Page 58 - United Nations

Made effort to remove India from UN report on children in armed clash: Govt

The government was consistently making efforts to exclude India from the UN's annual report on the impact of armed conflict on children, the Women and Child Development Ministry has said after the country did not feature in the report for the first time since 2010. The United Nations has removed India from its annual report on the impact of armed conflict on children, citing "measures taken by the government to better protect" them. In a statement, the Women and Child Development Ministry said, "The ongoing engagement of the Government of India with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General sped up after an inter-ministerial meeting in November 2021." The meeting was attended by Secretary of the Ministry of Women and Child Development Indevar Pandey, Ministry of External Affairs, Permanent Mission of India at New York, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and Virginia Gamba, the special representative of the Secretary-General for Children and the UN officials in New Delhi. The m

India removed from UNSG report on impact of armed conflict on children

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has removed India from his annual report on the impact of armed conflict on children, citing "measures taken by the government to better protect" them. Guterres said in his report last year, he had welcomed the engagement of the Indian government with his special representative and noted that it might lead to the removal of India as a situation of concern. In his 2023 report on Children and Armed Conflict, the UN chief said, "In view of the measures taken by the government to better protect children, India has been removed from the report in 2023." Guterres highlighted the technical mission of the office of his special representative in July 2022 to identify areas of cooperation for child protection, and the workshop on strengthening child protection held in Jammu and Kashmir last November by the government, with the participation of the United Nations. In his latest report, he also called upon India to implement the remaining measures identifi

UN urges Israel, Palestinians to halt violence in statement backed by US

The UN Security Council has urged Israel and the Palestinians to avoid actions that can further inflame tensions in the volatile West Bank. The statement was backed by both the United States and Russia in a moment of unity on a divisive issue, reflecting the widespread international concern at the escalating violence especially by Israeli forces and settlers. Tuesday's statement followed what UN Mideast envoy Tor Wennesland called an alarming spike in violence in the West Bank that led to numerous Palestinian and Israeli casualties. He warned the council that unless decisive steps are taken now to rein in the violence, there is a significant risk that events could deteriorate further. Wennesland said he was particularly alarmed by the extreme levels of settler violence, including large numbers of settlers, many armed, systematically attacking Palestinian villages, terrorizing communities, sometimes with support from Israeli forces. Council members called for restraint and encourage

Russia tortured, executed Ukraine civilians; Kyiv also abused detainees: UN

Russian forces carried out widespread and systematic torture of civilians who were detained in connection with its attack on Ukraine, summarily executing dozens of them, the United Nations human rights office said Tuesday. The global body interviewed hundreds of victims and witnesses for a report detailing more than 900 cases of civilians, including children and elderly people, being arbitrarily detained in the conflict, most of them by Russia. The vast majority of those interviewed said they were tortured and in some cases subjected to sexual violence during detention by Russian forces, the head of the UN human rights office in Ukraine said. Torture was used to force victims to confess to helping Ukrainian armed forces, compel them to cooperate with the occupying authorities or intimidate those with pro-Ukrainian views, said Matilda Bogner. The report, which covers a 15-month period from the start of the Russian invasion to May 2023, also documented 75 cases of arbitrary detention

Since Taliban takeover, over 1,000 civilians were killed in attacks: UN

The United Nations said Tuesday it has documented a significant level of civilians killed and wounded in attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover despite a stark reduction in casualties compared to previous years of war and insurgency. According to a new report by the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, since the takeover in mid-August 2021 and until the end of May, there were 3,774 civilian casualties, including 1,095 people killed in violence in the country. That compares with 8,820 civilian casualties including 3,035 killed in just 2020, according to an earlier U.N. report. The Taliban seized the country in August 2021 while U.S. and NATO troops were in the final weeks of their withdrawal from Afghanistan after two decades of war. According to the U.N. report, three-quarters of the attacks since the Taliban seized power were with improvised explosive devices in populated areas, including places of worship, schools and markets, the report said. Among those killed w

Road safety issue urgent, not enough being done for pandemic on roads: UN

Road Safety issue is as urgent as COVID-19 considering how crashes destroy lives and economies on a daily basis, UN's Special Envoy for Global Road Safety Jean Todt has said, emphasising that not enough is being done for the "pandemic on our roads." Speaking at the "Vision Zero Conference for Road Safety for All" that commenced here on Monday, Todt said that the issue of road safety doesn't garner the same kind of financial and social support yet as other subjects. "The COVID-19 experience provided an example of how humanity can bond together to discover and apply solutions when the emergency appears urgent enough to everyone. That example alone should show us that we are not doing enough for the pandemic on our roads --- we need to better persuade people that it is just as urgent as COVID-19 in how it destroys lives and economies," he said. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), road crashes kill more than 1.3 million people each year - more than two every minute - with

Since Taliban's takeover, more than 1,000 civilians were killed, says UN

The United Nations said Tuesday it has documented a significant level of civilians killed and wounded in attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover despite a stark reduction in casualties compared to previous years of war and insurgency. According to a new report by the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, since the takeover in mid-August 2021 and until the end of May, there were 3,774 civilian casualties, including 1,095 people killed in violence in the country. That compares with 8,820 civilian casualties including 3,035 killed in just 2020, according to an earlier U.N. report. The Taliban seized the country in August 2021 while U.S. and NATO troops were in the final weeks of their withdrawal from Afghanistan after two decades of war. According to the U.N. report, three-quarters of the attacks since the Taliban seized power were with improvised explosive devices in populated areas, including places of worship, schools and markets, the report said. Among those killed w

Myanmar burns seized drugs worth $446 mn amid rise in illicit trade

The authorities in Myanmar destroyed more than USD 446 million worth of illegal drugs seized from around the country to mark an annual international anti-drug trafficking day on Monday, police said. The drug burn came as U.N. experts warned of increases in the production of opium, heroin and methamphetamine in Myanmar, with exports threatening to expand markets in South and Southeast Asia. Myanmar has a long history of drug production linked to political and economic insecurity caused by decades of armed conflict. The country is a major producer and exporter of methamphetamine and the world's second-largest opium and heroin producer after Afghanistan, despite repeated attempts to promote alternative legal crops among poor farmers. In the country's largest city, Yangon, a pile of seized drugs and precursor chemicals worth USD 207 million was incinerated. The destroyed drugs included opium, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, kratom, ketamine and crystal meth, also known as ice. The

'Large population does not automatically contribute more to emission'

There is a need to rectify the notion that countries with large populations contribute more to emissions, a senior UNFPA official said, underlining that developing nations face the worst impact despite being some of the lowest producers of greenhouse gases. According to United Nations estimates, India has become the most populous country in the world with over 142 crore people. However, the government is yet to conduct a census for an official figure. Speaking to PTI, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Director of Technical Division Dr Julitta Onabanjo said one of the things "we definitely are trying to also correct is this notion that because you have a large population, it's contributing to climate emissions". "What matters is the pattern of consumption. And we know that, for the most part, it's the developing countries that face the worst impact, yet, they have contributed the least to greenhouse gases," she said. "We would like to build more awareness on this issue." Onaba

Women's public presence in Afghanistan totally erased by Taliban: UN

Irene Khan said in a report that women's rights groups play an important role in the struggle for gender equality and in promoting the agency of women

UN enters Oppn-held Syria from govt territory first time since earthquake

A convoy carrying United Nations aid entered opposition-held Idlib from government-held Syria on Friday, the first such shipment to cross battle lines since a deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria in February. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, announced that an aid convoy carrying humanitarian supplies crossed from Aleppo to northwest Syria. The last UN aid shipment to cross battle lines into the northwest was on January 8. In the wake of the earthquake that struck Turkey and northern Syria on February 6, causing widespread destruction, cross-line aid convoys had been prevented from entering Idlib from government-held areas by the formerly al-Qaeda-affiliated rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which dominates the area. An administrative arm of the group accused the government of Bashar Assad in a statement at the time of trying to benefit from the aid intended for victims of the earthquake. In the wake of the earthquake, the

UN puts Russian forces on blacklist for killing children, attacking schools

The United Nations put Russian forces on its annual blacklist of countries that violate children's rights in conflict for killing boys and girls and attacking schools and hospitals in Ukraine, according to a new report seen Thursday by The Associated Press. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in the report to the Security Council that he is appalled by the high number of grave violations against children in Ukraine in 2022, shocked at the number of attacks on schools and hospitals, concerned by the detention of children, and troubled that some Ukrainian children have been transferred to Russia. The U.N. chief did not put Israel on the blacklist for grave violations against 1,139 Palestinian children, including 54 killings last year as supporters had hoped. Instead, he welcomed Israel's engagement with the U.N. special envoy for children in armed conflict, Virginia Gamba and its identification of practical measures including those proposed by the U.N." to protect children. Riya

Lack of funding resulting in painful rollbacks: UN Chief Antonio Guterres

Conflicts, climate change and financial turmoil are increasing the need for humanitarian aid, but a lack of funding is resulting in painful rollbacks, the UN chief told a meeting in Geneva

PM Modi pays tributes to fallen UN peacekeepers at Wall of Peace

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday paid tributes to the fallen UN peacekeepers at the Wall of Peace at the UN headquarters here and asserted that their selfless service will never be forgotten. Modi was in New York to lead a yoga session celebrating the 9th International Day of Yoga at the UN headquarters. The prime minister is on an official state visit to the US at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. Modi took to Twitter and said, "Humbled to pay my tributes at the Wall of Peace at the @UN HQ today. We honor and remember the brave peacekeepers who gave their lives for a more peaceful world. Their selfless service will never be forgotten." Earlier this month, the UN General Assembly adopted a draft resolution introduced by India to establish a memorial wall in the UN Headquarters to honour fallen peacekeepers. Modi, who was here on the first leg of his maiden state visit to the US, also paid respects to the bust of Mahatma Gandhi in the North L

PM Modi leads International Yoga Day celebrations at UN headquarters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday addressed the ninth International Yoga Day celebrations at the United Nations headquarters in New York

International Yoga Day 2023: Modi to celebrate Yoga Day at UN Headquarters

The International Yoga Day is celebrated every year on the 21st of June. PM Modi will celebrate Yoga Day with officials at UN headquarters this year.

China blocks proposal at UN to blacklist 26/11 accused terrorist Sajid Mir

Beijing blocked the proposal that had been moved by the US and co-designated by India to blacklist Mir under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council

IOC awards Olympic Order to WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus

IOC presented the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, with the Olympic Order for his inspirational role in ensuring the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

Raut wants UN to declare 'World Traitor Day' on the day Shinde walked out

In huge embarrassment for ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance, the Opposition Shiv Sena MP Raut has drawn the attention of United Nations to the 'treason' perpetrated by Maha CM Shinde

Taliban's treatment of Afghan women may amount to gender apartheid: UN

An United Nations expert on Monday said the Taliban's treatment of Afghanistan's women and girls may amount to gender apartheid