European Union

IOM works in Minsk, Belarus, to counter stigma and discrimination against migrants.
Photo: IOM

IOM concerned for migrants facing ‘dire conditions’ at EU-Belarus border

6 September 2021
Migrants and Refugees

Migrants are facing “dire conditions” at the European Union-Belarus border, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned on Monday. 

Air pollution from power plants contributes to global warming.
Unsplash/Maxim Tolchinskiy

EU urged to consider impact of new climate mechanism on developing countries

14 July 2021
Climate and Environment

Although a new European Union (EU) climate initiative unveiled on Wednesday could change global trade patterns to favour countries where production is relatively carbon efficient, its value in mitigating climate change will likely be limited, the UN trade and development agency, UNCTAD, has warned. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivers his remarks at the Plenary Session of the European Parliament in Brussels.
UN Photo/Marian Blondeel

UN chief urges European Parliament to support COVID vaccines for all

24 June 2021
Health

The European Union (EU) must use its leverage to ensure people everywhere have access to COVID-19 vaccines, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday. 

 

The multilateral system must deliver common goods as defined by international law, norms and agreements.
Unsplash/Jeshoots

Security Council urged to bring multilateralism ‘alive’, to tackle serious global challenges 

10 June 2021
Peace and Security

Rules-based multilateralism is not a simple or appealing phrase, a top European Union (EU) official told the Security Council on Thursday, “but our job is to bring it alive”.

Homeless man sleeps in a tunnel in Budapest, Hungary.
Unsplash/Mihály Köles

Europe: COVID must spark rethink to prioritize ‘human lives’ over economic policies 

30 April 2021
Human Rights

The devastating impact of COVID-19 serves as a stark reminder that the European Union must “put human lives” above economic policy considerations, that privilege competition between EU Member States, an independent UN human rights expert said on Friday. 

Some 20 million children in the EU are at risk of poverty according to the Special Rapporteur's report.
World Bank/Mano Strauch

EU must place social justice ‘at its core’ to lift people out of poverty

29 January 2021
Human Rights

The European Union’s failure to lift 20 million people out of poverty by 2020, is “a defeat for social rights”, an independent UN human rights expert said on Friday, urging the bloc to boldly rethink its whole socio-economic approach.

A UNHCR staffer welcomes resettled refugees originally from Syria and South Sudan at Lisbon airport in Portugal. (file)
© UNHCR/José Ventura

UN refugee agency calls for ‘new chapter for refugee protection’ across Europe

12 January 2021
Migrants and Refugees

As Portugal assumes the presidency of the European Union (EU), to be followed by Slovenia later this year, the UN refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Tuesday called on them to lead the effort to forge a better protection system for those seeking refuge across the continent and beyond.

A migrant at what remains of the Lipa Emergency Tent Camp in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, after it was destroyed in a fire.
IOM 2020/Ervin Causevic

On EU’s doorstep, UN raises alarm for thousands of young migrants sleeping rough 

6 January 2021
Interviews

Well over 2,500 migrants and refugees have been forced to sleep rough in Bosnia-Herzegovina for several weeks – on the European Union’s doorstep – despite the fact that suitable sheltered accommodation is available. 

In an interview with UN News’s Daniel Johnson, Peter Auweraert, chief of mission in Bosnia for the UN Migration Agency IOM, describes the difficulties of trying to find a quick solution to the urgent problem. 

Audio -
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