The U.N. Closes January 2014 With Ambitions on Climate Change

On January 30, 2014 the United Nations backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its complete Working Group 1 fifth assessment report, and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon both invited German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the September Climate Summit in New York, and opened the inaugural meeting of the high level U.N. Scientific Advisory Board for sustainable development.

U.N Pays Tributes to Victims of Nazi Genocide on Holocaust Memorial Day

69 years after the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the United Nations continues its tradition of remembering the six million Jews who were killed by the Nazi regime with a Holocaust Memorial Day.

UN Takes Increased Action Central African Republic Violence Spirals Out of Control

As violence hit record highs in the Central African Republic (CAR), United Nations French Ambassador Gerard Araud, Tuesday, called for increased peacekeeping efforts, warning that the heavy violence between Christians and Muslims could spiral into mass genocide. Although 6,000 peacekeepers are currently deployed, Araud said that the amount seems quite low because of the country’s total land mass and the incredible outrage of war. He said that at least 4,000 more troops are required to restore some sort of order in the country. Despite the amount of troops currently situated in the country (5,000 African, 1,600 French and 500 European Union), ex-Séléka  – supported by armed Muslim civilians rebels – and Christian militias – known as anti-Balaka (anti-machete who have now taken up arms) – are committing a barrage of atrocious acts, putting Muslim civilians in an even more vulnerable state. “The CAR is no longer a state,” Araud said. “The country needs strong civilian support as the amount of peacekeepers currently there is not enough to rebuild state institutions.” According to a press release, both High Commissioner Navanethem Pillay and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon joined together to express their reinforcement of the urgent need for a more robust response to the CAR crisis. “This is needed to protect civilians, prevent further violence, end impunity and promote reconciliation,” the joint statement said. Violence in CAR is now at its peak because of rebels who re-started relentless attacks in the country in 2013.  The attacks have occurred in several neighbourhoods. Roughly 4,000 homes, plus many shops and mosques were stormed over the past weekend.  Hundreds of thousands are estimated to have been killed and roughly half the country’s population needs humanitarian aid. The town of Bangui is deserted as almost one million civilians have fled from their homes – half of which are children. “We simply cannot let the social fabric of this country be torn apart. I call this a matter of utmost urgency upon the international community to strengthen peacekeeping efforts,” said Pillay. The African International Support Mission to CAR (MISCA) working along with the WFP has provided aid to more than 110,000 displaced people in Bangui. The two organizations have also begun airlifting food from Cameroon into CAR. Two days ago, the WFP distributed food to 40,000 beneficiaries in the village of Bossangoa and last week 1,209 people were also fed. Central African Republic’s interim President Catherine Samba-Panza has also written to the UN to call for the African peacekeeping force to be transformed into a larger U.N. operation.

Geneva 2 Press Conferences Reveal Early Tensions and Ambitions

The initial Geneva 2 press conferences, which included Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, United States Secretary of State John Kerry, Syrian Permanent Representative to the U.N. Bashar Jaafari, chief mediator and head of the U.N. Special Envoy to Syria since 2012 Lakhdar Brahimi and Louay Safi of the Syrian Opposition, indicated dichotomies of opinion regarding the conflict and the peace talks, though there appears to be progress.

UN, Malawi Government Collaborate to Fight Against Childhood Malnutrition

The United Nations, working in conjunction with the World Food Programme (WFP),  Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and Malawi’s government in a series of relief operations, has launched another initiative to combat the effects of stunted child growth and development in the southern-African country.

UN Rations Sudan The Most Amount From CERF’s Humanitarian Fund

UN Humanitarian Chief and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, has allocated 20 million dollars to Sudan for emergency aid operations and relief efforts – in light of last week’s statement by UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ivan Šimonović, saying South Sudan can now be seen as a “horrifying humanitarian and human rights disaster.”

UN Indicates Importance of Establishing Facts In South Sudan

Ivan Šimonović, the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights stressed the importance of monitoring and public reporting to a sustainable peace in South Sudan, in a press briefing on January 20 following his trip to the country last week.

UN Relief Chief Urges for More Aid To Post-Typhoon Philippines

The scale and spread of humanitarian needs in the Philippines two months after Super Typhoon Haiyan is still “daunting,” the United Nations relief chief said Thursday, urging for more support for long-term recovery efforts.

UN Concerned By Nigeria’s Anti-Homosexuality Law, Calls For Review

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for a new law in Nigeria that further criminalises same-sex unions to be reviewed, saying its wide range of offences is in breach of fundamental human rights.

UN Agency Cautions Australia Against Asylum Obligation Breach

The United Nations refugee agency has cautioned Australian authorities about potential breaches of international obligations following reports of asylum-seeker boats being forced back to Indonesia.

UN Agencies Collaborate to Provide Food & Security to CAR

Earlier this week, the United Nations exerted rigorous efforts to resume distribution of food, full protection and increased  security assistance to the estimated 100,000 civilians who have fled their homes over the past weeks due to increased splurges of uprisings in the Central African Republic (CAR).

Working for U.N. Becomes ‘More Dangerous’ Says Staff Union

A variety of deliberate attacks by terrorists and insurgents killed 58 persons working for the United Nations last year, a steep increase from previous years, new figures from the world body’s union showed Wednesday.

U.N. ‘deeply alarmed’ by police crackdown on Cambodian striking workers

The United Nations’ human rights office has said it was alarmed by Cambodia’s police crackdown on protesters, and urged authorities to exercise restraint, following the deaths of several striking garment workers last week.

Thousands Flee South Sudan as Conflict Shows no Signs of Abating

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported Tuesday that over 31,000 South Sudanese have fled the country since armed conflict broke out more than three weeks ago.

An Appreciation: Michael Littlejohns

Michael Littlejohns, who died in New York aged 91 on Friday, will be remembered as Reuters’ legendary veteran chief correspondent at the United Nations and one of the best-connected journalists on the global diplomatic scene.

The Scramble for Kenya’s Kibera Slum

Controversy continues to brew here over ownership of the land under Kibera slum, one of Africa’s largest.

South Sudan Declares Emergency in Two States

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has declared a state of emergency in two states, according to the government’s official Twitter account.

Mexican Communities On Guard Against Thirst for Oil

The Terra 123 oil and gas well in the southeastern Mexican state of Tabasco was in flames since late October, just 1.5 km from a community of 1,500 Oxiacaque indigenous villagers, who were never evacuated.

Farm Forecasts Try to Decode a Capricious Climate

In the southwest peninsula of Cedros, one of Trinidad’s driest areas, Jenson Alexander grows the cocoa used for many years by the British chocolate giant Cadbury.

‘Rights Up Front’: A New UN Strategy for Prevention of Genocide

The United Nations Thursday took rigorous steps to launch a new a six-point action plan called ‘Rights up Front,’ seeking to revamp preventive strategies which play a vital role in sending out quick responses to human rights violations.

Changing Patterns of Global Migration & Remittances

A growing number of international migrants now live in high-income countries such as the United States and Germany, while a growing share was born in today’s middle-income nations such as India and Mexico, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of data from the United Nations and the World Bank.