The United Nations is taking leadership in the fight to end discrimination against lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender, or LGBT, individuals.
At an historic meeting on the 11th of December, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, human rights defenders, politicians and international entertainers all voiced their support for the LGBT community.
Gerry Adams reports.
Duration: 3'22"
A new initiative has been launched at the United Nations to help eliminate cholera in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the two countries that make up the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.
Announcing the initiative at UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it will take a holistic approach to fighting cholera.
Mr. Ban said that $215 million in existing funds from donors will be used to support the initiative.
Derrick Mbatha reports.
Duration: 3'53"
There’s dismay at Yemen’s execution of a girl named Hind Al-Barti on the 3rd of December this year, according to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
In addition, the Committee says 21 juvenile offenders, all under the age of 18 at the time of commission of the offenses, have been condemned to death by the country.
A number of African countries are making progress in economic development, according to a scholar at the United Nations University in Helsinki, Finland.
However, in the 1970s and 1980s, bad policies adopted by national governments have been blamed for underdevelopment that has afflicted Sub-Saharan Africa.
The UN University scholar, Augustin Fosu has identified four such policies which he believes have been the cause of inefficiency, overregulation and misallocation of resources.
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, also known as UNCLOS, is often called the “constitution for the oceans”.
It governs all aspects of ocean space, including the delimitation of maritime boundaries and the settlement of international disputes involving marine issues.
Former UN Ambassador Tommy Koh of Singapore was instrumental in bringing UNCLOS into being in 1982. The agreement came into effect in 1994.
Women around the world face higher unemployment rates than men, according to a new report issued by the International Labour Organization (ILO) on Tuesday.
The ILO’s Global Employment Trends for Women 2012 has been produced in collaboration with UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.
Derrick Mbatha reports:
Duration: 2'56"
It's time to stop neglecting mountains. That is the call from the United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Organization on the occasion of International Mountain Day, celebrated every year on the 11th of December.
FAO reports that over 50 percent of the world's population relies on freshwater from mountains for drinking, cooking, irrigation, hydropower and industry.
It also says that mountains feed into the global economy as some of the world's most important tourist destinations.
Representatives of governments from around the world are gathering at UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday to pledge money to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).
Since its inception in 2006, CERF, which is one of the world’s largest sources of humanitarian assistance, has given relief aid to 49 countries in different parts of the world.
In the last six years, it has received a total contribution of nearly $3 billion from 126 governments and the private sector.
The ongoing crisis in the Sahel region of Africa was under the spotlight in the Security Council on Monday.
The semi-arid region, south of the Sahara desert which stretches from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, is facing a number of problems, including drought, hunger and conflict in Mali.
Derrick Mbatha reports.
Duration: 3'43"
Renowned American-born opera singer Barbara Hendricks is the longest serving Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN refugee agency.
On the occasion of Human Rights Day, the 10th of December, she recalled feeling like a refugee as she grew up in the then racially segregated south of the United States.
Dianne Penn reports on how important the issue of human rights remains for Barbara Hendricks today.
Duration: 2'29"
