Page 79 - United Nations

Guterres calls for renewal of Ukraine grain deal, progress at COP27

I appeal to all parties to concentrate efforts in 2 areas: renewal and full implementation of the Black Sea Initiative and remove the remaining obstacles to the exports of Russian food and fertilizer

UN chief Guterres wants climate adaptation to be treated with seriousness

The UNEP Adaptation Gap report makes clear that the world is failing to protect people from the here-and-now impacts of the climate crisis

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Adaptation target not keeping pace with growing risks: UNEP Report

Adaptation finance flows to developing countries are 5 to 10 times below estimated needs

Climate change targets pose stark challenge for the developing world

Floods and drought, hurricanes and heat waves will make the path out of poverty much more difficult. But trying to limit climate change poses its own set of problems for the developing world

US to seek Iran's ouster from United Nation's top women's rights body

The United States announced Wednesday it will seek to oust Iran from the UN's premier global body fighting for gender equality because of its violation of the rights of women and girls and its ongoing crackdown on demonstrators who took to the streets in September after the death of a 22-year-old woman taken into custody by the morality police. Vice-President Kamala Harris made the announcement of the US intention to work with other countries to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women, saying no nation that abuses women's rights should play a role in any international or United Nations body charged with protecting these very same rights. She said Iran is unfit to serve on the commission and its presence discredits the integrity of its work. At an informal meeting of the UN Security Council later Wednesday on the protests in Iran, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield added that Iran's membership is an ugly stain on the commission's credibility and in our view it canno

Russian invasion has uprooted 14 million Ukrainians: UN refugee chief

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has driven some 14 million Ukrainians from their homes in the fastest, largest displacement witnessed in decades, sparking an increase in the number of refugees and displaced people worldwide to more than 103 million, the UN refugee chief said Wednesday. Filippo Grandi, who heads the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, told the UN Security Council that Ukrainians are about to face one of the world's harshest winters in extremely difficult circumstances, including the continuing destruction of civilian infrastructure that is quickly making the humanitarian response look like a drop in the ocean of needs. Humanitarian organisations have dramatically scaled up their response," he said, but much more must be done, starting with an end to this senseless war. But given the likely protracted nature of the military situation," Grandi said his agency is preparing for further population movements both inside and outside Ukraine. In his wide-ranging briefing, Grand

50 UN members condemn Chinese government's oppression of Uyghurs

The joint statement was issued on Monday and is the largest group of states publicly condemning China's ongoing atrocities in East Turkistan, reported East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE)

COP27: All eyes on Egypt to steer climate finance towards adaptation

With the summit happening amid Ukraine war and recession fears, budget cuts for climate are apprehended as nations use money to secure energy and development aid shifts towards humanitarian projects

What is the Black Sea grain deal; where does it stand after Russia's exit?

With Russia pulling out of the deal, it would become difficult for the grain shipments to leave Ukraine. However, 12 shipments left Ukraine's ports on Monday

Suspension of Black Sea Grain initiative could worsen food security: India

India said the suspension of the Black Sea Grain initiative, an UN-brokered deal that allowed food exports from Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict, is expected to further exacerbate food security, fuel and fertiliser supply challenges faced by the world, particularly the global South. R. Madhu Sudan, Counsellor in India's Permanent Mission to the UN, said the grain initiative, a result of the UN Secretary-General's efforts, had aimed to avert a global food crisis and ensure food security. The initiative resulted in the export of more than nine million tonnes of grains and other food products out of Ukraine. The Black Sea Grain initiative and cooperation by the parties so far had provided a glimmer of hope for peace in Ukraine... The suspension of the Black Sea Grain initiative, we believe is expected to further exacerbate the food security, fuel and fertilizer supply challenges faced by the world, particularly the global South, Madhu Sudan said Monday at the Security Council briefing

UN chief alters travel plan in a bid to save Ukraine grain deal: Report

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has decided to alter his travel plans to focus his efforts on saving the Black Sea Grain Initiative, said his spokesman

UN assists more than 4.6 million people in Afghanistan amid reeling crisis

As the economic crisis continues to grip Afghanistan, more than 4.6 million people in the war-torn country have been provided assistance, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees said

Russia suspends UN-brokered Ukraine grain deal over ship attack claim

Russia announced Saturday that it will immediately suspend its implementation of a U.N.-brokered grain deal that has seen more than 9 million tons of grain exported from Ukraine during the war and has brought down soaring global food prices. The Russian Defense Ministry cited an alleged Ukrainian drone attack Saturday against Russia's Black Sea Fleet ships moored off the coast of occupied Crimea as the reason for the move. Ukraine has denied the attack, saying that the Russians mishandled their own weapons. The Russian declaration came one day after U.N. chief Antonio Guterres urged Russia and Ukraine to renew the grain export deal, which was scheduled to expire on Nov. 19. Guterres also urged other countries, mainly in the West, to expedite the removal of obstacles blocking Russian grain and fertilizer exports. The U.N. chief said the grain deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July helps "to cushion the suffering that this global cost-of-living crisis is inflicting o

Climate goals at risk, emissions by top emitters rebound: UN report

No credible pathway to restrict global warming to under 1.5 degrees Celsius, it says

Averting climate disasters requires bold emission reduction measure: UNEP

Community of nations must implement bold measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and avert runaway climate emergencies including floods, droughts, heatwaves and cyclones, the UNEP said

North Korea nuke test would be key concern, says UN nuclear chief

The U.N. nuclear chief said Thursday that a new nuclear test explosion by North Korea would be yet another confirmation of a programme which is moving full steam ahead in a way that is incredibly concerning. Rafael Grossi said the International Atomic Energy Agency sees preparations for a seventh test but has no indication of whether an atomic blast is imminent. Everybody is holding its breath, he told reporters in response to a question. Further tests, of course, means that they are refining the preparations and the construction of the arsenal. So we are following this very, very closely. Grossi added: We hope it doesn't happen, but indications unfortunately go in another direction. Officials from the United States and its Asian allies Japan and South Korea suspect North Korea is preparing for a nuclear test, and deputy foreign ministers from the three countries said Wednesday their joint response would be decisive. Worries about North Korea's nuclear programme deepened in recen

Lebanon and Israel sign US-mediated sea border deal, deliver them to UN

Lebanon and Israel signed copies of a US-mediated sea border deal on Thursday and delivered them to the UN in the coastal border town of Naqoura. The agreement to demarcate the maritime border comes after months of indirect talks mediated by Amos Hochstein, the US envoy for energy affairs, and would mark a major breakthrough in relations between the two nations, which have formally been at war since Israel's creation in 1948. Lebanon and Israel both claim around 860 square kilometers (330 square miles) of the Mediterranean Sea that are home to offshore gas fields. Lebanon hopes that demarcating maritime borders will pave the way for gas exploration to help lift it out of its crippling economic crisis, which has plunged three-quarters of its population into poverty. Israel hopes that the deal will reduce the risk of war with Lebanon's Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Lebanon and Israel sent delegations to the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon, who received separately sign

Efforts on for Hindi's inclusion in official languages at UN: S Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said efforts are on to get Hindi recognised as an official language at the United Nations and progress has been made in that direction but it will take some time. He made the remarks at an event in Delhi where it was announced that the next World Hindi Conference will be organised in Nadi, Fiji from February 15-17 next year. Asked about efforts to include Hindi among the official languages at the UN, Jaishankar said, "You would know Hindi is being used in UNESCO. As far as the use of Hindi in its headquarters is concerned, we have an MoU with them, they are using it in social media and newsletters. It will take some time in expanding this, it is not so easy that a language is introduced in the UN process." "Work is being done on it, progress has been made and it is our expectation that this will move forward," he said. The UN has six official languages English, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and French. Speaking at the event,

India's per capita GHG emissions far below world average: UNEP report

At 2.4 tCO2e (tonne carbon dioxide equivalent), India's per capita greenhouse gas emissions were far below the world average of 6.3 tCO2e in 2020, according to a new report released by the United Nations Environment Programme on Thursday. The "Emissions Gap Report 2022: The Closing Window", released ahead of the UN Climate Change conference (COP27) in Egypt next month, also said the international community is still falling far short of the Paris goals, with no credible pathway to limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius in place. To address climate change, countries adopted the Paris Agreement in 2015 to limit global temperature rise in this century to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. "World average per capita GHG emissions (including land use, land-use change, and forestry -- LULUCF) were 6.3 tCO2e in 2020. The US remains far above this level at 14 tCO2e, followed by 13 tCO2e in the Russian Federation,