First Person: ‘We saw people running from the tsunami, screaming’
When a tsunami swept over much of Tonga last weekend, Joseph Sikulu, a Tongan national, was in Sydney, Australia, exiled from home by strict COVID-19 travel restrictions. For three days, with most communications lines severed, his family and friends were cut off from the outside world, and Mr. Sikulu feared the worst.
Tigray: Eritrean refugees ‘scared and struggling to eat’ amid aid obstacles
For the first time in weeks, aid teams have reached refugee camps in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, only to find that some Eritrean nationals living there have likely died of preventable diseases, while others are “scared and struggling to get enough to eat”, the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.
Top UN Colombia official calls for greater implementation of historic peace accord
Five years after its signing, the Final Peace Agreement in Colombia is setting down ever deeper roots, the Special Representative for the country told the Security Council on Thursday, as he called on the Government, political parties, former combatants and Colombians across the diverse South American nation, to intensify implementation of the landmark 2016 accord ahead of Congressional elections.
UN General Assembly approves resolution condemning Holocaust denial
The United Nation’s General Assembly adopted on Thursday, by consensus, a resolution that condemns denial and distortion of the Holocaust.
West Africa: Extreme poverty rises nearly 3 per cent due to COVID-19
Extreme poverty in West Africa rose by nearly three per cent in 2020, another fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, a UN-backed report launched on Thursday that looks at the socio-impact of the crisis has revealed.
80 per cent of Tonga population impacted by eruption and tsunami
Some 12,000 households have been affected by the volcanic eruption and tsunami that hit the islands of Tonga over the weekend, according to estimates by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Young people must have ‘a seat at the table’ in peace efforts: Guterres
Although young people have been at the forefront of efforts to build and sustain peace, opportunities for them to make a meaningful contribution remain insufficient, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday.
UNRWA condemns demolition of Palestinian home in East Jerusalem
The UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, on Thursday urged Israeli to immediately halt all evictions and demolitions in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, after an entire family was forced out of their long-term home the previous day.