Progress in consolidating peace, reforming the national police and addressing cases of arbitrary detention are some of the steps South Sudan has made two years after becoming an independent nation.
That assessment comes from Hilde Johnson, head of the UN mission in the country (UNMISS), who briefed the Security Council on Monday.
The Millennium Development Goals have been remarkably successful in generating global action across a range of issues, according to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He cited examples such as lifting 600 million people out of extreme poverty, to more people having access to improved sources of water and to putting more children, especially girls, in school among other things.
Advanced military technologies can greatly benefit UN peacekeeping, according to the Force Commander at the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
Lieutenant-General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz recently briefed the Security Council on how the mission will deploy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or “drones” to gather information on armed groups.
As conflict persists in Syria and the number of displaced people continues to flee into neighbouring countries, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is more active than usual.
According to UNIFIL Force Commander Major General Paolo Serra, “Lebanon’s policy of neutrality has helped to keep the country out of trouble over the past two years.”
But, he says, the international community has to resolve the situation in Syria and of its displaced people as Lebanon alone cannot cope with this new challenge.
Jeffrey D. Feltman, [center] stands for a moment of silence for the victims of a recent terrorist attack in Mogadishu, Somalia.
UN Photo/Tobin Jones[/caption]The deadly attack last month on the UN compound in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, will not deter the United Nations.
That message comes from Jeffrey Feltman, head of the UN’s Department of Political Affairs, who recently travelled to the country.
Feltman met with the Somali President who also mourned and attended a service in memory of those killed in the 19 June attack.
Gerry Adams reports.
Karen Abuzayd, Member of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic. [UN Photo/JC McIlwaine][/caption]Although the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria has not been granted access to the country, its members say this does not translate into a lack of information on the ongoing crisis there.
Commission members recently briefed the Security Council on their latest report, which for the first time documents the systematic imposition of sieges, the use of chemical agents and forcible displacement.
A girl plays on an inflatable slide during UNRWA Summer Fun Weeks. [UN Photo/Shareef Sarhan][/caption]The Summer Fun Days have begun for 150,000 Palestine refugee children in the West Bank, thanks to generous funding from the European Union.
The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations is a forum for inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue.
The Alliance, which was established in 2005 on the initiative of Spain and Turkey, seeks to build trust and understanding across cultures and communities around the world.
Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, was designated UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and assumed his post on March 1, 2013.
Global Climate Report. [WMO Photo][/caption]The first decade of the 21st century was the hottest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization, WMO, the United Nations weather agency.
Gerry Adams reports.
Duration: 3'03"
Farmer Shravani Devi Pachar working in the fields. [adapted from UNIFEED][/caption]Safe, good food – that’s the foundation for the creation of the Codex Alimentarius Commission by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
The world's food standard body is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Beng Poblete-Enriquez reports.
Duration: 2’46”
