General News

A “golden opportunity” has been missed to decide the future of Syria at the end of the latest round of UN-led talks in Geneva, veteran negotiator Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday.

The UN Special Envoy was speaking to journalists in the Swiss city where he has been meeting Syrian government representatives and - for the first time – a united opposition delegation.

Mr de Mistura added that he was disappointed at the government’s lack of engagement on any issue other than counter-terrorism, before adding that he intended to call a new round of talks in January.

The UN Security Council has called for dialogue with major social media companies in order to limit terrorists’ ability to recruit and operate online.

“Several countries” with influence on the Syrian conflict have said that they will do “all that they can” to ensure the evacuation of hundreds of critically ill men, women and children from a besieged opposition stronghold outside the capital Damascus, a senior UN adviser said on Thursday.

The Security Council has been looking at what one senior UN official has described as a “very complex and evolving issue”: foreigners travelling to conflict zones to join terrorist groups fighting there.

Dianne Penn reports on the briefing delivered on Tuesday by the head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, Vladimir Ivanovich Voronkov.

Mr Voronkov began his briefing by laying out the scale of the problem.

Family members are linked to nearly half of all identified cases of child trafficking, new data released on Tuesday by the UN Migration Agency, IOM, has revealed.

It finds that family involvement in this crime is up to four times higher than in incidents of adult trafficking.

Dianne Penn reports.

The statistics are based on information about nearly 12,000 survivors of trafficking.

Hundreds of participants from more than 120 countries, have gathered in Antalya, Turkey, for what’s been described as the world’s most important forum for showcasing, sharing and scaling-up innovative local solutions for global problems.

The four-day event, known as the Global South-South Development Expo, is being hosted by the Turkish government, and the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC).

Maoqi Li reports from Antalya.

Duration: 2'09"

Energy is key to global development but the world’s poorest nations fare up to six times worse than their more industrialised counterparts when it comes to accessing the vital resource, the UN warned on Wednesday.

In a report on 47 Least Developed Countries (LDC), the UN trade and development arm UNCTAD said that only four of them were on course to achieve internationally agreed targets on energy distribution by 2030.

World leaders have a “collective responsibility” to stop human trafficking and modern slavery, the UN chief told members of the Security Council on Tuesday.

Secretary-General António Guterres spoke during an open debate on the trafficking of persons in conflict situations, given added impetus following universal outrage at a television news report this week documenting young migrants being sold at a slave market in Libya.

Matt Wells has more.

Duration:  3'08"

Peace and security are inseparable from the advancement of social progress and human rights, the UN Secretary-General said on Friday.

António Guterres relayed this message during a Security Council meeting on large scale migration crises, shortage of resources, and human rights violations that have led to social and political unrest in the Mediterranean region.

Natalie Hutchison has more.

The deadline is fast approaching for developing and emerging countries to get a chance to reach for the stars.

They are being encouraged to submit proposals for participation in the first-ever space mission that will contribute to global development efforts.

The initiative is the result of a partnership between the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Sierra Nevada Corporation, an American company that supplies the space and aviation industries.

Dianne Penn has the story.

Duration: 2’55”