After six years in the country, the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) concluded its mandate on Monday, 31 December.
The UN helped guide the Asia-Pacific nation to independence in 2002, and the mission assisted in consolidating stability and building democracy in the wake of major political, humanitarian and security crises.
Ameerah Haq, the mission’s former chief, says the Timorese people have the capacity to continue to build their country.
The conflict in Syria risks degenerating into chaos similar to what happened in Somalia when the state there collapsed in 1991, unless a political solution is found.
That warning came over the weekend from the Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the Arab League for the Syrian crisis, Lakhdar Brahimi.
On Sunday, the envoy told reporters in Cairo that the crisis in Syria will remain a “direct threat” to world peace, if it is not resolved in the coming months.
Derrick Mbatha reports.
Duration: 3'54"
Half of all girls in Nepal are married before the age of 18, an illegal but prevalent practice which denies them access to education and puts them at risk of complications in childbirth from having children too young.
Pat Duffy tells the story of a young woman, Bihay Laxmi, who was married before she reached puberty.
This report was prepared by William Ryan for the United Nations.
Duration:3'19"
The UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) completes its mandate at the end of this month, after six years of service in the country.
UNMIT was the fifth UN peacekeeping or political operation in Timor-Leste, dating back to the country’s struggle for self-determination following the 1999 Popular Consultation.
A multimedia exhibition called ‘Momentum’ on display at UN Headquarters in New York and also online, pays tribute to the strong partnership between the UN and the Timorese people.
According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), East and Southern Africa remains the area most heavily affected by the HIV epidemic.
Dianne Penn reports on a club at a hospital in Namibia, which is supported by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), that’s helping HIV-positive teenagers to build their confidence so that they can live their dreams.
Duration: 3'56"
The UN agency dealing with stopping trade in endangered wildlife has welcomed a call to investigate the alleged involvement of the Lord’s Resistance Army’ (LRA) in the poaching of African elephants.
The call was made by the Security Council in a presidential statement on 19 December, which condemned the destabilizing activities of the LRA rebels in Central Africa.
Ending impunity for those who commit sexual violence during conflict is one of the goals of Zainab Bangura, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General tasked with fighting this scourge.
A former Minister of Health in Sierra Leone, Ms. Bangura this month conducted her first official mission which took her to the Central African Republic.
Ms. Bangura talks to Elizabeth Philips of the UN News Centre about her mandate and also about how men are increasingly targets for sexual violence which she says aims to destroy the basic humanity of its victims.
While Afghanistan continues to face significant challenges in areas such as human rights and protection, the country has realized strong political and development gains, according to the top UN envoy in the country.
In his recent year-end briefing to the Security Council, Ján Kubiš stressed the need for a sustained partnership between Afghanistan and the international community as the country undergoes a period of transition.
As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told journalists at his year-end press conference in New York last week, 2012 has been a “tumultuous” year for the world and for the United Nations.
The intensification of the crisis in Syria, instability and hunger in The Sahel, violence in Gaza and fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, are just some of the events which have marked this year.
We look back at 2012 in this feature narrated by Dina Al Barazi
Duration:
United Nations Member States on the 20th of December approved a draft resolution aimed at ending the harmful practice of female genital mutilation.
Female genital mutilation or cutting, also known as FGM/C, refers to several different harmful practices involving the cutting of the female genitals for non-medical reasons. The UN World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM.
Gerry Adams reports.
Duration: 3'32"
