Page 33 - United Nations

Sri Lanka strongly rejects UN rights report on enforced disappearances

Sri Lanka has questioned the timing and the mandate of a report issued by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) this week in which it asked the country's government to ensure accountability for enforced disappearances during the armed conflict with the LTTE. The OHCHR report issued on Friday said Sri Lanka's Government must take meaningful action to determine and disclose the fates and whereabouts of tens of thousands of people who have been subjected to enforced disappearance over the decades and hold those responsible to account. According to the Sri Lankan foreign ministry officials, the ministry would officially write to the OHCHR on its unilateral action to issue a report, particularly its timing. Sri Lanka was irked by the timing -- a day ahead of plans by the Tamil diaspora and kith and kin in the country of those who died during the final battle of the government's war with the LTTE in May 2009 to commemorate the dead. Events were held

Gaza war tragic, terrible, but not a 'genocide': Israel tells UN court

The ICJ's panel of judges is hearing arguments from Israel at the court on Friday after hearing from South Africa on Thursday afternoon

UN revises India's GDP growth forecast by 70 basis points to 6.9%

The UN body also noted that surging demand for critical minerals presented new opportunities for developing economies but pointed to a need for innovation and policy and institutional reforms

Israel to address charges at UN's court post South Africa's cease-fire plea

Israel will respond to charges of genocide at the United Nations' top court on Friday, after South Africa filed an urgent request with the court to order a cease-fire in Gaza. It's the third time that the International Court of Justice, or ICJ, has held hearings on the Israel-Hamas war since South Africa filed proceedings at The Hague-based court in December. On Thursday, South Africa told the court that the situation in Gaza has reached a new and horrific stage, and urged the 15 judges to take urgent action. Israel must totally and unconditionally withdraw from the Gaza Strip, said Vusimuzi Madonsela, South Africa's ambassador to the Netherlands. South Africa has submitted four requests for the ICJ to investigate Israel. According to the latest request, the country says Israel's military incursion in Rafah threatens the very survival of Palestinians in Gaza. During hearings earlier this year, Israel strongly denied committing genocide in Gaza, saying it does all it can to spare .

West prefers India over China, economic prospects robust: UN expert

He further said the oil price and special import arrangements that India has with Russia is also 'helping India tremendously in terms of keeping its import costs down'

South Africa urges UN's top court to order immediate cease-fire in Gaza

South Africa urged the United Nations' top court on Thursday to order a cease-fire in Gaza during hearings over emergency measures to halt Israel's military operation in the enclave's southern city of Rafah. It was the third time the International Court of Justice held hearings on the conflict in Gaza since South Africa filed proceedings in December at the court, based in The Hague in the Netherlands, accusing Israel of genocide. The country's ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, urged the panel of 15 international judges to order Israel to totally and unconditionally withdraw from the Gaza Strip. The court has already found that there is a real and imminent risk to the Palestinian people in Gaza by Israel's military operations. This may well be the last chance for the court to act, said Irish lawyer Blinne N Ghrlaigh, who is part of South Africa's legal team. Judges at the court have broad powers to order a cease-fire and other measures, although the court does not h

UN revises India's 2024 economic growth projection upwards to nearly 7%

The United Nations has revised upwards India's growth projections for 2024, with the country's economy now forecast to expand by close to seven per cent this year, mainly driven by strong public investment and resilient private consumption. The World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2024, released Thursday, said, India's economy is forecast to expand by 6.9 per cent in 2024 and 6.6 per cent in 2025, mainly driven by strong public investment and resilient private consumption. Although subdued external demand will continue to weigh on merchandise export growth, pharmaceuticals and chemicals exports are expected to expand strongly. The 6.9 per cent economic growth projections for India in the mid-year update is an upward revision from the 6.2 per cent GDP forecast made by the UN in January this year. The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2024 report that was launched in January had said that growth in India was projected to reach 6.2 per cent in 2024, amid robus

Eversource Capital, India's top climate investor, seeks to raise $1 bn

Eversource's 32-member team is already on the look out for projects and companies that seek to combat climate change to invest in from the next fund

UN reports brighter global economic outlook, predicts 2.7% growth in 2024

The United Nations reported improved prospects for the world economy since its January forecast on Thursday, pointing to a better outlook in the United States and several large emerging economies including Brazil, India and Russia. According to its mid-2024 report, the world economy is now projected to grow by 2.7 per cent this year up from the 2.4 per cent forecast in its January report and by 2.8 per cent in 2025. A 2.7 per cent growth rate would equal growth in 2023, but still be lower than the 3 per cent growth rate before the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. "Our prognosis is one of guarded optimism, but with important caveats, Shantanu Mukherjee, director of the UN's Economic Analysis and Policy Division, told a news conference launching the report. The report pointed to interest rates that are higher for longer periods, debt repayment challenges, continuing geopolitical tensions and climate risks especially for the world's poorest countries and small island ...

Top UN court holds hearing on Israeli military's incursion into Rafah

The United Nations' top court opens two days of hearings on Thursday into a request from South Africa to make sure Israel halts its military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's population has sought shelter. It is the fourth time South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice for emergency measures since the nation launched proceedings alleging that Israel's military action in its war with Hamas in Gaza amounts to genocide. According to the latest request, the previous preliminary orders by The Hague-based court were not sufficient to address a brutal military attack on the sole remaining refuge for the people of Gaza. Israel has portrayed Rafah as the last stronghold of the militant group, brushing off warnings from the United States and other allies that any major operation there would be catastrophic for civilians. South Africa has asked the court to order Israel to withdraw from Rafah; to take measures to ensure unimpeded acce

Sudan's people trapped in inferno of brutal violence as famine close in: UN

The Sudanese people are trapped in an inferno of brutal violence with famine, disease and fighting closing in and no end in sight, the top UN humanitarian official in the war-ravaged country said on Wednesday. Clementine Nkweta-Salami told a UN press conference that horrific atrocities are being committed with reckless abandon, reports of rape, torture and ethnically motivated violence are streaming in", communities and families have been torn apart, and almost 9 million people have been forced to flee their homes in what is now the world's largest displacement crisis. Earlier this month, the UN food agency warned Sudan's warring parties that there is a serious risk of widespread starvation and death in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they don't allow humanitarian aid into the vast western region a view echoed Wednesday by Nkweta-Salami. Sudan plunged into conflict in mid-April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between its military led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the ...

Indian missions assisting to bring remains of Col Kale killed in Gaza: MEA

Kale (46) died while travelling in a vehicle to a hospital in the Khan Younis area from Rafah

UN launches probe into first international staff killed by strike in Rafah

The staffer, a retired Indian Army officer named Waibhav Anil Kale, was working with the UN Department of Safety and Security and was on route to the European Hospital in Rafah

UN mourns death of ex-Indian Army officer in Gaza, blames Israeli tank

The United Nations condoled and expressed apologies to India over the killing of a former Indian Army officer, who died in war-torn Rafah in Gaza when the vehicle he was travelling in was attacked by shots fired from what it believes was an Israeli tank. Colonel Waibhav Anil Kale, 46, who retired prematurely from the Indian Army in 2022, joined the world body as a Security Coordination Officer in the UN Department of Safety and Security (DSS) two months ago. He was killed, and another DSS staffer from Jordan was injured when their UN-marked vehicle was struck when they were travelling to the European Hospital in war-torn Rafah in Gaza on Monday morning. Kale, who had commanded the 11 Jammu & Kashmir Rifles in Kashmir, is the "first international casualty" for the world body since the Israel-Hamas conflict started last year. We also express our apologies and our condolences to the Government and people of India, Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio ...

Israel-Hamas conflict: Indian personnel working with UN killed in Rafah

An Indian personnel working with the United Nations was killed in Gaza when the vehicle he was travelling in came under attack in Rafah, making it the first international casualty for the organisation since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict. The individual was a staff member of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (DSS). While the identity of the victim has not yet been revealed, sources confirmed to PTI he was from India and a former Indian Army personnel. The Indian personnel killed in Rafah is the first casualty" among international UN staff in Gaza since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict following the October 7 terror attacks. Another DSS staffer was injured in the incident when their UN vehicle was struck as they travelled to the European Hospital in Rafah. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was deeply saddened to learn of the death of a United Nations Department of Safety and Security (DSS) staff member and injury to another DSS staffer when ..

Forest conservation saw advancement over last 15 year: India informs UNFF

India informed the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) that it has made significant advancements in forest conservation and management, leading to a consistent increase in forest cover over the past 15 years. The country participated in the 19th Session of the UNFF held at the UN headquarters in New York from May 6 to 10. Globally, India ranks third in the net gain in average annual forest area between 2010 and 2020. During the session, India said it gives high priority to biodiversity and wildlife conservation, having expanded the network of protected areas to over a thousand wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, tiger reserves, biosphere reserves, and other wildlife habitats. The recent celebrations marking 50 years of Project Tiger' and 30 years of Project Elephant' underscore India's commitment to species conservation and habitat protection, the environment ministry said in a statement. India also highlighted the creation of the International Big Cat Alliance, a global ...

Over 300 killed as flash floods, heavy rains wreak havoc in Afghanistan: UN

The UN food agency says more than 300 Afghans have died in flash floods that also destroyed more than 1,000 houses in the northern province of Baghlan. The World Food Agency said Saturday it was distributing fortified biscuits to the survivors of one of the many floods that hit Afghanistan over the last few weeks following unusually heavy rainfall.

Somalia wants to terminate UN mission assisting peace efforts in country

Somalia is asking the United Nations to terminate its political mission in the country, which has been assisting the government to bring peace and stability in the face of attacks by the al-Qaida-linked extremist group al-Shabab. In a letter to the Security Council and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres obtained Friday by The Associated Press, Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi said the decision followed a thorough consideration of our strategic priorities. The current mandate of the mission, known as UNSOM, expires Oct. 31 and Fiqi asked for the swift conclusion of the necessary procedures for the termination of the mission by the end of the mandate. The U.N. mission has worked closely with African Union peacekeepers, whose current transitional mission, ATMIS, has been scaling back its presence and is expected to turn over security responsibilities to Somali forces at the end of the year. In November, the Security Council suspended the AU pullout for three months at Somalia'

India supports UN resolution on Palestinian bid for full membership

The resolution on Friday won a resounding majority of 143 votes in favour, including by India. 25 countries abstained, while nine nations, including Israel and the United States, voted against it

Iraqi govt requests UN to end its political mission in country by 2025

The Iraqi government has requested that the United Nations end a mission set up to promote governance and human rights reforms in the country by the end of 2025, the latest in a series of international bodies operating in the nation that Iraq has sought to wind down. The letter sent Wednesday by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared that there is no need for the continuation of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). Sudani said Iraq's government has been able to achieve a number of important steps in areas that fall under the body's mandate. rendering it redundant. Typically, the mission is extended annually by the UN Security Council, with the current term expiring at the end of this month. Sudani's letter did not oppose a one-year extension but said the mission should focus on wrapping up its tasks to ensure a permanent closure and transfer of its responsibilities by the end of 2025. Established in 2003 in the w