Damascus, Syria | UN | More than 900 children in Syria were killed last year, making 2017 the deadliest year for children in the country’s ongoing conflict, a senior United Nations official told the Geneva-based Human Rights Council on Tuesday, warning that the grim statistics may only be the tip …
Read More »UN condemns violence against opposition ahead of DRC vote
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The UN rights chief on Friday denounced violence targeting the opposition by DR Congo’s security forces, just days before a vote marred by an increasingly tense campaign. “I am deeply worried about the reports of excessive use of force, including live ammunition, by security forces …
Read More »Amnesty: UN must probe peacekeeper failings in C.Africa’s Alindao
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | The UN must conduct a “thorough investigation” into its peacekeepers’ actions in Central African Republic during a militia attack in which “up to 100 civilians were shot and burnt alive”, Amnesty International said Friday. In a new report, the London-based watchdog said troops in the …
Read More »UN climate summit set for tense finale as nations sound alarm
Katowice, Poland | AFP | UN talks aimed at averting catastrophic climate change are set to wrap up in Poland Friday after two weeks of heated disputes between rich and poor nations that saw countries most at risk plead for action. Sources close to the COP24 talks told AFP that …
Read More »US calls for ‘immediate’ dialogue over Cameroon conflict
United Nations, United States | AFP | The United States on Thursday called for “immediate and broad-based reconciliatory dialogue” in between Cameroon’s government and separatists, urging talks “without pre-conditions.” “We urge all sides to forswear violence, to restore peace, and to resolve their grievances through political dialogue,” said Jonathan Cohen, …
Read More »US seeks end to UN Africa missions not bringing ‘lasting peace’
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States will seek an end to UN peacekeeping missions in Africa that do not bring long-term peace, national security advisor John Bolton said Thursday. “We will only back effective and efficient operations, and we will seek to streamline, reconfigure or terminate missions …
Read More »Under-fire UNAIDS chief offers to resign in June
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Scandal-plagued UNAIDS head Michel Sidibe offered Thursday to resign in June, following an expert report that said his “defective leadership” had plunged the agency into crisis. The timeline for the departure, confirmed by the agency, amounted to a concession from a leader accused of fostering a …
Read More »Climate talks must be rescued, warns UN chief
Katowice, Poland | AFP | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sought to rescue deeply troubled climate talks in Poland on Wednesday, warning the battle against global warming is a “matter of life and death today.” The two-week talks are tasked with breathing life into the 2015 Paris Agreement, which vows to …
Read More »Sports world must join climate change crusade, says IOC
Katowice, Poland | AFP | The world of sports must join the effort to tame global warming, and the International Olympic Committee intends to lead the way, it said on Tuesday at UN climate talks in Katowice, Poland. At the 195-nation negotiations, the IOC and UN launched an initiative aimed …
Read More »Things to know about the UN migration pact
United Nations, United States | AFP | A UN migration pact will be adopted at a conference in Morocco on Monday despite a wave of defections, mainly from European countries, and opposition from the United States. Here is a look at what is in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly …
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