Page 34 - United Nations

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

UN to vote on granting Palestine new rights, reviving its membership bid

The UN General Assembly is expected to vote Friday on a resolution that would grant new rights and privileges to Palestine and call on the Security Council to favorably reconsider its request to become the 194th member of the United Nations. The United States vetoed a widely backed council resolution on April 18 that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for Palestine, a goal the Palestinians have long sought and Israel has worked to prevent, and U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood made clear Thursday the Biden administration is opposed to the assembly resolution. Under the U.N. Charter, prospective members of the United Nations must be peace-loving, and the Security Council must recommend their admission to the General Assembly for final approval. Palestine became a U.N. non-member observer state in 2012. We've been very clear from the beginning there is a process for obtaining full membership in the United Nations, and this effort by some of the Arab countries

India votes for UNGA resolution backing Palestine's bid for UN membership

India on Friday voted in favour of a draft UN General Assembly resolution that said Palestine is qualified and should be admitted as full member of the United Nations and recommended that the Security Council reconsider" the matter favourably. The 193-member General Assembly met in the morning for an emergency special session where the Arab Group resolution Admission of new Members to the United Nations', in support of the State of Palestine's full membership in the UN, was presented by the United Arab Emirates, as Chair of the Arab Group in May. The resolution got 143 votes in favour, including by India, nine against and 25 abstentions. The UNGA hall broke into an applause after the vote was cast. The resolution determined that the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations in accordance with Article 4 of the Charter of the United Nations and "should therefore be admitted to membership in the United Nations. It recommended that the Security Council ...

UN seeks $430 mn for drought-hit Zimbabwe, says millions need food, water

About half of Zimbabwe's population urgently needs food and water after the country's worst drought in four decades, the U.N. humanitarian agency said Thursday as it launched an appeal for $430 million to help those most in need. About 7.6 million of the country's 15 million people need lifesaving and life-sustaining humanitarian assistance, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. But the agency is asking donors for the money to help the 3.1 million people in the most severely affected districts for the coming year, said Edward Matthew Kallon, U.N. resident humanitarian coordinator. A drought induced by the El Nino weather phenomenon is sweeping across much of southern Africa and has left both people and animals in desperate need of food and water. Zimbabwe, an agriculture reliant nation and one time exporter of food, is among the hardest hit by the drought. Harvests for the staple corn for the 2023-24 season are estimated at about 700,000 tons, which is 7

Russia defends UN veto on space nuke ban, urges ban on all weapons

Russia on Monday defended its veto of a United Nations resolution urging all nations to prevent a nuclear arms race in outer space, challenging the US, Japan and their Western allies to support Moscow's rival resolution calling for a ban on all weapons in space "for all time". Russia's UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said the United States and Japan, which sponsored the vetoed resolution, are guilty of of hypocrisy and double standards. He accused the U.S. and Western nations more broadly of planning for the military exploration of outer space, including the deployment of weapons, in particular strike combat systems. US deputy ambassador Robert Wood countered, telling the U.N. General Assembly: The truth is that Russia currently has several conventional anti-satellite weapons already in orbit, one of which it tested in 2019. He added Russia has threatened to target satellites with weapons, and said there is credible information that Russia is developing a new satellite carrying a ..

Over 23 million Afghans in dire need of humanitarian aid in 2024: UNAMA

Despite a decline in violence, Afghanistan continues to grapple with significant humanitarian challenges, as emphasised by UNAMA

Global biofuel alliance sets up three-pronged work plan, says govt

Assessing country landscapes, drafting policy frameworks, and more global engagements focussed on

Current carbon removal plans inadequate to meet Paris Agreement goals

The current carbon removal plans of countries around the world will fall short in limiting the warming of the planet to 1.5 degrees Celsius, set out under the Paris Agreement, new research has suggested. The researchers pointed out that climate policy regarding removal of carbon dioxide (CO2), the most important greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere "needs more ambition". However, if the global energy demand could "significantly" reduce, the current carbon removal plans might be closer to achieving net-zero emissions, they found. "Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods have a small but vital role to play in achieving net zero (target) and limiting the impacts of climate change," said Naomi Vaughan of the University of East Anglia, UK, and co-author of the study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. "Our analysis shows that countries need more awareness, ambition and action on scaling up CDR methods together with deep emissions reductions to achieve the aspirations of the Pari

Warfare in Sudan's Darfur risks starvation, death if aid isn't allowed: UN

The United Nations food agency warned Sudan's warring parties Friday 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. Leni Kinzli, the World Food Program's regional spokesperson, said at least 1.7 million people in Darfur were experiencing emergency levels of hunger in December, and the number is expected to be much higher today. Our calls for humanitarian access to conflict hotspots in Sudan have never been more critical, she told a virtual U.N. press conference from Nairobi. Sudan plunged into chaos in mid-April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between its military led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, broke out into street battles in the capital, Khartoum. Fighting has spread to other parts of the country, especially urban areas and the Darfur region. The paramilitary forces, known as the RS

Famine in northern Gaza is already 'full-blown', says UN official

A top UN official said Friday that hard-hit northern Gaza was now in full-blown famine" after more than six months of war between Israel and Hamas and severe Israeli restrictions on food deliveries to the Palestinian territory. Cindy McCain, the American director of the UN World Food Programme, became the most prominent international official so far to declare that trapped civilians in the most cut-off part of Gaza had gone over the brink into famine. It's horror," McCain told NBC's Meet the Press in an interview to air Sunday. There is famine full-blown famine in the north, and it's moving its way south." She said a cease-fire and a greatly increased flow of aid through land and sea routes was essential to confronting the growing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, home to 2.3 million people. There was no immediate comment from Israel, which controls entrance into Gaza and says it is beginning to allow in more food and other humanitarian aid through land crossings. The panel that

World food prices up in April for second consecutive month, says UN agency

Dairy prices edged down, ending a run of six consecutive monthly gains

Destruction of housing in Gaza unprecedented, not seen since WW2: UN

The world hasn't seen anything like the unprecedented destruction of housing in Gaza since World War II, and it would take at least until 2040 to restore the homes devastated in Israel's bombing and ground offensive if the conflict ended today, the United Nations reported Thursday. The UN assessment said the social and economic impact of the war launched after Hamas' surprise attack in southern Israel on October 7 has been increasing in an exponential manner. It called the level of casualties 5 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million population -- unprecedented in such a short time. By mid-April, it said, over 33,000 Palestinians had been killed and more than 80,000 injured. About 7,000 others remain missing, most believed to be buried under the rubble. Every additional day that this war continues is exacting huge and compounding costs to Gazans and all Palestinians said United Nations Development Program Administrator Achim Steiner. The report by UNDP and the UN Economic Commission for ..

Hope Palestine application for UN membership will be reconsidered: India

India has voiced hope that Palestine's bid to become a full member of the United Nations, which was blocked by the US last month, will be reconsidered and its endeavour to become a member of the world organisation will get endorsed. The US vetoed a resolution in the UN Security Council on a Palestinian bid to be granted full membership of the United Nations last month. The 15-nation Council had voted on a draft resolution that would have recommended to the 193-member UN General Assembly that the State of Palestine be admitted to membership in the United Nations. The resolution got 12 votes in its favour, with Switzerland and the UK abstaining and the US casting its veto. To be adopted, the draft resolution required at least nine Council members voting in its favour, with no vetoes by any of its five permanent members China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. While we have noted that Palestine's application for membership at the United Nations was not approved

Russia proposes UN resolution on banning weapons in space, demands action

Russia has circulated a UN resolution calling on all countries to take urgent action to prevent putting weapons in outer space for all time a week after it vetoed a US-Japan resolution to stop an arms race in space. The Russian draft resolution, obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, goes further than the US-Japan proposal, not only calling for efforts to stop weapons from being deployed in outer space but for preventing the threat or use of force in outer space, also for all time. It says this should include deploying weapons from space against Earth, and from Earth against objects in outer space. Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council when he vetoed the US-Japan draft that it didn't go far enough in banning all types of weapons in space. The vetoed resolution focused solely on weapons of mass destruction including nuclear arms, and made no mention of other weapons in space. It would have called on all countries not to develop or deploy nuclear arm

Top UN court to rule on Nicaragua's plea for Germany to halt aid to Israel

The United Nations' top court is ruling Tuesday on a request by Nicaragua for judges to order Germany to halt military aid to Israel, arguing that Berlin's support enables acts of genocide and breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza. Nicaragua's case is the latest legal bid by a country with historic ties to the Palestinian people to stop Israel's offensive. Late last year, South Africa accused Israel of genocide at the court. The cases come as Israel's allies face growing calls to stop supplying it with weapons, and as some including Germany have grown more critical of the war. On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Israel must still do more to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza Strip. At hearings early this month, Nicaragua's Ambassador to the Netherlands Carlos Jos Argello Gmez told the 16-judge panel that Germany is failing to honour its own obligation to prevent genocide or to ensure respect of international humanitarian .

23.7 million people need humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan: UNICEF

According to UNICEF, only 35 per cent of the required $1.4 billion in aid for children in Afghanistan has been secured.

Giving food, cash to 6 million people monthly in Afghanistan, says WFP

About 15.8 million people in Afghanistan would experience food insecurity crises and emergency levels, according to UN estimates.

India's trajectory exemplifies that DPI facilitates equal chances: UNGA

UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis has said India's trajectory exemplifies that Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is a fundamental driver of social transformation and progress and facilitates equal opportunities if accessed in an inclusive way. "Just as physical infrastructure is essential for economic growth, digital public infrastructure has emerged as a fundamental driver of social transformation and progress. If accessed in an inclusive way, it facilitates equal opportunities in every aspect of our lives. The trajectory of India exemplifies this," Francis, President of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly said. Francis was addressing the first conference at the United Nations on 'Citizen Stack: Digital Public Infrastructure, Transformative Technology for Citizens' organised here Thursday by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN together with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Assimilating India's first principle of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbaka

India calls for revitalisation of UNGA, reform in global governance

He further highlighted that for the revitalisation of the General Assembly, the sanctity of the Annual General Debate and its associated elements must be restored, Pratik Mathur said

US attacks Russia for vetoing UNSC resolution on Outer Space Treaty

The United States slammed Russia on Wednesday for vetoing a UN Security Council resolution on the Outer Space Treaty that put a legally-binding obligation that countries should not be putting weapons of mass destruction (WMD), including nuclear weapons, in orbit. "As we have noted previously, the United States assesses that Russia is developing a new satellite carrying a nuclear device. We have heard President (Vladimir) Putin say publicly that Russia has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space. If that were the case, Russia would not have vetoed this resolution," US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement, after Russia vetoed the resolution at the UN headquarters in New York. "Today, Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution, proposed jointly by the United States and Japan, that would have reaffirmed the fundamental obligation of State Parties to the Outer Space Treaty not to place nuclear weapons in orbit around the Earth," Sullivan said. The ...