Page 17 - United Nations

UN desertification talks end without agreement to combat droughts

The 16th conference of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ended without a binding agreement on tackling drought, despite worsening global aridification trends threatening billions worldwide. The 12-day talks, which concluded a day later than scheduled, saw nations defer consensus on a global drought response regime to COP17, planned for 2026 in Mongolia. Developing nations, particularly African countries, sought a legally binding protocol for drought preparedness while developed nations pushed for a weaker "framework", leading to the deadlock. UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw said the session laid the groundwork for future discussions but acknowledged that parties need more time to agree on the best way forward. A UNCCD statement said nations made "significant progress in laying the groundwork for a future global drought regime which they intend to complete at COP17 in Mongolia in 2026". A UN report released during the conference ...

Israeli airstrikes kill 28 in Gaza, including 7 children, say officials

Palestinian medical officials say Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 28 people in the Gaza Strip, including seven children and a woman, hours after the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. One of the strikes overnight and into Thursday flattened a house in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the nearby city of Deir al-Balah, where the casualties were taken. Two other strikes killed 15 men who were part of local committees established to secure aid convoys. The committees were set up by displaced Palestinians in coordination with the Hamas-run Interior Ministry. On Wednesday, the UN General Assembly approved resolutions demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and expressing support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees that Israel has moved to ban. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, although they reflect world opinion. The war in Gaza began when ..

UNGA seeks ceasefire in Gaza, backs UN agency helping Palestinian refugees

The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved resolutions demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and backing the UN agency for Palestinian refugees that Israel has moved to ban. The votes in the 193-nation world body were 158-9, with 13 abstentions to demand a ceasefire now and 159-9 with 11 abstentions in support of the agency known as UNRWA. The votes culminated two days of speeches overwhelmingly calling for an end to the 14-month war between Israel and the militant Hamas group. Israel and its close ally, the United States, were in a tiny minority speaking and voting against the resolutions. While Security Council resolutions are legally binding, General Assembly resolutions are not, though they do reflect world opinion. There are no vetoes in the assembly. The Palestinians and their supporters went to the General Assembly after the US vetoed a Security Council resolution on November 20 demanding an immediate Gaza ceasefire. It was supported by the council's 14 other ...

Surging global tourism emissions are driven by just 20 countries: Study

The study draws together multiple datasets, including those published directly by 175 governments over 11 years

Humanitarian aid to North Gaza mostly blocked for last 2 months, says UN

Humanitarian aid to North Gaza, where Israel launched a ground offensive on October 6, has largely been blocked for the past 66 days, the United Nations has said. That has left between 65,000 and 75,000 Palestinians without access to food, water, electricity or health care, according to the world body. In the north, Israel has continued its siege on Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and Jabaliya with Palestinians living there largely denied aid, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA, said on Tuesday. Recently, it said, about 5,500 people were forcibly displaced from three schools in Beit Lahiya to Gaza City. Adding to the food crisis, only four UN-supported bakeries are currently operating throughout the Gaza Strip, all of them in Gaza City, OCHA said. Sigrid Kaag, the senior UN humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, told reporters after briefing the UN Security Council behind closed doors Tuesday afternoon that civilians trying to survive i

UN urges Taliban to embrace human rights obligations for future generations

The UN mission in Afghanistan urged the country's Taliban rulers on Tuesday to embrace global human rights obligations for the protection and prosperity of future generations. The mission's call follows increasing alarm over a reported suspension of medical education and training for women and girls. Authorities have neither confirmed the suspension nor responded to the reports, which said that Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has ordered educational institutions to stop providing medical courses for females. The UN mission said that the theme for this year's International Human Rights Day emphasised how rights empowered people to build a better future. Regrettably, we continue to see the opposite unfold in Afghanistan, said Roza Otunbayeva, who is the head of the mission. There is an ongoing, dangerous erosion of human rights protections, with women and girls bearing the brunt. The human rights record of authorities was especially marked by their systemic discrimination again

'Disease X' outbreak spreads more as UN sends health team to Congo

Outbreak is centered in a remote rural area of Kwango province, where poor road conditions and heavy rains mean it takes nearly 48 hours to reach from Kinshasa

Syria crisis: Russia grants asylum to Assad, calls for UN-mediated talks

The situation in Syria remains a focal point for all the neighbouring nations after Syrian rebels on Sunday entered the capital Damascus

Nations cross $1 trn mark in digitally deliverable services exports in 2023

UNCTAD data show that while digitally deliverable services account for 56 per cent of services exports worldwide, that share is just 20 per cent in least developed countries (LDCs)

UNGA declares Dec 21 as World Meditation Day in resolution co-led by India

India co-sponsored a UN General Assembly draft resolution that was unanimously adopted to proclaim December 21 as World Meditation Day. India, including Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Mexico and Andorra, was a member of the core group of countries that guided the unanimous adoption of the resolution titled World Meditation Day' in the 193-member UN General Assembly on Friday. A day for comprehensive well-being and inner transformation! Glad that India along with other nations of the core group guided the unanimous adoption of the resolution on the declaration of December 21 as World Meditation Day @UN General Assembly today (Friday), India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said in a post on X. He said India's leadership in overall human wellbeing stems from our civilisational dictum of #VasudhaivaKutumbakam - the whole world is one family. Harish noted that December 21 marks the Winter Solstice, which in Indian tradition is the beginning of ...

Over 280K displaced in northwest Syria amid rebel offensive, says UN

Amid already dire living conditions after 13 years of war, the UN is scaling up humanitarian efforts to assist the most vulnerable

In a first, India to chair 68th Session of UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs

This is the first time that India has been named to Chair this important UN body

New UN aid chief admits to challenges in fundraising amid numerous crises

The new head of the UN humanitarian aid agency says it will be ruthless when prioritising how to spend money, a nod to challenges in fundraising for civilians in war zones like Gaza, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine. Tom Fletcher, a longtime British diplomat who took up the UN post last month, said his agency is asking for less money in 2025 than this year. He said it wants to show "we will focus and target the resources we have, even as crises grow more numerous, intense and long-lasting. His agency, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, on Wednesday issued its global appeal for 2025, seeking USD 47 billion to help 190 million people in 32 countries though it estimates 305 million worldwide need help. The world is on fire, and this is how we put it out, he told reporters on Tuesday. The office and many other aid groups, including the international Red Cross, have seen donations shrink in recent years for longtime trouble spots like Syria, South Sudan, the Middle Eas

India votes on resolution calling for withdrawal of Israel from Palestine

India voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution that called for the withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, and reiterated the call for achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in West Asia. The draft resolution Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine' tabled by Senegal was overwhelmingly adopted in the 193-member General Assembly on Tuesday. India was among the 157 nations that voted in favour, while eight Member States - Argentina, Hungary, Israel, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea and the United States voted against it. Cameroon, Czechia, Ecuador, Georgia, Paraguay, Ukraine and Uruguay abstained. The resolution, adopted as orally revised, reiterated its call for the achievement, without delay, of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East (West Asia) on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions and an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967, includi

Healthy land key to regional stability: India at UN desertification summit

India on Tuesday said that healthy land is key to regional stability and invited countries to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' plantation campaign to address land degradation and climate change. Delivering India's statement at the 16th UN Conference on Desertification in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said the country promotes eco-friendly lifestyles and the use of traditional knowledge in daily life. "Healthy land is key to regional stability", helping create stable communities and strong economies by reducing factors that force migration, he said. Yadav said India has adopted a comprehensive approach to address land degradation, enhance drought resilience, restore ecosystems, and promote biodiversity, aligning with the goals of COP16. "Our honourable Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has launched a mass campaign, 'Plant for Mother', under which we have planted more than one billion saplings this year. We urge all countries an

UN calls for $2.6 trillion investment to reverse land degradation by 2030

To hit $2.6 trillion - approaching the annual economic output of France - the world needs to close an annual gap of $278 billion, after just $66 billion was invested in 2022, the UN said

UN climate summit in Baku leaves the developing world with crumbs

Unusually for a UN climate summit, COP29 was mainly about climate finance, and yet the finance mandarins were missing

UN halts aid via Gaza's main crossing after looting; blames Israel for it

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees say it is halting aid deliveries through the main cargo crossing into Gaza because the route on the Gaza side has become too dangerous. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, the main aid provider in Gaza, said Sunday said the route is vulnerable to looting. Armed men robbed a large convoy last month, and he said armed gangs stole another shipment on Saturday.

Battle over curbing plastic output jeopardises hopes of UN treaty

The fifth and final U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting to yield a legally binding global treaty was set to wrap up in Busan, South Korea, on Sunday

Climate change case to open at UN court as island nations fear rising seas

The top United Nations court will take up the largest case in its history on Monday, when it opens two weeks of hearings into what countries worldwide are legally required to do to combat climate change and help vulnerable nations fight its devastating impact. After years of lobbying by island nations who fear they could simply disappear under rising sea waters, the UN General Assembly asked the International Court of Justice last year for an opinion on the obligations of States in respect of climate change. We want the court to confirm that the conduct that has wrecked the climate is unlawful, Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh, who is leading the legal team for the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, told The Associated Press. In the decade up to 2023, sea levels have risen by a global average of around 4.3 centimeters (1.7 inches), with parts of the Pacific rising higher still. The world has also warmed 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.3 Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times because of the burning