Month: February 2018

Olympic message of peace is universal, UN chief says in Pyeongchang

As the world comes together for the Winter Olympics, which kicked off Friday in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on everyone to recognize and promote the Games’ universal message of peace and tolerance. As the world comes together for the Winter Olympics, which kicked off Friday in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, United […]

With rising number of girls at risk, world in ‘race against time’ to end female genital mutilation – UN

Female genital mutilation is a violent act that, among other things, causes infection, disease, childbirth complications and death, said the Executive Directors of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in a joint statement for the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Describing FGM as “a cruel […]

Amid ‘difficult reality’ in Middle East, two-state solution more important than ever – UN chief

International consensus on a two-State solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be eroding “at a time when it is more important than ever,” Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday, calling the ‘question of Palestine’ one of the longest unresolved issues on the agenda of the United Nations. “We must face today’s difficult reality,” Secretary-General António Guterres […]

Humanitarian diplomacy ‘getting nowhere’ in Syria warns UN special adviser

Civilians in Syria’s besieged areas have not seen a single convoy of humanitarian aid arrive for a full two months, a senior United Nations adviser said on Thursday, lamenting that diplomatic efforts appear “totally impotent,” and that hundreds of lives are being lost as a result. Briefing reporters in Geneva after a meeting of a […]

Security operations by Myanmar show ‘established pattern’ of domination over ethnic groups – UN expert

What Myanmar’s Government has claimed are military and security operations are “actually an established pattern” of domination and aggression against ethnic groups, the United Nations independent expert on the rights situation there said on Thursday, reporting on her visit to nearby countries, including Bangladesh, which is hosting nearly 900,000 Rohingya refugees. Yanghee Lee, the UN […]