Americas

Colombia: UN experts call for ending violence against human rights defenders

30 April 2008
A group of independent United Nations experts have called for urgent measures to protect those defending human rights in Colombia, following a recent surge in violence that includes killings, harassment and intimidation of civil society activists, trade union leaders and lawyers representing victims.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressing the William Waldo Cameron Forum in February

Secretary-General to focus on global health during upcoming visit to Atlanta

29 April 2008
Global health will be the focus of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s visit to Atlanta, Georgia, next week, part of his ongoing tour of major cities in the United States.

Haitians caught up in food crisis receive helping hand from UN Volunteers

29 April 2008
United Nations Volunteers (UNV) working in Haiti have helped provide emergency relief to elderly and handicapped residents suffering from the current global food crisis.
Member of Brazilian contingent distributes food to Haitian families

Haiti needs urgent help to avoid backsliding amid current crisis – Ban Ki-moon

24 April 2008
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has written to more than a dozen key Member States, asking for their urgent assistance in addressing the situation in Haiti, which has witnessed violent protests in recent weeks over rising food prices and a rapid deterioration in socio-economic conditions that threatens to undo the gains achieved by the tiny nation.
Ferry laden with vital food aid for indigenous people on the Guaviare River

Colombia: UN agencies hand out emergency food to isolated indigenous groups

22 April 2008
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have started distributing emergency aid to several indigenous communities in east-central Colombia living in an isolated area being disputed by Government forces and irregular armed groups.

UN experts welcome Canada’s backing for indigenous rights declaration

18 April 2008
A group of independent United Nations human rights experts has lauded the endorsement given to a landmark declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples by the House of Commons in Canada – one of four States that voted against its adoption in the General Assembly last year.

Haiti facing ‘explosive situation’ because of food crisis, UN official warns

18 April 2008
Haiti will remain in an extremely precarious economic and humanitarian situation unless it receives an urgent injection of funds to widen emergency feeding operations, extend existing job programmes and jump-start agricultural activity, a senior United Nations official to the impoverished Caribbean country has warned.
Aimé Césaire

UNESCO head pays tribute to Martinique poet of ‘la négritude’

17 April 2008
The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) mourned the death today of Aimé Césaire, the Martinique poet and the founder of the artistic and cultural movement “la négritude.”
Member of Brazilian contingent distributes food to Haitian families

Haiti: UN increases food distributions following protests over high prices

17 April 2008
The United Nations is taking further action to confront food insecurity in Haiti with plans to distribute 8,000 more tons in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, where rising prices have led to widespread protests, some of them violent.
Member of Brazilian contingent distributes food to Haitian families

Haiti: UN mission’s Brazilian contingent distributes food following price protests

16 April 2008
The Brazilian contingent of the United Nations mission in Haiti is distributing 14 tons of food to more than 3,000 families in Port-au-Prince, the capital, following widespread protests over rising food prices in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.