UN food agency rushes aid to flood-hit families in Guatemala
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is helping more than a thousand families affected by recent floods in Guatemala.
Ban Ki-moon urges greater efforts to tackle ‘silent crisis’ of safe water for all
Unveiling a new exhibit at United Nations Headquarters highlighting one of the earth’s most precious resources, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for greater efforts to ensure the most basic of human needs – safe water.
Governments must do more to ensure housing rights for Roma – UN expert
An independent United Nations rights expert has urged European countries to ensure the right to adequate housing for Roma, as more and more of them have been forcibly evicted from their homes and are facing growing discrimination.
UN official voices concern at humanitarian conditions facing Palestinians
Raising concerns about the humanitarian conditions facing Palestinians, the top United Nations political official today told the Security Council that planned Israeli measures could further hamper relief efforts.
UN envoy to press China to do more on Myanmar
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Envoy for Myanmar has arrived in Beijing, where he is expected to encourage the Chinese Government to do more to push the South-East Asian nation towards democratization and national reconciliation.
Darfur: UN envoy hopes all rebel leaders will participate in peace talks
The United Nations Special Envoy to Darfur said today that he hopes as many rebel leaders as possible from the war-torn Sudanese region will eventually take part in landmark peace talks starting on Saturday, even though some of the splintering rebel forces are already signalling they will not attend.
UN official stresses need for preparedness for potential flu pandemic
Warning that the H5N1 virus responsible for bird flu could still transform itself into the next human influenza pandemic, a senior United Nations specialist has stressed the need to ensure that the world can respond promptly and effectively in the case of an outbreak.
Ban Ki-moon urges efforts to achieve basis for global action on climate change
Continuing his campaign to galvanize the international community on climate change, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged ministers meeting in Indonesia to work towards a solid basis for international action to tackle the problem.
Latest figures show 43.7 million took part in global UN anti-poverty event
Over 43.7 million people took part in last week’s record-breaking United Nations campaign to “Stand Up Against Poverty,” a spokesperson for the world body announced today.
Myanmar: UN rights expert to probe allegations of abuses during crackdown
The United Nations independent human rights expert on Myanmar said today he would use his upcoming official visit to the troubled country to verify allegations of abuses during the recent Government crackdown on peaceful demonstrators, determine the numbers and whereabouts of those detained or killed, and collect testimony about what happened.