Month: October 2017

UN chief urges world to implement Paris climate accord ‘with greater ambition’

Pointing to scientific evidence warning of increased extreme weather events, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, ahead of a trip to the storm-ravaged Caribbean, urged all countries to implement the Paris Agreement on climate change “with greater ambition.” “We know that the world has the tools, the technologies and the wealth to address climate change, but we must show more determination […]

Rohingya refugees living in ‘dire’ conditions, senior UN officials warn, appealing for assistance

The human tragedy unfolding in southern Bangladesh is staggering in its scale, warned two senior United Nations officials today as they wrapped up a mission to the Cox’s Bazar with calls for a “significant increase in assistance” for the hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas have settled in the area after fleeing violence in neighbouring Myanmar. […]

‘Nothing enduring can be built on violence,’ UN Assembly President says, recalling words of Gandhi

Noting that in today’s world, violence has become a “tool of choice” for many and new evidence, of destruction and suffering, every day resulting from this choice, the President of the United Nations General Assembly has called for greater efforts to prevent conflict and for the Organization to promote the use of non-violence across all […]

Affordable housing key for development and social equality, UN says on World Habitat Day

With 1.6 billion people living in inadequate housing, one billion of whom reside in slums and informal settlements, the United Nations is spotlighting affordable homes on today’s World Habitat Day, which also marks the official start of Urban October – a month of worldwide celebrations and citizens’ engagement in urban life worldwide. “While millions of people […]

Australia’s refugee policy is a failure. This is not the time to shirk responsibility – Thomas Albrecht

Last week the first refugees from Nauru and Papua New Guinea have departed to start a new life in the United States. After more than four years spent in limbo, in harsh and punitive conditions, those who sought Australia’s protection will finally find the chance to rebuild their lives elsewhere in safety and with dignity. They leave […]