25 May 2015 – Each year, Africa Day is an opportunity to celebrate the continent’s achievements and to reflect on its challenges, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, highlighting the courage and determination it took to make remarkable progress to end the Ebola outbreak and urging leaders to commit to ending violence against women and empower them. “The dominant story of the year has been the Ebola crisis that swept West Africa, claiming at least 11,000 lives and threatening hard-won social, economic and political achievements,” Mr. Ban said in his remarks on the Day, which is celebrated worldwide on…
Author: UN News
22 May 2015 – The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria has said today that consultations on the future of the country continued today, as he shared perspectives with several interested parties, according to a UN spokesperson. Among those who met with Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura was the Islamic scholar Muhammad Al Habash, who shared his thoughts on methods and processes to facilitate a peaceful solution to the conflict, based on religious perspectives and traditions, according to UN spokesperson Farhan Haq. Mr. Haq said the Special Envoy also met with Hind Kabawat and Asma Kftarou from a civil society…
24 May 2015 – The United Nations Special Representative for South Sudan, Ellen Margrethe Løj, has urged accountability and justice for those responsible for gross human rights violations committed as a result of South Sudan’s continuing fighting. The announcement came as Ms. Løj completed a visit to a protection-of-civilians (PoC) site run by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in Bentiu, located in the country’s Unity state, and following a recent enlargement of the camp. According to a joint press release issued earlier today by UNMISS and the International Organization of Migration (IOM), the PoC site’s extension work included…
24 May 2015 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the killing of a Burundian politician and his bodyguard in a move that threatens to further destabilize the country amid simmering political tensions and a growing humanitarian crisis. Zedi Feruzi, leader of the opposition Union pour la paix et le développement (UPD) Zigamibanga party in Burundi, and his bodyguard, were reportedly shot dead in the country capital of Bukumbura late yesterday evening. According to the UN spokesperson’s office, the killing comes just one day after a fatal grenade attack on Bujumbura’s central market that left two dead and many…
23 May 2015 – The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has condemned a spate of suicide bombings committed by Islamist terrorists in what it says is a blatant effort to undermine the country’s ongoing political dialogue. “At a time when all parties in Libya are exerting intense efforts to try and reach a political agreement that brings an end to the political and military conflict, there can be no doubt about the timing of these terrorist attacks, which are clearly part of a systematic campaign to undermine the ongoing dialogue process, and to instil a sense of mistrust…
21 May 2015 – After examining the case, a United Nations Committee has found that Canada’s deportation of a Jamaican man with a mental disability who had spent much of his life in Canada amounted to cruel and inhuman treatment, effectively leaving him without medical and family support. The man, known by his initials A.H.G., 52, immigrated to Canada when he was 18 years old and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 1993. He was deported to Jamaica on 29 August 2011, after Canadian authorities ruled that he was not eligible to be in the country on the grounds of…
22 May 2015 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said he is deeply troubled by Boko Haram’s “continuing indiscriminate and horrific attacks” against the civilian populations of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, according to the United Nations. In a statement released today, a UN spokesperson said Mr. Ban is appalled by the continued abductions and use of children as so-called “human bombs,” as well as by testimony that many of the girls and women held by Boko Haram are repeatedly raped while in captivity and compelled to marry their captors as part of the group’s ongoing campaign of forced…
22 May 2015 – The escalation of fighting in South Sudan has resulted in “alarming gross violations” of international human rights and humanitarian law as well as having exacted a terrible toll on the young nation’s civilian population, the United Nations human rights chief confirmed today. South Sudan’s ongoing conflict began in December 2013 and has been marked by brutal violence against civilians and deepening suffering across the country. Some 119,000 people are sheltered in UN compounds there while the Organization estimates that the number of people in need for 2015 will include an anticipated 1.95 million internally displaced persons…
21 May 2015 – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is rushing critical relief supplies to Tanzania’s north-western border with Burundi amid a devastating cholera outbreak affecting tens of thousands of refugees there. In a press release issued earlier today, UNICEF confirmed it had dispatched cholera treatment supplies, as well as water, sanitation, health and nutrition items to stem the spread of cholera among 50,000 Burundian refugees living rough along the shores of Lake Tanganyika. The influx of Burundian refugees into Tanzania has been steadily increasing since the 13th May declaration of a coup d’état against Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza.…
21 May 2015 – Ten trucks carrying vital relief supplies have crossed the border between Tunisia and Libya, as the United Nations hunger relief agency said today that it has resumed providing assistance in support of displaced people affected by the ongoing conflict in Libya. “The violence and insecurity in Libya is continuing unabated and has led to massive population displacements and an increase in humanitarian needs,” said Wagdi Othman, World Food Progamme (WFP) Emergency Coordinator for Libya. “As thousands of vulnerable people are displaced now, WFP is doing its utmost to support those people who have been left without…