high on the agenda of Executive Director Ertharin Cousin, who arrived on Wednesday in Zimbabwe, where 2 million people are now food insecure, according to the latest assessments. It is estimated that at this point of the lean season – the pre-harvest period when many families have depleted their own-produced stocks – one in…
20 February 2014 – Expressing “deep concern” that the Sudanese authorities have not yet issued their reports on last year’s oil subsidy demonstrations, a United Nations human rights expert today urged the Government to release its documents on the protests, which he said, resulted in killings, injuries, arrests and detentions, and destruction of property. “I regret to note that five months after these incidents, the committees set up by the Government have not yet issued their reports or findings on the incidents,” Mashood Adebayo Baderin, UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan, said as he summed…
20 February 2014 – Time is of the essence if the international community does not want to fail the people of the Central African Republic (CAR), top United Nations officials warned today, as they urged collective action to stop the killing and save the country from its current nightmare. “The crisis that continues to unfold in the Central African Republic poses a test for the entire international community,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his remarks to the Security Council, as he outlined a set of measures to address the greatest risks facing the country. “The situation in the country has…
20 February 2014 – Polling stations are open today across most of Libya in elections that the top United Nations official in the country say is an opportunity for voters to have their voice heard and contribute to a new State’s constitution. The elections, the second vote held in the country since the February 17 Revolution in 2011 that toppled Muammar al-Qadhafi, is to select a 60-member assembly that will draft a new Constitution. “I trust that all who can will participate today in a peaceful and mindful manner,” Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Tarek Mitri stressed, adding that Libyans…
19 February 2014 – As Libyans prepare elect tomorrow the national body that will draft the new Constitution, the United Nations office in the country urged calm and called on voters to contribute positively and “provide the suitable atmosphere” for this important event. “The UN Support Mission (UNSMIL) reaffirms its clear stand of rejecting the threat to use force in the political process, which is contrary to the basic democratic principles,” Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Tarek Mitri, said in a statement from the Mission. Congratulating the Libyan people and the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) for this “long-awaited achievement”,…
19 February 2014 – The independent United Nations expert tasked with monitoring the human rights situation in Myanmar today welcomed the improvements that have been made, but highlighted a number of challenges that, if left unaddressed, could jeopardize the country’s entire reform process. “I believe there is limited space for backtracking, though – as a senior Government official admitted to me in Nay Pyi Taw – the democratic transition is still fragile,” stated Special Rapporteur Tomás Ojea Quintana, as he concluded his last official mission to the country. The South-east Asian nation has witnessed a number of positive changes since…
19 February 2014 – The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today there is no evidence that human patients infected with influenza A(H7N9), a low pathogenic virus in poultry, can transmit the virus to animals, including birds. “Humans that become ill with influenza A(H7N9) constitute no threat to poultry populations,” underlined FAO Chief Veterinary Officer Juan Lubroth. The agency’s comments come in the wake of the first human case of A(H7N9) outside China. The patient is originally from Guangdong Province in China – one of the provinces most affected by the virus this year and where the woman…
18 February 2014 – The United Nations refugee agency today highlighted the need to address “significant shortcomings” in the process by which Australia moves asylum-seekers to Papua New Guinea and called for a probe into recent incidents that reportedly led to the death of an asylum-seeker on Manus Island. Over the years, Australia has sent thousands of refugees who fled conflict, persecution or poverty in the Middle East and Central and South Asia to the processing centre on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. Babar Baloch, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters in Geneva…
18 February 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, today urged the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to engage with the international community improve its human rights record after a UN-mandated report catalogued crimes against humanity of an “unimaginable scale” being committed in the country. Mr. Ban is seriously concerned about human rights and the humanitarian situation in the DPRK, his spokesperson said in a statement. As such, the Secretary-General remains “deeply disturbed” by the findings. Noting that human rights are universal values, he “hopes the report will contribute to raising…
17 February 2014 – A grim array of human rights abuses, driven by “policies established at the highest level of State,” have been and continue to be committed in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), according to a United Nations-mandated report released today, which also calls for urgent action to address the rights situation in the country, including referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC). In a 400-page set of linked reports and supporting documents, culled from first-hand testimony from victims and witnesses, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea…
19 February 2014 – Authorities in the Central African Republic (CAR) will be held personally accountable for the serious human rights violations committed in the country, Navi Pillay, the United Nations human rights chief today said, urging that every effort be made to break the cycle of violence and revenge, and to restore security and rule of law. “I remind all leaders in key positions, whether they belong to anti-Balaka, ex-Séléka or the former army, FACA, that they have clear obligations under international law,” the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said. “They have a responsibility to refrain from committing,…
18 February 2014 – Family farming is an important path for inclusion for millions of poor rural communities, and is of special importance for women and for youth, the head of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) has said, hailing the expansion of a youth gardening project in Africa as a vital way to promote nutrition and sustainability, as well as inclusivity. FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva made these observations in Milan where yesterday the Italy-based Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity project outlined its plans to help African youths plant 10,000 food gardens. The project, backed by…
18 February 2014 – The United Nations agency leading the global HIV/AIDS response warned today that the signing of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda would have “serious human rights implications” and urged protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people around the world. The bill, passed by the Ugandan Parliament on 20 December, calls for a 14-year jail term for a first conviction and imprisonment for life for the offence of “aggravated homosexuality.” “I strongly urge the Ugandan authorities to reject the bill and ensure the human rights and dignity of all people in Uganda,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive…
18 February 2014 – Despite some stabilization, the humanitarian situation in Somalia remains fragile and it is vital that the international community stays the course to ensure that millions of people in the Horn of Africa nation receive the assistance they need, a top United Nations relief official said today. “For Somalia, it does come down to the funding,” John Ging, Director of the Coordination and Response Division in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told a news conference in New York. “Right now, we are very worried about the prospects for funding,” he stated, noting that…
18 February 2014 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in South sudan (UNMISS) has reported that heavy fighting broke out earlier today between pro-Government and opposition forces near its compound in the Upper Nile state town of Malakal, while condemning those who instigated the inter-communal violence that flared up inside its base. The Mission said that fighting between sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) opposition forces and Government troops, which started this morning, appeared to have subsided, although there are continued reports of gunfire and mortars being heard in the area, a UN spokesperson told journalists in New York. Simultaneously, inter-communal…
18 February 2014 – Libya’s new law could place undue restrictions on freedom of expression and opinion, the United Nations human rights office today warned while also expressing concern about an increasing number of attacks against journalists in recent months. The warning coincides with the third anniversary of the 2011 Libyan uprising which overthrew Muammar al-Qadhafi and began a democratic transition in the country. The new Law No. 5 imposes prison sentences on any person “undermining the February 17 Revolution” and for “publicly insulting one of the legislative, executive or judicial authorities.” “Law No. 5 of 2014 certainly appears to…