21 March 2014 – Amid tit-for-tat attacks between locals and refugees sparked by food shortages in an area of South Sudan’s volatile Upper Nile state, the United Nations refugee agency said today that it is gravely concerned about new tensions rising in the region. “Local residents [in Maban County] are now demanding that the some 60,000 refugees in Yusuf Batil and Gendrassa camps leave within two months,” Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told journalists in Geneva, adding that hostilities have also spread to Doro and Kaya camps. While stressing that UNHCR is working…
Author: UN News
22 March 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday reiterated his message that only a diplomatic solution, based on the ideals of the United Nations Charter, would solve the current crisis between russia and Ukraine. In a meeting in Kyiv with Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Mr. Ban added that a direct dialogue between the two neighbours is critical to reducing the ongoing tensions. The UN chief was in russia on Thursday and arrived in Ukraine on Friday as part of his efforts to help de-escalate tensions between Moscow and Kyiv. Months of political unrest in Ukraine led to the…
21 March 2014 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged “real dialogue” between Kyiv and Moscow to peacefully resolve the current crisis, during a visit to the Ukrainian capital following discussions with Russian officials yesterday. “These are some of the most dramatic and difficult times in the history of Ukraine,” Mr. Ban said during a press encounter in Kyiv. “Tensions are high. Lives have been lost.” The Secretary-General said he is seriously concerned at both the tense situation within parts of Ukraine as well as between it and Russia, where he met yesterday with President Vladimir Putin and Foreign…
20 March 2014 – Leading diplomatic efforts to encourage all parties involved in the Ukraine crisis to find a peaceful solution, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met today with Russian President Vladimir Putin and emphasized the need for de-escalating tensions between russia and Ukraine, and restoring the “brotherly relationship” between the two countries. “It is clear that we are at a crossroads. I will continue to fulfil my duty as Secretary-General of the United Nations and engage with all relevant parties. We must employ every possible diplomatic tool at our disposal to solve this crisis, which has grave political and…
20 March 2014 – As Liberia enters its second post-conflict decade, it faces great challenges to institutionalizing critical sector reforms and building capacity for effective governance, a senior United Nations official said today, adding that seizing the present “window of opportunity” would be critical for consolidating the country’s hard-won peace and charting a future of inclusive development. “These are complex and daunting processes, as even before the war, Liberia had few well-functioning meritocratic institutions and effective accountability mechanisms,” said Karin Landgren, head of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). She said that despite a relatively stable political and security landscape,…
20 March 2014 – The women of South sudan played an instrumental role in the country’s liberation struggle and will continue to make sure their voices ring loud and clear as the world’s youngest nation seeks to restore peace and stability amid the recent conflict, women leaders stressed today at the United Nations in New York. “Peace and stability will not be achieved without the full participation of women at every stage of the process,” said Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). Speaking at an event held on…
20 March 2014 – Despite the recent halt in large-scale violence that took place in crisis-riven Central African Republic (CAR) in December and January, people are still being killed every day, the United Nations human rights chief warned today, deploring the “dire” humanitarian situation facing the country and calling on the international community to dramatically step up vital aid efforts. “The inter-communal hatred remains at a terrifying level, as evidenced by the extraordinarily vicious nature of the killings,” said Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement to the press during a visit in the capital, Bangui.…
19 March 2014 – A senior United Nations relief official today stressed the need to act quickly to assist people suffering from food insecurity and malnutrition in the Central African Republic (CAR), after witnessing the alarming situation first-hand during a visit to the strife-torn nation. “Today I heard harrowing stories from ordinary women and children of losing their families in the violence and traumatic attacks that forced them to flee,” Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), said after a visit to the north-western town of Bossangoa. “I am humbled by their strength in these desperate times.…
20 March 2014 – The Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations said today that over half of Syria’s chemical weapons material has been removed or destroyed. As of today, some 53.6 per cent of Syria’s chemical weapons material has been removed from or destroyed in the conflict-ridden country. The deadline for completing the destruction of Syria’s entire chemical weapons programme is 30 June 2014. “This represents important progress,” said OPCW-UN Joint Mission Special Coordinator Sigrid Kaag, as she made the announcement. “The Joint Mission welcomes the momentum attained, and encourages…
20 March 2014 – A United Nations convoy carrying vital humanitarian supplies for hundreds of thousands of people in desperate need in northern Syria is leaving today from Turkey, the first time in the three years of the conflict that aid is being transported via this route. The convoy is leaving the Turkish border crossing at Nusaybin and is bound for the city of Qamishli, according to Regional Humanitarian Coordinator Nigel Fisher. It marks the first time since the conflict started in March 2011 that the UN has been able to carry aid across into Syria from Turkey, noted Mr.…