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UNESCO

UNESCO launches Beirut recovery fund for culture, heritage and education

27 August 2020
Culture and Education

To support the rehabilitation of schools, historic heritage buildings, museums and the creative economy, which suffered extensive damage in the deadly explosions that shook Beirut earlier this month, the head of the UN cultural agency on Thursday launched an international fund-raising appeal.

 

© OCHA

‘Widespread’ COVID-19 transmission, limited testing, deepen Syria’s humanitarian woes

27 August 2020
Humanitarian Aid

COVID-19 is having a dramatic impact on health services in Syria, where limited testing is obscuring the real extent of the pandemic, the UN’s Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator said on Thursday.

Photo: MINUSCA

UN rights expert calls for ceasefire, commitment from all stakeholders to ensure free elections in Central African Republic

27 August 2020
Human Rights

The UN’s expert on human rights in the Central African Republic (CAR) issued a series of recommendations on Wednesday to ensure that citizens – after years of civil unrest – can freely decide the future of their country during presidential elections on 27 December.

UNDP Bangladesh/Fahad Kaizer

Committee to review global treaty on response to health emergencies

27 August 2020
Health

An independent expert committee will be established to examine various aspects of the international treaty that governs preparedness and response to health emergencies, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Thursday. 

Unsplash/Dalia Mu

Deliberate silencing of peaceful voices in Iraq ‘unacceptable’, says UN human rights chief

27 August 2020
Human Rights

A new UN report launched on Thursday highlights human rights violations and abuses that were committed during recent demonstrations in Iraq and calls for immediate action for justice.

© John Isaac / World Bank

Human rights are the ‘means by which governments can successfully beat pandemics’, says UNAIDS chief

27 August 2020
Health

Some of the world’s most marginalized and defenseless communities have fallen victim to violence and other rights abuses during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting the UN agency dedicated to tackling the AIDS virus to urge Governments to protect the most vulnerable, particularly key populations at higher risk of HIV. 

WHO/PAHO

Togo overcomes ‘sleeping sickness’ as a public health problem

27 August 2020
Health

The West African nation of Togo has eliminated human African trypanosomiasis or “sleeping sickness” as a public health problem, becoming the first in the continent to achieve the milestone, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) has said. 

© UNICEF/Everett

Globally, 1 in 3 children missed out on remote learning when COVID-19 shuttered schools

27 August 2020
Culture and Education

For at least 463 million children whose schools closed due to COVID-19, “there was no such a thing as remote learning,” the head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday, as the agency launched a new report outlining the limitations of remote learning and exposing the deep inequalities in access.  

OCHA/Themba Linden

Facing pandemic, economic and political challenges, Iraq Government ‘operating in the eyes of multiple storms at once’

26 August 2020
Peace and Security

The COVID-19 pandemic is aggravating deep-rooted economic, social and political challenges in Iraq, but elections in 2021 – if credible - could open a new chapter for the Middle East nation after years of conflict and strife, the UN’s top official in the country said Wednesday. 

Public Domain

UN again calls for full ratification of nuclear test-ban treaty

26 August 2020
Peace and Security

Achieving a nuclear-free world is the best way to honour lives devastated by these weapons, the UN disarmament chief told a virtual meeting held on Wednesday to commemorate the International Day against Nuclear Tests, observed annually on 29 August.