General News

The world's largest meeting on global water resources is taking place right now in Marseille, France with more than 140 ministerial delegations representing over 180 countries.

The World Water Forum mobilizes creativity, innovation, competence and know-how in favor of water.

The Government of the Republic of South Sudan has launched the process of civilian disarmament in Jonglei State.

The UN Mission to South Sudan says it supports the principle of collecting weapons held illegally within communities, explaining that without addressing this issue, the cycle of violence in Jonglei will never end.

UN Radio's Donn Bobb spoke with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to South Sudan, Hilde Johnson and asked what mechanisms were in place for the process.

Duration: 4'07"

Women living in India’s Himalayan mountain ranges are gaining control over their natural resources and their lives by utilizing their local wisdom.

The Community Awareness Centre (AADHAR), is a grassroots organization that seeks to empower these rural women by documenting, protecting and promoting their indigenous knowledge.

AADHAR’s Reetu Sogani who was recently in New York for a UN meeting on the status of women, has been researching the traditional knowledge in the Himalayas for the past eight years.

This year, 2012, marks the 30th anniversary of the opening for signature of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

UN Radio’s Donn Bobb spoke with the UN Legal Counsel, Under-Secretary-General Patricia O’Brien and asked her why this anniversary is so important.

Duration: 10'22"

In the mountainous terrain of Azad Jammu and Kashmir in Pakistan, it isn't easy to start a small business. Banks are far away and in bad weather they’re inaccessible by road. Moreover, the poor people here don’t have the collateral for loans or the ability to pay high interest rates.

In 2004, the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) initiated a community development project to try and address this.

And when a community pools its money together and manages its own micro-credit loans, there are astonishing results.

Children should not be locked up in gaols or given harsh sentences, including the death penalty.

That view was expressed at a panel discussion which looked at children in the judicial process organized by the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Derrick Mbatha reports.

Duration: 4’21”

International Women’s Day is observed on 8 March annually to celebrate and highlight the achievements that women are making around the world.

The theme for this year is “Empower Rural Women, End Hunger and Poverty.”

The Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development (ACORD) is working in 17 countries in Africa to empower rural women so that they can improve their economic lot.

The day was observed this year as women from around the world gathered in New York for the two-week session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

Truly shocking.

That is how the UN Human Rights Office has described television footage reportedly showing the torture of hospital patients in Syria.

British network Channel 4 broadcast the images on Monday. They corroborate earlier reports by UN human rights experts about alleged abuses in Syrian medical facilities.

Dianne Penn has more.

Duration: 3'11"

The devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan a year ago is chronicled in a photo exhibition at UN headquarters in New York.

“Children and the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: UNICEF at Work” pays tribute to the victims and showcases the humanitarian assistance, particularly the help provided by the UN Children’s Fund on the ground through the Japan Committee for UNICEF.

Julie Walker was at the opening.

Duration: 2'36"