Europe

German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), briefs the Security Council.
UN Photo/Manuel Elías

UN and OSCE 'best tools' to prevent disorder, Security Council told

29 February 2016
The United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) continue to give the international community the best tools to prevent disorder and shape a future of a “rules-based international order,” the Security Council today heard from the chairperson of the world's largest regional arrangement under the UN Charter.
File photo of a wide view of the Security Council, being briefed via video conference by Zahir Tanin (on screen), Head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).
UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

Kosovo: time to shift focus to development, rule of law, human rights, says UN envoy

29 February 2016
With Kosovo set to face “complex challenges” this year, it is an opportune time to perhaps shift local and international focus away from political battles towards more fundamental issues, such as the intrinsic links between post-conflict development, enforcement of the rule of law, and human rights, the head of the United Nations political mission there said today.
In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, refugees take shelter beneath a metal pavilion on a rainy day, near the town of Gevgelija, on the border with Greece.
UNICEF/Tomislav Georgiev

UN opens support 'hubs' to boost protection for families and children on move across Europe

26 February 2016
As part of a joint effort to increase protection for the growing numbers of children and others with specific needs arriving in Europe, two United Nations agencies have agreed to set up special support centres for children and families along the most frequently used migration routes across the continent.
A woman holds a small child, while others who have fled their homes amid the ongoing refugee and migrant crisis stand behind her, on a rainy day near the town of Gevgelija, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, on the border with Greece.
UNICEF/Tomislav Georgiev

Ban urges countries along Balkan route into Western Europe to keep borders open

26 February 2016
Concerned with the increasing number of border restrictions along the Balkan land route, including in Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the countries to keep their borders open “in a spirit of responsibility sharing and solidarity.”
A young child eats a sandwich next to the tarpaulin that serves as a makeshift shelter, close to the town of Gevgelija, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, on the border with Greece (September 2015).
UNICEF/NYHQ2015-2191/Georgiev

UN rights chief warns police agreement by five European countries will worsen refugee crisis

25 February 2016
The top United Nations human rights official expressed serious concern today over security measures adopted last week by the police chiefs of five European countries, which he warned are already negatively impacting the human rights of refugees and migrants in southern and central Europe and compounding the “already exceptionally difficult situation” in Greece.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi (second left) visits Lesbos on his first official visit to Greece.
UNHCR/Achilleas Zavallis

Balkans border closures cause chaos as refugees find ‘too few places’ to go, UN agency chief warns

24 February 2016
Europe is backing into an even greater refugee crisis by tightening border restrictions on the hundreds of thousands fleeing conflicts elsewhere, the head of the United Nations refugee agency has said on a visit to the island of Lesvos in Greece.
In November 2015, refugees and migrants protest border restrictions near the Greek town of Idomeni, close to the border with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
UNICEF/Ashley Gilbertson VII

Europe’s restrictive measures place added hardships on refugees and asylum-seekers – UN

23 February 2016
The United Nations refugee agency said today it is concerned by recent restrictive practices adopted in a number of European countries that are placing additional undue hardships on refugees and asylum-seekers across Europe, creating chaos at several border points, and putting particular pressure on Greece as it struggles to deal with larger numbers of people in need of accommodation and services.
Children in a school in the village of Staromykhailovka, on the front line between the cities of Donetsk and Mariyanovka, Ukraine.
UNICEF Ukraine/Aleksey Filippov

Two years on, Ukraine conflict affects over half a million children – UNICEF

19 February 2016
The conflict in Ukraine has deeply affected the lives of 580,000 children living in non-government controlled areas and close to the front line in the east of the country, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said today, highlighting that 200,000 of them – or one in three – need psychosocial support.
In November 2015, refugees and migrants protest border restrictions near the Greek town of Idomeni, close to the border with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
UNICEF/Ashley Gilbertson VII

‘Migrant-bashing has dangerously become the norm’ in Europe – UN rights expert

18 February 2016
As the European Union summit starts in Brussels, a United Nations expert on the human rights of migrants warned today that it has become impossible in Europe to have a meaningful discussion about migrant's rights, diversity, and integration.
Archaeological site of Palmyra in Syria.
©UNESCO/F. Bandarin

UNESCO and Italy to create task force for cultural heritage conservation in crises

15 February 2016
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) plans to sign an agreement with the Government of Italy tomorrow to establish a task force of experts focusing on the conservation of cultural heritage affected by crises around the world.