As the Syrian war reaches its grim decade-long milestone, the UN envoy for the country told the Security Council on Monday that it will “go down as one of the darkest chapters in recent history” referring to the Syrian people as among “the greatest victims of this century”.
Two years after Tropical Cyclone Idai and Cyclone Kenneth swept through Mozambique in March 2019, killing hundreds and leaving more than two million people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, UN chief António Guterres has recalled the devastation he witnessed first-hand, in the aftermath of one of the worst weather-related disasters ever to hit the southern hemisphere.
Setting a global roadmap for achieving full equality at decision-making tables is among the objectives of the 65th session of the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which opens in New York on Monday.
The Myanmar junta’s brutal response to peaceful protests likely meets the legal threshold for crimes against humanity, a UN-appointed independent rights expert told the Human Rights Council on Thursday.
Conflict drives hunger, and when that turns to famine, that then drives conflict, the UN chief told the Security Council on Thursday, adding that “if you don’t feed people, you feed conflict”.
The United Nations Security Council has strongly condemned the violence against peaceful protesters in Myanmar and voiced “deep concern” at restrictions on medical personnel, civil society, labour unions and journalists, as demonstrations continue across the south-east Asian nation against the military takeover last month.
The UN chief urged countries to make sure they invest the funds necessary to prevent and manage disasters, in a solemn message of remembrance on Wednesday for the 18,400 people who died or are unaccounted for, due to the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan exactly ten years ago.
Secretary-General António Guterres has underlined the UN’s determination to continue pursuing a negotiated political settlement to the Syrian civil war, a “living nightmare” that has endured for 10 years now.
Renewable energy is “crucial for building a sustainable, prosperous and peaceful future”, the UN chief said on Wednesday, launching an accelerated drive for clean energy and climate action.
United Nations officials on Wednesday highlighted the contributions of migrants to economies and societies in Asia and the Pacific, calling on countries to ensure all who live within their borders are fully included in national coronavirus inoculation programmes.
