Americas

UNESCO

Senior UN official urges action amid rise in violence against Honduran press

30 August 2010
The recent murder of a radio journalist in Honduras brings to nine the number of media professionals killed there so far this year, and prompted a senior United Nations official to call for urgent action to stem the rise in violence against members of the press.

UN agency helps Mexico City better prepare for disasters

30 August 2010
About 10,000 civil servants in the Mexican capital will receive specialist training in disaster risk reduction under a United Nations-backed initiative to better protect the city, which is vulnerable to devastating earthquakes.

Ban voices support for Chilean miners trapped underground

30 August 2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced his support for the 33 miners in northern Chile who have been trapped underground for more than three weeks.

Condemning migrant killings in Mexico, UN rights chief calls for urgent action

27 August 2010
The United Nations human rights chief today strongly condemned the killing of 72 migrants in northern Mexico and called on the authorities to take urgent steps to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

UN-backed talks focus on bolstering biodiversity in Latin America and Caribbean

26 August 2010
Ways to address challenges to biodiversity conservation in Latin America and the Caribbean – which is home to up to 70 per cent of all forms of life on Earth – were the focus of a gathering organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) this week.

Venezuela: UN agency provides training to help combat sexual violence

25 August 2010
A United Nations-backed project in Venezuela has trained dozens of government officials and security force members on how to prevent sexual and gender-based violence and provide better care and protection for victims.

Haiti: UN peacekeepers urge political candidates to focus on plight of homeless

20 August 2010
The plight of Haiti’s homeless since January’s catastrophic earthquake must be the top priority for all candidates in this November’s presidential and legislative elections, the United Nations peacekeeping force in the impoverished Caribbean country has stressed.

UN agency helps Jamaicans rebuild lives after deadly outbreak of violence

20 August 2010
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is helping the residents of a district of the Jamaican capital rebuild their livelihoods in the wake of violent unrest earlier this year during a security operation aimed at arresting a man accused of running a drug cartel.

Saint Lucia joins growing list of States parties to International Criminal Court

19 August 2010
Saint Lucia has joined the growing list of nations that have ratified the pact establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC), the world’s first permanent court tasked with trying people accused of the most serious offences, such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Haiti: UN reconstruction and recovery projects win approval

19 August 2010
United Nations projects in health, education, job creation, rubble removal, reproductive health and improving access to food have been approved for Haiti as the poor Caribbean country continues its effort to rebuild after January’s catastrophic earthquake.