Europe

Former General Assembly President, Stoyan Ganev of Bulgaria, at the opening of the Assembly's 47th session.
UN Photo/Michos Tzovaras

Ban honours memory of former General Assembly President Stoyan Ganev

9 July 2013
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today honoured the late Stoyan Ganev of Bulgaria, a former President of the General Assembly, praising his valuable contributions to the United Nations.
Special Rapporteur Joy Ngozi Ezeilo.
UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré

UN strengthens bonds with Council of Europe to combat human trafficking

5 July 2013
Trafficking of children and the issue of defining trafficking topped the agenda today at a first of its kind meeting between an independent United Nations human rights expert and a group of European practitioners working to end this form of modern-day slavery.
These people have just arrived on Italy’s Lampedusa Island after crossing the Mediterranean on a dilapidated boat.
UNHCR/F. Noy

Over 8,000 migrants, asylum seekers cross Mediterranean so far this year – UN

5 July 2013
The United Nations refugee agency estimates that some 8,400 migrants and asylum-seekers landed on the coasts of Italy and Malta in the first six months of this year, most of them from North Africa, having crossed the Mediterranean, one of the busiest seaways in the world.
Photo: UNEP
UNEP

UN chief praises EU proposal to temporarily curb oversupply of emission allowances

5 July 2013
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed a move by the European Parliament to support the proposal to backload permits from the European Union's carbon market.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark cut the ribbon to officially open UN City in Copenhagen.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Secretary-General welcomes opening of 'UN City' agency hub in Copenhagen

4 July 2013
Thanking the people and Government of Denmark for their generous investment and support, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the opening in Copenhagen today of UN City, “a cutting-edge, environmentally friendly hub” for United Nations agency operations.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is greeted by Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson of Iceland.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

UN chief hails Iceland’s contribution to gender parity, international justice

2 July 2013
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today commended Iceland for its contributions to the international community in such critical areas as international criminal justice, gender equality and regulation of the use of the world’s oceans.
From left: OSCE Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, Amb. Ihor Prokopchuk, Chairperson of the OSCE Permanent Council and Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson.
OSCE/Sarah Crozier

Deputy UN chief calls for action on all fronts to end scourge of human trafficking

25 June 2013
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson today called on all partners – Governments, the private sector, civil society, the media, and ordinary citizens – to help fight human trafficking, stressing that ending this scourge requires action on all fronts.
Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue.
UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré

UN expert: former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia must not silence critical media

21 June 2013
An independent United Nations expert today urged the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to allow space for critical media saying the closure of a television station and some newspapers in 2011 sends worrying signals about free expression in the country.
High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.
UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré

UN rights chief urges broad cooperation to achieve comprehensive settlement in Kosovo

20 June 2013
In Kosovo today, the top United Nations human rights official hailed progress in normalizing relations with Serbia and in carrying out local-level reform initiatives, but also urged broader cooperation to comprehensively heal past wounds and pave the way for an inclusive future.
High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.
UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré

Senior UN officials urge restraint, dialogue to defuse tensions fuelling protests in Turkey

18 June 2013
Urging “maximum restraint” amid widespread anti-Government protests in Turkey, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Navi Pillay, the world body’s human rights chief, called today for constructive dialogue to defuse tensions in the country.