General News

The Syrian conflict and the rise of Isis extremists have created “waves” of torture victims who urgently need help to rebuild their lives, UN human rights experts said on Thursday.

The warning came at a UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture meeting in Geneva, where trustees of the bursary said that many states continue to ignore victims’ rights to redress, leaving its resources “overstrained”.

Terrorist groups are finding new ways to raise funds for their extremist activities, according to a senior UN official dealing with the issue.

These groups, which include ISIL in Syria and Iraq, Al Qaeda affiliates in Yemen, and Boko Haram in Nigeria, are notorious for the atrocities they commit against civilians.

Global water supplies are sufficient to meet the needs of humanity, but the United Nations says the resource needs to be used wisely.

The warning comes in a brief for policy makers on a water and food secure future released by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Governments and experts from around the world are meeting to discuss this and other issues at the 7th World Water Forum taking place in Daegue, Korea this week.

Olcay Unver is the head of FAO’s delegation at the forum.

Thousands of African migrants in South Africa have been forced to flee their homes into makeshift camps as a result of xenophobic attacks.

Two weeks ago mobs in Durban started to ransack and loot small businesses owned by fellow Africans in Durban.

It is estimated that six people have been killed and up to 100 are estimated to have been injured in the latest violence which broke out two weeks ago in Durban.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), a UN partner agency, is monitoring the situation closely and helping the victims.

The Global economy is expected to grow by 3.5 per cent in the coming year according to the International Monetary Fund’s 2015 World Economic Outlook.

The latest edition of the twice yearly review shows that growth is stronger in advanced economies, but weaker in developing countries.

Athletes have a platform to advocate for human rights that very few people have, according to an American former professional tennis player.

Billie Jean King, who was ranked number one player in the world for six years, was at UN Headquarters to mark the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.

She says she was one of the first athletes to come out as a gay person which at the time cost her every endorsement.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is making progress in addressing the problem of rape.

That’s according to, Jeanine Mabunda, the DRC President Joseph Kabila’s Personal Representative to fight sexual violence and the recruitment of children into armed groups in the country.

The conflict-torn eastern part of the country was once described as the “rape capital” of the world with more than 1,100 women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49 raped every day during a 12-month period in 2006 and 2007.

As the conflict escalates in Yemen almost 11 million people are said to be severely food insecure and millions more are at risk of not meeting their basic food needs.

This is according to the latest food security assessment released by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The report also indicates that more than half of Yemen’s 26 million people are in need of humanitarian aid and are without access to safe water.

Heavy rains have hit Haiti in recent days leaving 50,000 people homeless and nearly 9,000 homes flooded, UN humanitarian workers say.

The level of damage has led to fears that Haiti is ill-prepared for the long hurricane season which begins in June. The island nation is still struggling after a major earthquake hit in 2010.

A major blueprint for sustainable housing has been unveiled by the UN in a bid to help countries address urgent economic, social and environmental issues.

The document, known as the Charter on Sustainable Housing, is the result of more than six years of talks between the UN’s Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and its 56 member states.

It aims to address many challenges, such as what UNECE calls the “unsustainable” amount that people spend on housing, currently estimated at more than 40 per cent of earnings.