Page 39 - United Nations

Russia vetoes UN resolution for prevention of nuclear arms race in space

Russia on Wednesday vetoed a UN resolution sponsored by the United States and Japan calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space. The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 13 in favour, Russia opposed and China abstaining. Russia dismissed the measure as politicised and said it did not go far enough in banning all types of weapons in space. The resolution would have called on all countries not to develop or deploy nuclear arms or other weapons of mass destruction in space, as banned under a 1967 international treaty that included the US and Russia, and to agree to the need to verify compliance. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after the vote that Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space, but that the country's veto raises the question of what the government may be hiding. Thomas-Greenfield's announcement of the resolution on March 18 followed White House confirmation in .

International law falling apart amid wars in Gaza, Ukraine, says Amnesty

The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned on Wednesday as it published its annual report. The human rights organisation said the most powerful governments, including the United States, Russia and China, have led a global disregard for international rules and values enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with civilians in conflicts paying the highest price. Agnes Callamard, Amnesty's secretary general, said the level of violation of international order witnessed in the past year was "unprecedented". "Israel's flagrant disregard for international law is compounded by the failures of its allies to stop the indescribable civilian bloodshed meted out in Gaza," she said. "Many of those allies were the very architects of that post-World War Two system of law." The

Europe fastest-warming continent, temp rising nearly twice avg global rate

Europe is the fastest-warming continent and its temperatures are rising at roughly twice the global average, two top climate monitoring organizations reported Monday, warning of the consequences for human health, glacier melt and economic activity. The U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization and the European Union's climate agency, Copernicus, said in a joint report that the continent has the opportunity to develop targeted strategies to speed up the transition to renewable resources like wind, solar and hydroelectric power in response to the effects of climate change. The continent generated 43% of its electricity from renewable resources last year, up from 36% the year before, the agencies say in their European State of the Climate report for last year. More energy in Europe was generated from renewables than from fossil fuels for the second year running. The latest five-year averages show that temperatures in Europe are now running 2.3 degrees Celsius (4.1 Fahrenheit) above ...

UN agency agreed to help distribute aid to Gaza via sea route, says US

The U.N. World Food Program has agreed to help deliver aid for the starving civilians of Gaza once the U.S. military completes a pier for transporting the humanitarian assistance by sea, U.S. officials said Friday. The involvement of the U.N. agency could help resolve one of the major obstacles facing the U.S.-planned project the reluctance of aid groups to handle on-the-ground distribution of food and other badly needed goods in Gaza absent significant changes by Israel. An Israeli military attack April 1 that killed seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen intensified international criticism of Israel for failing to provide security for humanitarian workers or allow adequate amounts of aid across its land borders. President Joe Biden, himself facing criticism over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza while supporting Israel's military campaign against Hamas, announced March 8 that the U.S. military would build the temporary pier and causeway, as an alternative to the land ...

Sudan's war being fuelled by weapons from foreign supporters, says UN

The year-old war in Sudan between rival generals vying for power has sparked a crisis of epic proportions fuelled by weapons from foreign supporters who continue to flout UN sanctions aimed at helping end the conflict, the UN political chief said on Friday. This is illegal, it is immoral, and it must stop, Undersecretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo told the UN Security Council. Sudan plunged into chaos in mid-April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between its military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary 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 western Darfur region, DiCarlo painted a dire picture of the war's impact over 14,000 dead, tens of thousands wounded, looming famine with 25 million people in need of life-saving assistance, and over 8.6 million forced to flee their homes. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, chair of th

250,000 Afghan children require education, food and homes, says NGO

A quarter of a million Afghan children need education, food and homes after being forcibly returned from Pakistan, a nongovernmental organisation said Thursday. Pakistan is cracking down on foreigners it alleges are in the country illegally, including 1.7 million Afghans. It insists the campaign is not directed against Afghans specifically, but they make up most of the foreigners in the country. More than 520,000 Afghans have left Pakistan since last October. Save the Children said families are entering Afghanistan with virtually nothing and that nearly half of all returnees are children. A survey of families by the NGO said nearly all of them lacked enough food for the next one to two months. Some returnees and host families had to borrow money for food or rely on friends and relatives for food. Almost two thirds of children who have returned to Afghanistan have not been enrolled in school, according to Save the Children. The majority told the organisation they don't have the ...

US supports UN reform: Biden admin on Musk's remarks on UNSC seat for India

The US supports much-needed reform of the United Nations, including the Security Council, to make it reflective of the 21st-century world, a senior Biden administration official has said, amidst growing calls for inclusion of India as the permanent member of the powerful organ of the world body. State Department's Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel's remarks came as he responded to a question about billionaire tech magnate Elon Musk's assertion that there is no meaning in having the UN without India's permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. He said President Joe Biden has spoken about this (the need for reforms) before in his remarks to the UN General Assembly. "We certainly support reforms to the UN institution, including the Security Council, to make it reflective of the 21st-century world that we live in. I don't have any specifics to offer on what those steps are, but certainly, we recognise that there is a need for reform," Patel said during a press ...

UN seeks $2.5 billion for Gaza humanitarian aid, ten fold more than earlier

In total, the UN is appealing to donors for $2.8 billion for Gaza and the West Bank - tenfold the amount it said it needed the week after Hamas attacked Israel in October, starting the war

New SDG guidelines likely to empower impact investors, says JPMorgan

The UN SDGs comprise 17 goals that span everything from the eradication of poverty to ensuring access to clean water. More than $4 trillion will be needed each year to meet the targets

Full UN membership won't help Palestinians with statehood: US envoy

US President Joe Biden had categorically said that Washington supported a two-state solution and was working on the ground to get that in place as soon as possible, she said

US mulling options 'both inside and outside the UN' to monitor N Korea

The United States and its allies are discussing options both inside and outside the UN system to create a new mechanism for monitoring North Korea over its nuclear weapons programme, the American ambassador to the United Nations said on Wednesday. Russia last month vetoed a UN resolution in a move that effectively abolished monitoring by UN experts of Security Council sanctions against North Korea, which prompted Western accusations that Moscow was acting to shield its arms purchases from North Korea to fuel its war in Ukraine. I look forward to engaging with both the Republic of Korea and Japan, but like-minded (countries) as well, on trying to develop options both inside the UN as well as outside the UN. The point here is that we cannot allow the work that the panel of experts were doing to lapse, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told a news conference in Seoul, using the formal name for South Korea. Thomas-Greenfield didn't provide specific details about US discussions with

UN appeals for $2.8 bn to help 3 mn Palestinians who need food, aid

The United Nations appealed for USD 2.8 billion on Tuesday to provide desperately needed aid to 3 million Palestinians, stressing that tackling looming famine in war-torn Gaza requires not only food but sanitation, water and health facilities. Andrea De Domenico, the head of the UN humanitarian office for Gaza and the West Bank, told reporters that massive operations are required to restore those services and meet minimum standards and this can't be done during military operations. He pointed to the destruction of hospitals, water and sanitation facilities, homes, roads and schools, adding that there is not a single university that is standing in Gaza. De Domenico said Israel's recently-ended second major military operation at Shifa Hospital, Gaza's largest medical facility, was so destructive the facility has been forced to shut down. As an example, he questioned what the military objective was in shooting an MRI scanner that examines parts of the body and can detect cancers. He

Iran's response will be stronger, more resolute if Israel attacks again

The Permanent Mission of Iran to the UN confirmed that the Iranian attack was in response to Israeli recurring military aggressions, particularly its armed attack on April 1

World cannot afford another war, says Guterres on Iran's attack on Israel

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned the serious escalation caused by the large-scale attack on Israel by Iran, cautioning that neither the region nor the world can afford another war. The UN chief urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid any action that could lead to major military confrontations on multiple fronts in the Middle East. I strongly condemn the serious escalation represented by the large-scale attack launched on Israel by the Islamic Republic of Iran this evening. I call for an immediate cessation of these hostilities, Guterres said in a statement on Saturday. He said he is deeply alarmed about the very real danger of a devastating region-wide escalation. I have repeatedly stressed that neither the region nor the world can afford another war, he said. The Permanent Mission of Iran to the UN informed the UN Security Council in a letter that Iran carried out a series of military strikes on Israeli military objectives in the late

Conflict with Israeli regime, stay away: Iran warns US after drone strikes

Meanwhile, Israel air defence system intercepted Iranian strikes launched on Saturday, CNN reported

UN experts condemn forced marriages, religious conversions in Pak

In Pakistan, the legal marriage age stands at 16 for girls and 18 for boys

EU court decision shows safe climate is human right: Ex-UN rights chief

Having a safe climate is becoming more of a human right globally with this week's European court decision that says countries must better protect people from climate change, something warming-hit residents of the Global South long knew, said former Ireland President Mary Robinson. Robinson, who was the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, praised Tuesday's mixed court decision as precedent-setting and change-triggering. The European Court of Human Rights sided with Swiss senior women saying their government wasn't doing enough to protect them from climate shocks, but dismissed similar complaints from Portuguese youth and France's mayor on technical grounds. "Many countries in Europe, if not all, will be vulnerable to litigation along those lines, that their countries are not doing enough to protect the human rights," Robinson said in a 30-minute interview with The Associated Press at the Skoll World Forum, a conference of ideas and entrepreneurship. "If countries do not

India benefiting from growing interest from multinationals, says UN

India is benefiting from growing interest from multinationals, which see it as an alternative manufacturing base in the context of developed economies' supply chain diversification strategies, a flagship report by the UN has said, underlining that investment in the country remains strong. The 2024 Financing for Sustainable Development Report: Financing for Development at a Crossroads (FSDR 2024)' launched Tuesday said that urgent steps are needed to mobilise financing at scale to close the development financing gap, now estimated at 4.2 trillion dollars annually, up from 2.5 trillion dollars before the COVID-19 pandemic. underlining that investment in the country remains strong. Meanwhile, rising geopolitical tensions, climate disasters and a global cost-of-living crisis have hit billions of people, battering progress on healthcare, education, and other development targets. The report said that investment is expected to remain subdued globally. "In contrast, investment in South Asi

UN praises Odisha govt's disaster management, food security, millet mission

UN resident coordinator in India Shombi Sharp has commended the Odisha government's initiatives in disaster management, food security, 5T governance, Human Development Indicators (HDI) indicators, and the Millet Mission during a meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Naveen Niwas here. Sharp, visiting Odisha, discussed the state's development trajectory and its collaboration with UN agencies, noting their fruitful partnership. He lauded Odisha's progress in enhancing HDI indicators and its disaster management efforts, particularly under Patnaik's leadership, which prioritised community-led systems following the Super Cyclone in 1999. Sharp highlighted Odisha's recognition as a leading state in disaster management, citing international accolades for its handling of Cyclone Phailin and Cyclone Fani. "Today, Odisha is recognised as a leading state in managing disasters. The UN felicitated Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in 2013 for handling the Cyclone Phailin in 2019 with the Ne

India elected to several UN bodies, wins significant re-election to INCB

India has been elected to several key bodies at the UN, including a significant victory by its nominee Jagjit Pavadia who was re-elected for a third term to the International Narcotics Control Board after garnering the highest number of votes. Pavadia was re-elected to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) by secret ballot for the third term for five years from March 2025-2030, getting the highest number of votes in the highly competitive election. India was also elected by acclamation to the Commission on the Status of Women for the term 2025-2029; Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund for the term 2025-2027; Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Office for Project Services for 2025-2027. It was also elected to the Executive Board of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women for the 2025-2027 term and the Executive Board of the World Food .