Page 81 - United Nations

Thousands protest across Haiti as UN to discuss troops deployment

Thousands across Haiti organised protests demanding the prime minister's resignation as the country commemorated the death of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a slave who became the leader of the world's first Black republic. The protests on Monday come hours before the United Nations Security Council is scheduled to meet and vote on several measures to tackle the increasingly chaotic situation in Haiti, which is awaiting a response on its recent request for the immediate deployment of foreign troops. "The US needs Haiti to make its own decisions and not interfere in Haiti's business," said Marco Duvivier, a 35-year-old auto parts store manager, who had joined Monday's protest in Port-au-Prince. "Life is not going to get better with an international force." Haiti has practically reached a standstill more than a month after one of the country's most powerful gangs surrounded a key fuel terminal in the capital and prevented the distribution of more than 10 million gallons of gasoline and fuel

Guterres on India visit from today; to commemorate 75 years of India at UN

General Secretary Antonio Guterres is to visit India from today to commemorate India's 75-year partnership with the UN during which India's contribution to fighting climate change will be highlighted

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2022: All you need to know

On December 22, 1992, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution designating October 17 as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

India committed to COP27 under Egyptian presidency: Jaishankar to Prez Sisi

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday held discussions with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and highlighted India's commitment to the success of COP27 under the Egyptian presidency

Poor nations to seek assistance for climate actions at COP27: LDC Chief

The chair of an influential negotiating bloc in the upcoming United Nations climate summit in Egypt has called for compensation for poorer countries suffering from climate change to be high up on the agenda. Madeleine Diouf Sarr, who chairs the Least Developed Countries group, told The Associated Press that the November conference known as COP27 should capture the voice and needs of the most climate-vulnerable nations and deliver climate justice. Sarr said the group would like to see an agreement to establish a dedicated financial facility that pays nations that are already facing the effects of climate change at the summit. The LDC group, comprised of 46 nations that make up just a small fraction of global emissions, negotiates as a bloc at the UN summit to champion the interests of developing countries. Issues such as who pays for poorer nations to transition to cleaner energy, making sure no communities get left behind in an energy transition and boosting how well vulnerable ..

UN chief Guterres seeks early-warning coverage for global climate disasters

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that he will soon launch a plan for universal early-warning coverage for climate disasters

75% of six million Venezuelan migrants go unfed, unhoused, says UN

The United Nations said on Wednesday that almost three-quarters of the six million Venezuelan migrants currently in Latin America do not have adequate food, shelter, employment or medical care. The UN's International Organisation for Migration said in a report that 4.37 million of the Venezuelans who fled to other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean often live on the streets or inadequate housing, and often go hungry. Latin America and the Caribbean host 84 per cent of the estimated total of about 7 million Venezuelans who emigrated in recent years. The IOM and the UN refugee agency said that half of the Venezuelans in Latin America can't afford three meals a day. Many are forced to turn to sex work to meet their basic needs, the report said. Other take out informal loans or turn to begging. In Colombia, one of the countries that has received the largest number of Venezuelans, 29 per cent of Venezuelan children between the ages of 6 and 17 are not enrolled in ...

UNGA condemns Russia's annexation of Ukrainian regions; India abstains

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday adopted a resolution condemning the Russian annexation of the four Ukrainian regions

Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant wihout external power: UN watchdog

The head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said Wednesday that a Ukrainian nuclear plant surrounded by Russian troops has lost all external power needed for vital safety systems for the second time in five days. International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi said agency monitors at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant reported the interruption and said backup diesel generators are keeping nuclear safety and security equipment operational. This repeated loss of #ZNPP's off-site power is a deeply worrying development and it underlines the urgent need for a nuclear safety & security protection zone around the site, Grossi tweeted.

50% of world's poorest need debt relief to avert development crisis: UNDP

Fifty-four developing economies accounting for more than half of the world's poorest people need urgent debt relief as a result of cascading global crises, according to the UNDP

UN-African Union cooperation the best but faces challenges: Guterres

Lauding the collaboration between the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) as the best ever, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned major challenges lie ahead

Venezuela, South Korea, Afghanistan lose vote for UN rights body

Venezuela, South Korea and Afghanistan lost contested races for seats on the top UN human rights body in Tuesday by the General Assembly, which faced criticism for electing countries like Vietnam and Sudan, which have been accused of having abysmal human rights records. The 193-member assembly voted by secret ballot to fill 14 seats on the 47-member Human Rights Council. Seats are allocated to regions to ensure geographical representation, a rule that has regularly led to many regions putting forward uncontested slates as Africa, Eastern Europe and Western nations did this year. Human rights groups have long criticised this practice, saying it denies UN member nations any choice of countries on the council and virtually guarantees seats for some countries with poor rights records. In this year's election, the most hotly watched race was in the Latin America and Caribbean regional group, where Chile, Costa Rica and Venezuela were vying for two seats. The result saw Chile get 144 ...

UN, G7 decry Russian attack in Ukrainian cities as possible war crime

Russian forces showered Ukraine with more missiles and munition-carrying drones Tuesday after widespread strikes killed at least 19 people in an attack the UN human rights office described as particularly shocking and amounting to potential war crimes. Air raid warnings sounded throughout the country for a second straight morning as Ukrainian officials advised residents to conserve energy and stock up on water. Strikes in the capital and 12 other regions Monday caused power outages and pierced the relative calm that had returned to Kyiv and many other cities far from the war's front lines. It brings anger, not fear, Kyiv resident Volodymyr Vasylenko, 67, said as crews worked to restore traffic lights and clear debris from the city's streets. We already got used to this. And we will keep fighting. The leaders of the Group of Seven industrial powers condemned the bombardment and said they would stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes. Their pledge defied Russian warnings tha

Serious debt crisis unfolding across developing countries, says UNDP report

The United Nations' Development Programme (UNDP) joined on Tuesday the chorus of institutions and charities warning that a serious debt crisis is now taking hold in the poorest parts of the world.

United Nations will become 'irrelevant' without reforms: Jaishankar

The United Nations Security Council reforms is like a "hard nut", but hard nuts can be cracked, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said here on Tuesday as he cautioned that the world body will become "irrelevant" without much-delayed reforms. Jaishankar made the remarks while responding to questions after his address at the Lowy Institute on the growing importance of India's relationship with Australia and the interests that both countries share as members of the security-focused Quad. "Well, it's a hard nut but hard nuts can be cracked," Jaishankar said while responding to a question on UN Security Council reforms. Jaishankar said that there are continents which actually feel that the Security Council process does not take into account that into their problems. "I think that's hugely damaging to the UN. So one of the developments this time, in fact, has been a very explicit recognition by President Joe Biden of the need to actually reform the UN which is not a small developmen

Hong Kong to implement UN sanctions on Russian-owned superyach, not US ones

Hong Kong's leader John Lee said Tuesday he will only implement United Nations sanctions, after the U.S. warned the territory's status as a financial center could be affected if it acts as a safe haven for sanctioned individuals. Lee's statement Tuesday came days after a luxury yacht connected to Russian tycoon Alexey Mordashov docked in the city. Mordashov, who is believed to have close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was sanctioned by the U.S., U.K. and the European Union in February after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Hong Kong authorities have said that they do not implement unilateral sanctions imposed by other governments. We cannot do anything that has no legal basis, Lee told reporters. We will comply with United Nations sanctions, that is our system, that is our rule of law, he said. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said in a statement Monday that the possible use of Hong Kong as a safe haven by individuals evading sanctions from multiple jurisdictions furthe

UN chief Antonio Guterres calls for making mental health global priority

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for making mental health a global priority and urged actions to promote universal quality mental health care

Tension in West Bank fuels atmosphere of fear, hatred: UN official

An escalation of tension in the West Bank would fuel an atmosphere of fear, hatred and anger between Israelis and Palestinians, a senior UN official has warned

US officials, Taliban hold in-person meeting after al-Zawahiri's killing

More than two months after the killing of al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul, top US officials met with the Taliban

UN passes resolution urging support for flooded Pakistan

The UN General Assembly expressed solidarity Friday with flood-battered Pakistan and called on the international community to increase aid and keep up the political will to support the country's recovery long-term. The assembly passed a resolution that made all those points. It also urged the UN to step up efforts to sensitize the international community to Pakistan's needs and mobilize effective, immediate and adequate international support and assistance." Record-breaking floods in the developing South Asian country have affected 33 million people and killed 1,700 or more since mid-June. Nearly 8 million people were displaced, and hundreds of thousands are still living in tents and makeshift homes. UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres, who saw some of the damage for himself during a visit last month, reminded the assembly of the losses: more than 2 million homes damaged or destroyed, while and crops and livestock were ravaged. He said the disaster could thrust more than 15 million