‘Unprecedented funding crisis’ means cuts for 2.5 million in need, warns WFP — Global Issues

‘Unprecedented funding crisis’ means cuts for 2.5 million in need, warns WFP — Global Issues

The announcement comes as the European Union gears up to host the seventh Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region, beginning on Wednesday in Brussels. WFP took the decision, after exhausting all other options, to prioritize the three million Syrians who are unable to make it from…

Century-old call for equality resonates today — Global Issues

Century-old call for equality resonates today — Global Issues

Both share an emphasis on the rights and freedoms of all people. “The Universal Declaration stated that we are all born equal, and this is exactly what Gibran wrote,” observed Shirin Yaseen, an associate spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General. The Universal Declaration opens with the provision that “All human beings…

Arrests and hate speech target Baha’i minority in Yemen — Global Issues

Arrests and hate speech target Baha’i minority in Yemen — Global Issues

OHCHR said that on 25 May, security forces stormed a peaceful meeting of Baha’is in Sana’a. Seventeen people, including five women, were taken to an unknown location, and all but one, are still being held incommunicado. The UN rights office urged the de facto Houthi authorities in Sana’a, to immediately…

‘Robust’ cooperation with Arab League can quell conflict in the region — Global Issues

‘Robust’ cooperation with Arab League can quell conflict in the region — Global Issues

“Together we can achieve what neither organization can achieve on its own,” she said, presenting the UN Secretary-General’s latest report on the important collaboration. Recent strains on multilateralism have seen trust in institutions and processes sorely tested, most recently by the uneven response to the COVID-19 crisis, she said. “Defiance…

UN investigative team outlines findings around ISIL chemical weapons use — Global Issues

UN investigative team outlines findings around ISIL chemical weapons use — Global Issues

Senior officials with the UN Investigative Team promoting accountability for ISIL crimes, UNITAD, presented some of their findings to Member States meeting at UN Headquarters in New York. For the past five years, UNITAD has been gathering evidence of crimes committed during ISIL’s self-proclaimed caliphate from June 2014 to December…

Admissible evidence, competent courts, critical to ensuring justice for ISIL victims in Iraq — Global Issues

Admissible evidence, competent courts, critical to ensuring justice for ISIL victims in Iraq — Global Issues

Ambassadors were briefed by Christian Ritscher, Special Adviser and Head of the UN Investigative Team to promote accountability for these crimes, UNITAD, established five years ago. The Islamist group declared a self-styled caliphate across parts of Iraq and northern Syria in 2014, before being militarily defeated and driven from Iraq…

UN agency for Palestine refugees on verge of financial collapse — Global Issues

UN agency for Palestine refugees on verge of financial collapse — Global Issues

Chronic underfunding over the past decade, and resultant severe austerity measures, mean UNRWA is already operating with a $75 million shortfall, putting its lifesaving programmes across the Middle East at risk. “As I address you today, I do not have the funds to keep our schools, health centres and other…

Guterres voices deep concern as Anti-Homosexuality Act signed into law — Global Issues

Guterres voices deep concern as Anti-Homosexuality Act signed into law — Global Issues

The draconian law foresees the application of the death penalty and long prison sentences for consensual sex between adults. Non-discrimination principle Mr. Guterres called on Uganda to fully respect its international human rights obligations, “in particular the principle of non-discrimination and the respect for personal privacy”, irrespective of sexual orientation…