General News

Spread of Ebola in West Africa remains a concern for UN

The world is passing through a very “delicate” moment with regard to human rights.

That’s according to Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who is concerned about the rise of repressive efforts by governments that are struggling to contain violent extremism in their countries.

Ari Gaitanis recently sat down with the High Commissioner and asked him what he sees as the biggest challenges ahead for human rights.

Duration: 2’56”

The vulnerability of Syrian refugees in Lebanon has “skyrocketed” over the last year, according to a new report released by a group of UN agencies.

An estimated 70 per cent of Syrian refugees in Lebanon are now living below the country’s extreme poverty line. That’s up from 49 per cent in 2014, according to the annual Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees.

Three peacekeepers from the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) are on a quest to reach the top of Mt Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.

The trio consists of two peacekeepers from India and one from Romania and plans to raise the UN flag at the peak of Mt Kilimanjaro on Christmas day.

Sani Martin spoke with Dipinder Virk and Vikash Kumar, two of the three climbers shortly before they set off on their expedition.

He started off by asking Mr Virk what inspired him to take on such a huge challenge.

For some farmers in India, cotton yields have become a life-or-death matter.

In India's Maharashtra state, three million farmers depend on cotton for their livelihoods.

In 2014, failed harvests resulted in such dire financial circumstances, that nearly 1,000 farmers committed suicide.

Now, the UN is helping farmers learn new ways of growing cotton that are not only alleviating debt, but also protecting the environment.

Anu Anand has the story.

Duration: 3’58”

Talks aimed at bringing an end to the conflict in Syria will resume in Geneva in early next year.

That’s according to Michael Møller, the Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, Mr. Møller said that the intention is for negotiations to resume near the end of January.

Nicki Chadwick reports.

Duration: 1’41”

The security situation in Pakistan has drastically improved according to the country director of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) there.

A year ago this December around 140 people, the vast majority children, were killed in an attack on a school in Peshawar.

The outlawed Taliban group claimed responsibility.

Since then its fighters have been pushed out of areas it controlled and attacks have dropped by a half.

Marc-Andre Franche is the head of UNDP’s office in Pakistan.

The war in Afghanistan, which is preventing political and economic progress in the country, “cannot continue indefinitely.”

That’s according to the head of the UN mission in Afghanistan, who briefed the Security Council on Monday about the current situation there.

Following last year’s withdrawal of international civilian and military personnel, Afghanistan had experienced increasing violence, coupled with economic contraction and political turmoil.

Hungary is being urged to refrain from “policies and practices that promote intolerance”.

The call came from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), following the Hungarian government’s launch of a new campaign that portrays those fleeing war and conflict as criminals, invaders and terrorists.

UNHCR says the public outreach effort, which was launched this month, promotes fear and fuels xenophobia against refugees and migrants.

“We are moving” to enact necessary reforms to UN peacekeeping in 2016, says the top official in charge of operations.

Hervé Ladsous, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), said that 2015 had been a very important year for his team, with the publication of a major review on its work, in June.

That High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations recommended a shift towards political solutions, and more flexible operations in the field.

Matthew Wells asked Mr Ladsous to highlight the reform process, moving forward.

Duration: 2’23”