United Nations

Rights expert welcomes Pope’s decision to lift ‘veil of secrecy’ on child abuse cases

The Vatican must take action to ensure justice for people who were sexually abused by priests during childhood, a UN independent human rights expert said on Thursday. Maud de Boer-Buquicchio issued the charge in a statement welcoming the…

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UN probing Canadian lobbying firm’s possible role in Sudanese troop deployment in Libya

A United Nations panel is investigating whether a Canadian lobbying firm has played a “direct role” in the illegal deployment of about 1,000 Sudanese troops to reinforce a Libyan warlord’s…

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UN calls for new approach to ‘refugee crises’

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday urged governments to rise to the task of protecting refugees across the globe amid a growing number of people fleeing their homes for safety.…

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Longest UN climate talks end with no deal on carbon markets

Marathon international climate talks ended Sunday with negotiators postponing until next year a key decision on how to regulate global carbon markets. After two weeks of negotiations in Madrid on…

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Major economies resist bolder climate commitments at UN summit

Major economies resisted calls for bolder climate commitments as a U.N. summit in Madrid limped towards a delayed conclusion on Saturday, dimming hopes that nations will act in time to…

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United Nations documents 647 civilian casualties since start of Tripoli offensive

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said it had documented 647 civilian casualties since last April, when Khalifa Haftar's offensive on Tripoli began In a letter by the UN…

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OSCE and UN recommit to strengthening co-operation

The OSCE and the UN Secretariat in New York finalized an agreement to strengthen co-operation on addressing key challenges to international peace and security, and on promoting respect for human…

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Human Rights Day celebrates ‘tremendous activism’ of the world’s young people

Activists, students and UN officials came together on Tuesday to pay tribute to young people’s “tremendous activism” in promoting human rights for everyone. Speaking at UN Headquarters during an event to mark Human Rights Day, the Secretary-General…

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Message from UN Secretary General for International Anti-corruption Day

International Anti-Corruption Day has been observed annually, on 9 December, since the passage of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption on 31 October 2003 to raise public awareness for…

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Brazil could lose its U.N. vote due to debt

Brazil is in danger of losing its vote at the cash-strapped United Nations if it does not pay some of the $400 million it owes by the end of the…

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France, Germany and the United Kingdom say Iran has nuclear-capable missiles

France, Germany and the United Kingdom say “Iran’s developments of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles” go against a U.N. Security Council resolution calling on Tehran not to undertake any activity related to…

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Record numbers of people expected to need humanitarian assistance in 2020

A record 168 million people around the world will need humanitarian assistance and protection next year, according to estimates in the UN’s Global Humanitarian Overview. UN emergency relief chief Mark…

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United Nations says Government of Malta must take all the measures necessary to guarantee both the independence and impartiality of Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination investigation

The recently announced resignation of Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat must mark the beginning of genuine accountability for the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, said two UN human…

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China accuses UN rights chief of inflaming Hong Kong unrest

China has accused the UN high commissioner for human rights of emboldening “radical violence” in Hong Kong. Michelle Bachelet wrote in an opinion piece in the South China Morning Post…

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UN warns Zimbabwe ‘on brink of man-made starvation’

Zimbabwe is on the brink of man-made starvation; a UN official has warned. More than 60% of the country's 14 million people are considered food-insecure, according to the findings. Hyperinflation,…

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UN emissions report: World on course for more than 3-degree spike, even if climate commitments are met

Even if countries meet commitments made under the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world is heading for a 3.2 degrees Celsius global temperature rise over pre-industrial levels, leading to even wider-ranging and more destructive climate impacts, warns a report…

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No agreement on first day of Syria constitution committee talks

Damascus government delegates to a Syrian Constitutional Committee left the second U.N.-sponsored round before it began on Monday, in what opposition members said was a stalling tactic, and it was…

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UN Secretary General urges to ‘maximize the positive’ from new technologies, for our digital future

Both positive and negative technological developments are jolting the world at “unprecedented speed”, the UN chief said, underscoring the need to “maximize the benefits…whilst mitigating harms”. "New technologies, and particularly…

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UN consensus on strengthening protection of human rights defenders

A Norwegian-led resolution on human rights defenders has been adopted by consensus in the UN Human Rights Committee. ‘At a time when human rights are coming under severe pressure, it…

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World Television Day celebrates an integral part of modern life

Seven decades of United Nations’ work in developing new standards and systems for broadcasting are being celebrated on Thursday, World Television Day, an annual observance that recognizes the medium’s role…

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Photo Story: Universal Children’s Day at the United Nations

Children sit at a delegate table during an event marking the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on annual Universal Children's…

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60,000 Young Refugees and Migrants Who Arrived in Italy Alone Need Ongoing Support Through Transition to Adulthood – UN Agencies

The estimated 60,000 young refugees and migrants who arrived in Italy as unaccompanied children between 2014 and 2018, and who have since turned 18, require ongoing support to ensure their successful transition into adulthood, said UNICEF, UNHCR and IOM in a new report…

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UN peacekeepers warn of increasing global challenges

Organized crime, breakdowns in law and order, and attacks by extremists, are examples of the challenges faced by UN peacekeepers, the Security Council was told, during a briefing by senior…

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Palestine refugee agency chief resigns amidst mismanagement probe

The Commissioner-General for the UN relief and works agency serving Palestine refugees, UNRWA, resigned on Wednesday, hours after the UN announced preliminary findings of an investigation into misconduct allegations. Outgoing…

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UN says COP25 climate talks will take place in Spain in December

The United Nations global climate meeting next month, known as COP25, will take place in Madrid after previous host Chile canceled at short notice. UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa said…

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Spain offers to host COP25 after Chile pulls out

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez offered Madrid as a replacement venue for the United Nation's COP25 conference to tackle unresolved issues on how to globally slash climate-disrupting carbon emissions. Last…

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Tributes for ‘role model’ former UN refugee agency chief, Sadako Ogata

The first woman to serve as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata, has died in Tokyo at the age of 92, hailed by the UN Secretary-General on Tuesday as…

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Lives at risk if wireless technology demands are not held in check: UN weather watchdog

Amid growing competition for radio wave space due to new wireless technologies, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) called on governments to protect radio frequencies allocated to potentially life-saving weather forecasting services. Earth…

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‘Amid stormy global seas, UN Charter remains our moral anchor’, says Guterres on United Nations Day

In his annual message for UN Day on Thursday, Secretary-General António Guterres issued a reminder of the role the Organization should be playing, focusing on the the real problems of real people,…

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Venezuela, Poland and Sudan amongst 14 new Human Rights Council members

There were 14 new members elected to the Human Rights Council this week, following a secret ballot held in the General Assembly Hall in New York. The Council, which meets…

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UN ends peacekeeping mission in Haiti

Amid ever increasing protests, the last U.N. peacekeepers exit Haiti after 15 years. Making good on a 2017 vote, on Tuesday the UN Security Council ended its 15-year mission to…

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New U.N. refugee data centre inaugurated in Copenhagen

A new UN refugee data centre was inaugurated in the Danish capital Copenhagen. UN chief António Guterres said will improve the way humanitarian agencies support “some of the most dramatically…

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The UN warns 1.7 million people at risk as Turkey invades northern Syria

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, “has called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint,” said a statement released by his spokesperson, emphasizing his concern for the risks posed to civilians by potential military actions in the war-torn…

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United Nations could run out of money in a few weeks

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned the international organisation is running a deficit of $230 million and may run out of money by the end of October. The United…

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FIFA and UN kick off healthy living campaign, to harness global game’s ‘huge potential’

At a ceremony held in Geneva on Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) and football’s world governing body, FIFA, announced that they are teaming up to raise awareness of the…

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UN’s Guterres says that a broad climate ‘movement’ has begun, but there’s a long way to go

When it comes to the climate emergency, “we have a long way to go. But the movement has begun,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres declared in a widely distributed opinion piece, reaffirming his concern over the threats…

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U.N. appeals so that countries make ‘digital world’ safer for children

Rising Internet connectivity has the potential to transform children’s lives for the better, but also makes them vulnerable to sexual abuse, online harassment and bullying, recruitment by extremist groups, and…

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For sixth consecutive year, migrant, refugee death toll in Mediterranean tops 1,000 victims

More than 1,000 migrants and refugees have died in the Mediterranean Sea this year, the sixth year in a row that this “bleak milestone” has been reached, the United Nations…

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Globalism & climate change makes its mark at UN General Assembly – Matthew Bugeja

This article appeared first in The Corporate Dispatch Week New Yorkers are a tough crowd. If you ask them, they will say that nothing scares them - at least, not until the…

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U.N. expresses ‘serious concerns’ overdue process in Egypt, following mass-arrests

The UN human rights chief has expressed “serious concerns” over reports of a lack of due process, after authorities in Egypt made widespread arrests during protests last week. In a…

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Prime Minister Joseph Muscat addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly

Here under is the speech by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat at the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly: We can describe today's world in many ways:…

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‘Childhood is changing, and so must we’, UNICEF declares, as world marks historic convention

Since its adoption 30 years ago, the milestone Convention of the Rights of the Child and its near universal membership has created “unprecedented international solidarity around children’s rights,'' the Secretary-General…

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Joint AU-EU-UN Taskforce tries to find a solution to the migrant and refugee situation in Libya

The AU–EU–UN Tripartite Taskforce on the Situation of Stranded Migrant and Refugees in Libya met this week in New York in the margins of the high-level General Debate of…

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‘Moral imperative’ to stop threat to media freedom

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, UK Minister for Human Rights, has said that the current crackdown on journalists across the world is a deep-rooted problem, and a rebuke to the rule…

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World leaders adopt landmark declaration on universal health coverage

This week, world leaders adopted a United Nations Political Declaration on universal health coverage, the most comprehensive set of health commitments ever adopted at this level. “This declaration represents…

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At UN, Iran proposes ‘coalition for hope’ to pull Gulf region from ‘edge of collapse’

The Gulf region is “on the edge of collapse”, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told world leaders on Wednesday at the annual high-level segment of the United Nations General Assembly, saying…

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International postal rates overhauled after emergency talks in Geneva

The UN's postal agency has voted unanimously to reform its fees, potentially averting a US withdrawal. The compromise deal was agreed after two days of emergency talks by the Universal…

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Emergency talks to save Universal Postal Union

Emergency talks are being held at the UN this week over threats from the US to withdraw from a 145-year-old postal treaty. The agreement sets rates for sending packages between…

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IOM, UNICEF Strengthen Partnership to Respond to Needs of Migrant Children

Children as young as 10 are among Ethiopians leaving for better prospects outside the country, many with their parents’ consent. Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country after Nigeria, accounts…

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Actions not words: what was promised at the UN’s landmark climate summit?

UN Secretary-General warned leaders not to come to his landmark Climate Action Summit with beautiful speeches, but to present concrete plans for cutting harmful greenhouse gas emissions, and strategies for…

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Rouhani heads to UN

President Hassan Rouhani on Monday departed Tehran for New York to attend the UN General Assembly on a mission to win Iran support against "cruel" pressure from arch-foe the United…

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Big companies commit to slash emissions ahead of U.N. climate summit

Almost 90 big companies in sectors from food to cement to telecommunications are pledging to slash their greenhouse gas emissions in a new campaign to steer multi-nationals towards a low-carbon…

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U.N. climate footprint larger than Malta’s

More than 1,000 United Nations employees have called for the global body to reduce its carbon footprint, including through curbs on their own diplomatic perks like business-class flights and travel…

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U.S. issues visa for Iran’s Rouhani

The United States has issued visas allowing Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to travel to New York for the annual gathering of world leaders at…

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Number of migrants now growing faster than world population, new UN figures show

The growing number of international migrants has now reached 272 million, outpacing the growth rate of the world’s population, according to new data from the UN’s Department of Economic and…

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UK banks sign up to U.N.-backed responsible banking code

Britain’s banks will implement U.N.-backed “responsible banking” principles being launched next week that will influence lending and company behaviour, British banking trade body UK Finance said. The principles seek to…

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UN summits to urge ‘ambition and action’ on climate change, sustainable development: Guterres

There are five key United Nations summits taking place next week to spur action on the climate crisis and other global concerns, which will showcase the UN as a “driver…

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