Author: UN News

13 April 2015 – The United Nations agency mandated with protecting heritage sites worldwide today denounced further destruction at the archeological site of Nimrud in Iraq, calling the deliberate damage of culture a “war crime” and pledging to do everything possible to fight it. “I condemn this mad, destructive act that accentuates the horror of the situation. It confirms that the terrorists are not only destroying representations of figures and bas-reliefs,” said Irina Bokova, Director-General for the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in a statement to the press. “With their hammers and explosives they are also obliterating the…

11 April 2015 – The United Nations agency concerned with the well-being of Palestinian refugees is undertaking an urgent mission to Syria today, prompted by deepening concerns for the safety and protection of thousands Palestinian and Syrian civilians at Yarmouk refugee camp overrun in recent days by militants. Pierre Krähenbühl, Commissioner-General for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), is visiting Yarmouk to get a sense of the situation in the camp, hear from refugees affected by the crisis, and consult with leaders on how to get aid to people in need.…

11 April 2015 – A meeting of Libyan political leaders and activists facilitated by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) will take place in Algeria tomorrow, 13 April, with hopes of devising a plan to end Libya’s crisis, which is said to have ‘gravely’ escalated in the country’s west. “The role of political parties and political activists is important in lobbying the necessary support on all levels to achieve success for the dialogue and peace and stability for Libya,” said a statement released from UNSMIL today. “This meeting is significant in that the leaders of political parties and…

11 April 2015 – The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has today condemned the grave escalation in hostilities in western Libya, particularly in the Aziziya area in Warshafana, a region whose towns in recent days have undergone considerable destruction from intermittent battles. The people who live in Warshafana are enduring immense hardship, with many civilians displaced, abducted and tortured, and in dire need of humanitarian aid, the Mission said today in a statement. “The Mission urges all parties to take all necessary measures to ensure the right of return for all those displaced from the area, and that…

10 April 2015 – The United Nations Secretary-General, in an address in Panama to the CEO Summit of the Americas, said today that business has a key role in the success of several important international forums taking place in 2015 and will be deeply involved in the implementation of their outcomes. “The new global development agenda and the battle against climate change will need resources, technology and capacity,” he told business leaders who gathered in Panama City. “Private sources and partnerships will be crucial.” He spoke of the UN Global Compact set up following the Millennium Declaration between business and…

10 April 2015 – As Nigeria gets set this weekend to hold its Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated the country’s people and Government on the peaceful manner in which the recent presidential and parliamentary elections were held and expressed the hope that similar conditions will prevail during the new polls. “The Secretary General wishes to congratulate once again the people and Government of Nigeria for the peaceful manner in which the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections were conducted on 28 and 29 March 2015,” said a statement issued by the Secretary-General’s spokesperson. Praising the statesmanship…

10 April 2015 – The members of the United Nations Security Council today welcomed a peace and reconciliation accord between the Malian Government, armed groups and an international mediation team in what the body described as an “historic opportunity” for resolving the African country’s ongoing political and security crisis. In a press statement, Council members said the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation, initialled by representatives of the Government and a coalition of armed groups, known as Platform, on 1 March was “a critical step to achieving lasting peace” in the conflict-ridden country and urged other armed groups to follow suit.…

9 April 2015 – The international community must continue to support dialogue between Malian stakeholders to achieve a political solution to the crisis, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations told the Security Council this morning, calling on all parties to the conflict to seize this historic opportunity to reach a settlement. “The crisis in Mali can only be resolved through an inclusive and viable political agreement that can be implemented,” Hervé Ladsous said at a briefing to the Council during which the Foreign Minister of Mali, Abdoulaye Diop, also spoke. Mr. Ladsous said there is a historical opportunity currently present in…

8 April 2015 – The United Nations education agency today celebrated the opening of a new school at Dawodiyah Camp in Dohouk, Iraq, as part of its efforts to provide quality secondary education to children and adolescents in internally displaced persons communities. The opening of the new school represents another major milestone in the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) work to improve access to quality education in Iraq following the opening of the Baharka Secondary School in March this year. “Regardless of the circumstances you are in, remember that education is your right, demand for it and take…

7 April 2015 – Around 4,500 people have recently sought shelter on the premises of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan in Malakal, Upper Nile state, the spokesperson for the Secretary-General said during a press briefing at Headquarters today. The new arrivals bring the total number of civilians in that site close to 26,000, with a total of 115,000 sheltering in UN compounds elsewhere in the country. That takes the number of displaced people being sheltered in UN compounds to its highest level since the start of the conflict in December 2013. Despite that lugubrious statistic, new displacements of…

7 April 2015 – The world must make use of the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda to look back on the past – and to squarely confront the challenges of the present, renewing collective resolve and summoning the courage to prevent such atrocities from happening again, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today. “Our annual sombre observance is all the more meaningful this year as we mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, said Mr. Ban in his message on the Day, which honours the memory of the more than 800,000 people…

5 April 2015 – With fighting near Yarmouk intensifying, the United Nations agency concerned with the well-being of Palestinian refugees today made a strong appeal to all armed actors to cease hostilities that place civilians in acute danger and to withdraw immediately from civilian populated areas. “Never has the hour been more desperate in the Palestine refugee camp of Yarmouk, in Damascus,” read a press release circulated by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). “We demand that all parties exercise maximum restraint and abide by their obligations under international law to protect…

4 April 2015 – The United Nations Secretary-General today expressed his disappointment at the failure to hold the Sudanese pre-dialogue meeting in Addis Ababa because of the decision by the ruling National Congress Party and its allies not to attend the meeting. In a statement released by his Spokesperson today, Ban Ki-moon stressed that a fully inclusive, free and transparent dialogue is critical to addressing the root causes of the recurrent crises in Sudan and achieving sustainable peace, adding that the pre-dialogue meeting would have been an important step in this regard. He urged all stakeholders to continue to engage…

4 April 2015 – The United Nations has condemned the terrorist attack carried out by Al Shabaab in Garissa, Kenya, in the strongest terms, with the Security Council members stressing their “outrage” at what the President of the General Assembly called a “heinous” attack. The Secretary-General, who had previously condemned the attack in a statement released on Wednesday, sent a personal letter yesterday to the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, to once again expressed his sincere condolences following the “horrendous” attack. “There is little more appalling than targeting young people for murder and mayhem.” Mr. Ban wrote in the letter.…

2 April 2015 – The United Nations Security Council today adopted a resolution authorizing the third phase of a drawdown of the UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia to 3,590 military personnel and 1,515 police personnel, and deciding that the Mission’s mandate would no longer include electoral support. The text reaffirms the Council’s expectation that the Government of Liberia will assume fully its complete security responsibilities from the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) no later than 30 June 2016 and also reaffirms its intention to consider the continued and future reconfiguration of UNMIL accordingly. Council members requested that the Secretary-General streamline…

2 April 2015 – Syrians must unite for the protection of their shared cultural heritage amid a recent escalation in hostilities across the war-torn country, the head of the United Nations cultural agency declared today. A recent uptick in violence and shelling in the cities of Bosra and Idleb has sparked widespread concern across the UN system for the safety of the cities’ inhabitants as well as their historical sites, including the Idleb, Maarrat al Numaan and Bosra Museums. “This heritage belongs to all Syrians and to all humanity,” Irina Bokova, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural…

1 April 2015 – Fierce fighting has erupted between armed groups in the area of Yarmouk, a camp of Syrian and Palestinian refugees, putting thousands of people in danger, warned the spokesperson of the United Nations agency tasked with the ensuring the well-being of Palestinians across the Middle East. “UNRWA is extremely concerned about the safety and protection of Syrian and Palestinian civilians in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk in Damascus, where since early afternoon today, intensive armed conflict has been ongoing between armed groups present in the area,” Chris Gunness, spokesperson for the UN Relief and Works Agency…

1 April 2015 – Tanzania should take steps to revise or repeal laws, customs and practices that discriminate against women, a United Nations Committee said today after considering the case of two widows who were prevented from inheriting their late husbands’ property and were left homeless. The Geneva-based Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) issued its call after considering a complaint by the women, who under local customary laws could not inherit upon their respective husband’s death and were subsequently evicted from their homes by their in-laws. In 2005, the women, referred to as E.S and S.C,…

1 April 2015 – A new project aimed at restoring the livelihoods of some 33,000 households affected by armed conflict and climate change in northern Mali has been launched today by the country’s Government and the United Nations agriculture agency. “This work represents a contribution to Mali’s peace process, because without security there cannot be food security and where there’s food insecurity, conflicts often erupt,” said the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), José Graziano da Silva, during an official visit to the country. The implementation phase of the project has now begun, with the FAO and the…

31 March 2015 – The United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, today called the signing of a landmark declaration by military commanders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) a “milestone” on the road to ending conflict related sexual violence. “This is a day we will all remember as a giant leap forward in the fight against conflict-related sexual violence,” SRSG Bangura said in a statement from the DRC capital of Kinshasa. “The signing of this declaration by commanders, and the implementation of the FARDC (Armed Forces of the…