Latest News

UNHCR staff member goes through the draft Bill

UN agency hails draft law in Ireland that would speed asylum for refugees

31 January 2008
The United Nations refugee agency has welcomed a draft law in Ireland that would speed up the asylum process for people seeking protection in the country.
Children at a school built by UNHCR

Guinea: UN gives buildings at refugee camp to Government

31 January 2008
Administrative buildings, health centres, water outlets, schools and other basic social services facilities at two camps run by the United Nations refugee agency in Guinea have been handed over to the Government now that most of the residents there have returned to their home countries.
Mangroves protect coastal areas against erosion, cyclones and wind

UN agency urges action to address global mangrove loss

31 January 2008
With 20 per cent of the world’s mangroves lost since 1980, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has called for urgent action to address the environmental and economic impacts caused by the destruction of these vital coastal forests.

UN-backed project to benefit some 20,000 poor rural families in Burkina Faso

31 January 2008
A new United Nations-backed $19 million project in Burkina Faso will help approximately 20,000 poor rural households bolster their crop production and incomes through improved irrigation.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (C), Eliasson, and Guehenno at press briefing

Ban Ki-moon to visit strife-torn Kenya

31 January 2008
Warning that violence in Kenya could spiral out of control, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced plans to visit the country, where more than 800 people have already lost their lives in intensifying ethnic clashes triggered by the aftermath of recent elections.
George Clooney

Actor, UN advocate George Clooney urges greater resources for Darfur force

31 January 2008
United Nations Messenger of Peace and award-winning actor George Clooney, just back from the war-wracked Darfur region of Sudan, today urged countries to provide peacekeepers serving with the hybrid United Nations-African Union force there enough resources to do their job – “or have the decency to just bring them all home.”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses African Union Summit, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2008 crucial for boosting UN-AU partnership, Ban Ki-moon tells African summit

31 January 2008
Noting that collaboration between the United Nations and the African Union has entered a historic phase with the establishment of a joint peacekeeping operation in Darfur, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that the year ahead will be a crucial one for the two bodies as they strive to achieve shared goals.

Senior UN official visits Nepal for human rights assessment

31 January 2008
United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kyung-wha Kang kicked off a five-day trip to Nepal today to assess the rights situation in the landlocked South Asian nation.
Najwa Sheikh Ahmed and family are Palestinian refugees living in camp Nuseirat

Some Gaza border crossings re-open to aid trucks, but problems continue – UN

31 January 2008
More than 70 trucks were allowed to enter the Gaza Strip from Israel yesterday, but aid supplies inside Gaza are still dwindling, the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) reported today.
UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari

UN envoy discusses Myanmar with Indian officials

31 January 2008
As part of his ongoing efforts to promote democratic change in Myanmar, the United Nations envoy to the South-East Asian nation today wrapped up consultations in New Delhi with Indian officials, who assured him of their continuing support.