Month: June 2018

Promoting decent work ‘daily challenge’ in fragile countries, UN Labour Summit told

The Central African Republic (CAR) has called on the United Nations labour agency to provide special assistance to the conflict-torn nation and make it a “pilot-country” for the implementation of a programme to build peace and resilience through job creation. “Creating income- and wealth-generating jobs is essential in order to consolidate peace and reinforce resilience” […]

DPRK should release political prisoners ahead of summit with US – UN expert

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) should begin to release political prisoners ahead of denuclearization talks with the United States and engage with the United Nations on human rights, a UN expert on the country said on Thursday. Tomas Ojea Quintana, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the DPRK, made his […]

UN agencies and Myanmar ink agreement, setting stage for Rohingya return

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the understanding reached between UN agencies and Myanmar on creating conditions that would allow hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees to voluntarily and safely return to their homes in the country’s Rakhine province. The Memorandum of Understanding, signed by the Government of Myanmar, the Office of the UN High […]

UN welcomes temporary ceasefire announcement by Afghan Government; urges Taliban to reciprocate

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the week-long ceasefire announced by the Government of Afghanistan with the Taliban and called on the militant group to reciprocate the temporary pause. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Guterres urged the Taliban to “accept President Ashraf Ghani’s peace offer to commence direct talks to bring an end to […]

Hunger surges amid deadly conflicts, poor weather conditions in many countries – UN agriculture agency

Despite ample food supplies, persistent conflicts and adverse climate shocks are taking a toll on global food security, according to a new report launched on Thursday by the United Nation’s agriculture agency. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) new Crop Prospects and Food Situation reveals that since its last report in March, the number of countries requiring external […]