Page 5 - India And United Nations

People dying from starvation amid the conflict in Sudan: UN food agency

The UN food agency said on Friday it has received reports of people dying from starvation in Sudan, where raging fighting between rival generals is hampering the distribution of aid and food supplies to those most hungry. The 10 months of clashes between the Sudanese military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, a powerful paramilitary group commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, has decimated vast swaths of the northeastern Africa country. The conflict erupted last April in the capital, Khartoum, and quickly spread to other areas of the country, after months of simmering tensions between the two forces. World Food Programme said that some 18 million people across Sudan currently face acute hunger, with the most desperate trapped behind the front lines of the conflict. The hotspots include Khartoum, the western Darfur region, and the provinces of Kordofan and Gezira areas where roadblocks, taxation demands and security threats endanger ...

United Nations fires Gaza staff over claims they joined Hamas attack

A vast majority of UNRWA's 30,000 staff is Palestinian, with 13,000 of those in Gaza. The US State Department said in a statement Friday that 12 UNRWA staff had been accused of links to the attacks

UNGA President Dennis Francis arrives in New Delhi to advance India-UN ties

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) President Dennis Francis on Monday arrived in New Delhi on a five-day visit to India to advance India-UN ties

World yet not fully prepared for future pandemics: Gates Foundation prez

Praising India and other countries for contributing to a global pandemic fund, a top official of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Tuesday said the world is yet not fully prepared to deal with any future pandemic and a lot more work needs to be done. Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, where 'Disease X' is one of the key areas of discussions, Dr Christopher J Elias said we have learnt our lessons after Covid-19 but further efforts and discussions are needed, including on financing requirements. "A really important discussion had started nearly eight years ago after the Ebola outbreak and that discussion cake into very clear focus after Covid-19 that the world needs to be better prepared," he said. "The world needs to be ready for infections and diseases that we know such as influenza but also diseases that we don't know and may be new such as Disease X. But I don't think we are fully prepared yet," he added. Elias noted that there hav

UN Chief Guterres to organise 2nd meeting of special envoys for Afghanistan

Meanwhile, the Taliban has called for the invitation of its representatives to the meeting of the special envoy

At UN meet, India calls for inclusive government structure in Afghanistan

Describing the situation in Afghanistan is still one of concern, India has said the formation of an inclusive and representative government structure, combating terrorism, and preserving the rights of women, children, and minorities in Afghanistan is an immediate priority for it. Addressing a Security Council meeting on the topic of Situation in Afghanistan' on Wednesday, India's Permanent Representative at the UN Ruchira Kamboj said that as a contiguous neighbour to Afghanistan, a friend to its people and as a country with direct stakes in ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan, India was still concerned over the situation in the country. Our common and immediate priorities include providing humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people, formation of an inclusive and representative government structure, combating terrorism and drug trafficking, and preserving the rights of women, children, and minorities, Kamboj said. India has not yet recognised the Taliban set-up and has bee

Kamboj chairs briefing ahead of 62nd UN Commission for Social Development

The 62nd session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD62) will take place from February 5 to 14, 2024, in Conference Room 4 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York

India elected executive committee member of UN's food standard-setting body

India has been unanimously elected as a member representing the Asian region in the executive committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), the food safety and quality standard-setting body created by the UN, at its meeting in Rome. The executive committee is an important arm of the CAC and the member countries have a considerable interest in getting its membership. In this capacity, India would not only get an opportunity to contribute substantially in the international standard setting process for different food product categories but will also be involved in the decision-making process, the health ministry said in a statement. The executive committee supports in the management of the commission's programme of standards development by conducting a "critical review" of proposals to undertake work and monitors the progress of standards development. The committee comprises the chair, three vice chairs, six regional coordinators and seven elected representatives from various .

UN crumbling under weight of 21st-century geopolitical shifts: India

The UN apparatus, especially the Security Council, is crumbling under the weight of 21st-century geopolitical realities, India has said, underlining that the General Assembly should take the lead in restoring the centrality of the United Nations to resolve transnational issues through multilateralism. India has consistently advocated the view that the General Assembly can be revitalised only when its position as the chief deliberative, policy-making and representative organ of the United Nations is respected both in letter and in spirit, Counsellor in India's Permanent Mission to the UN Pratik Mathur said here Tuesday. Addressing the UN General Assembly plenary meeting on Revitalisation of the Work of the General Assembly', Mathur said: We must admit that some of the blame lies with the General Assembly and its member states for having allowed its relevance to be diluted despite being the collective voice of all nations. He noted that there is a growing perception" that the General

India's interests at stake as world trade talks take a green turn

Country has raised objections to European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism

India, Tanzania to work together on reform of UNSC through expansion: MEA

India and Tanzania on Monday discussed issues related to reforms of the United Nations, a Ministry of External Affairs official said on Monday

India may have more elderly persons than children by 2050: UN report

UNFPA report said that most southern states and select northern states such as HP and Punjab reported a higher share of elderly population than national average in 2021; the gap is likely to widen

India's journey towards SDGs serves as example of determination: Kamboj

The G20 summit under India's Presidency put the Sustainable Development Goals front and centre and underscored the dedication to accelerate their implementation, New Delhi's envoy here has said, emphasising that India's journey towards SDGs serves as an inspiring example of determination and ingenuity. Speaking at the India Roundtable: Delivering Development: Journeys, Directions and Lighthouses', organised on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly here on Friday, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said that India's dedication to accelerate SDG implementation was made clear. India's journey towards the SDGs serves as an inspiring example of determination and ingenuity. As we navigate the challenging path ahead, let us draw strength from the commitment made at the G20 Leaders' Summit in September 2023. It is there that our collective resolve was reaffirmed, and our dedication to accelerating SDG implementation was mad

Key for Global south to be active participants in shaping decisions: Kamboj

Kamboj recalled that India during the Covid-19 pandemic extended a helping hand by providing made-in-India vaccines to nearly 100 countries and supplying medicines to 150 nations

78th UN General Assembly: EAM S Jaishankar begins nine-day US visit

To meet with counterparts from US and other nations, American biz leaders, host India-UN event on global south

Global distrust, improving nukes are 'recipe for annihilation': UN Chief

An alarming rise in global distrust and division coupled with efforts by countries to improve the accuracy and destructive power of nuclear weapons is "a recipe for annihilation," the United Nations chief warned Tuesday. In a statement marking the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that with nearly 13,000 nuclear weapons stockpiled around the world, "a legally binding prohibition on nuclear tests is a fundamental step in our quest for a world free of nuclear weapons." The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty has 196 member states 186 have signed it and 178 have ratified it, including eight in the last 18 months. But the pact has taken effect because it needs ratification by the eight nations that had nuclear power reactors or research reactors when the UN General Assembly adopted the treaty in 1996. At a high-level meeting of the 193-member assembly to observe the day there was no indication that those eight countries the United State

NITI Aayog, UNDP partner to further India's sustainable development goals

Cooperation will include SDG localisation, data-driven monitoring, and aspirational districts & blocks, among others

Global carbon credits market expected to touch $250 bn by 2030, says expert

The global market for carbon credits is expected to witness an upward trend and touch the level of USD 250 billion by 2030, an industry executive said. The market for carbon credits took a hit due to multiple reasons, including Russia-Ukraine war, interest rate hikes, and reduced demand leading to falling prices up to 80 per cent, Manish Dabkara, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of EKI Energy Services, said in an interview. "The market for voluntary carbon offsets which valued at around USD 2 billion in 2021 witnessed a downturn, and now valuing at USD 500 million. However, various ratings and research firms are bullish on the improvement in the carbon market," Dabkara said. Citing a Barclays report, the industry executive said, factors like stringent climate policies by various countries, their commitments under Paris agreement to reduce carbon emissions, and corporate sustainability goals are likely to contribute to the growth of the carbon credits market which is expected to

UNDP to assist India in reaching its sustainable development goals

United Nations Development Programme and the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region signed an MoU formalising the collaboration

Niger's neighbours, UN looking to reduce tension with last-minute diplomacy

Nigeriens awoke Tuesday to deepening uncertainty about whether a regional bloc will follow through on its threat to use military force to try to reinstall ousted President Mohamed Bazoum or if last-minute diplomacy will prevail, nearly two weeks after mutinous soldiers overthrew the country's democratically elected leader. The West African regional bloc ECOWAS had given the mutinous soldiers until Sunday to release and reinstall Bazoum or they threatened to use force. Members from ECOWAS, the United Nations and the African Union were expected to join talks in the capital, Niamey, on Tuesday, a foreign official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to media. On Monday, acting US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland met with the coup leaders in Niger and said they refused to allow her to meet with Bazoum, whom she described as under virtual house arrest. She described the mutinous officers as unreceptive to her appeals to .