Elections held earlier this month in Kosovo represent “the most significant change in the political landscape” there in a dozen years, the UN mission chief told the Security Council on Thursday.
A recap of Thursday’s top stories: Guterres in Turkey underscores successes of mediation; 45 million lack food across Southern Africa; rights experts push to release Palestinian hunger striker; new UN health report targets causes of urban deaths; Climate change conference finds a new home; Iraq protests put country at ‘a crossroads’
The UN’s weather watchdog and partners committed on Thursday to a new initiative to ramp up observation and prediction technology that will help address the challenges of climate change, melting snow and ice, and water-related hazards.
Mediation is “one of our most important tools to reduce and end conflict”, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told the sixth Istanbul Mediation Conference, in Turkey's largest city on Thursday.
Over half of the world’s population now live in cities, with numbers expected to double by 2050, but while urbanization poses serious challenges, cities can also be powerhouses for sustainable development; something the UN is spotlighting on World Cities Day, marked 31 October.
The Security Council highlighted the growing partnership on matters of peace and security between the United Nations and African Union (AU) on Wednesday amidst calls to bolster overall effectiveness.
A recap of Wednesday’s stories: new Syria talks begin in Geneva; Chile pulls out as host of major climate conference; UN calls for national talks to break cycle of violence in Iraq; UN chief voices ‘serious concern’ over Guinea-Bissau political crisis; IOM suspends South Sudan Ebola screening; UN atomic watchdog appoints new leader.
Ten years ago, the UN Security Council established a mandate to prevent and address the scourge of conflict-related sexual violence. At a commemorative event on Wednesday, the UN deputy chief described that commitment as essential to “highlight, prevent and seek justice for this crime”.
If emissions from the maritime industry are not cut, we are headed for “an environmental disaster”, Isabelle Durant, the deputy head of the UN trade body, UNCTAD, told the Global Maritime Forum summit on Wednesday.
Work on drafting a new foundational text for war-torn Syria officially began at the UN in Geneva on Wednesday with representatives from the Syrian Government and opposition sitting face to face and preparing to discuss the country’s future for the first time in the nearly nine-year conflict.
