General News

“The history of Sudan’s Abyei region is a history of conflict” says the Force Commander of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNIFSA). However, says Major General Yohannes Tesfamariam, since the establishment of the mission in June 2011, the situation is relatively peaceful except for an incident in May this year.

The mission was established by the UN Security Council to quell the violence, escalating tensions and population displacement.

There's a new revolution happening in Peru... a food revolution. Ancient cuisine is the top choice for top chefs in the capital, Lima, where ancient crops are produced by smallholder farmers.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) says the new alliance that has formed between these chefs and the people who grow their food is not only changing the lives of the farmers, but the country as a whole.

IFAD’s Joanne Levitan reports.

Duration: 4’03”

A 2-day High-level Expert Conference opened in Geneva Thursday to mark the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Over 100 experts are attending the conference examining how the international human rights system can be strengthened further. The Conference was opened by High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and Austrian Vice-Chancellor Michael Spindelegger.

Beng Poblete-Enriquez has more.

Duration: 4'25"

UN Special Envoy for the Sahel Romano Prodi is briefing the Security Council  on his strategy for the region.

The Sahel is facing threats ranging from endemic poverty, terrorism and the crisis in Mali, and Prodi says the governments of five countries there—Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger and Chad—must be supported in their efforts to sustain peace and security over the long-term.

Although the use of drugs such as heroin and cocaine is declining in some parts of the world, there has been a proliferation in the use of prescription drugs and new psychoactive substances.

That information comes from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) which has just released the 2013 World Drug Report.

The agency says while these so-called “designer drugs” are marketed as “legal highs,” their effects are not well known.

Heads of the military components of United Nations peacekeeping operations around the world are at the United Nations this week, discussing several sensitive and topical issues, and also sharing their experiences and best practices.

Many of these Force Commanders operate in very intense and volatile places and their jobs can be very demanding and challenging.

Today, we will hear from three of the Force Commanders based in Lebanon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Liberia.

Beng Poblete-Enriquez reports:

A 50% reduction in new HIV infections among children in seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa is the highlight of a new UNAIDS report.

However, it also shows that access to treatment remains unacceptably low for children –– only three in 10 children in need of treatment have access in most of the 'Global Plan' priority countries in Africa.

Karusa Kiragu, a Senior Maternal and Child Health Advisor at UNAIDS spoke to UN Radio’s Patrick Maigua in Geneva about the report.

Duration: 4’48”

UN Joint Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi said the situation in Syria continues to deteriorate and plans to hold the international peace conference in Geneva in July do not appear feasible.

Meanwhile, soaring summer temperatures, overcrowding and deteriorating hygienic conditions are the latest threats facing four million children affected by the ongoing conflict in Syria. That’s according to the UN Children’s Agency (UNICEF).

June 25th marks the third international Day of the Seafarer.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is celebrating the day with a social media campaign calling on all supply chain partners to help shine a light on the sheer diversity and scale of products used in everyday life that are transported by sea.

The day also recognizes the importance of the over 1.5 million seafarers that deliver these products.

Sexual violence, wherever and whenever it occurs, is a vile crime, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday at the start of a day-long debate in the UN Security Council on “Addressing Impunity: Effective Justice for Crimes of Sexual Violence in Conflict”.

Donn Bobb reports.

Duration: 3'14"