Tag: UN

UN Sec-Gen Ban Ki-Moon visits Vietnam, makes remarks on South China Sea dispute

MAY 22 (Reuters) — United Nation General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon met with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang in Hanoi Friday (May 22) as part of his two-day visit to the South East Asia nation. The General Secretary discussed with Vietnamese leaders on UN-Vietnam cooperation, UN peacekeeping operations and other issues, including regional security and human rights. Vietnam became a UN member in 1977 and is a current member of the UN Human Rights Council for […]

UN agencies join in Nepal quake relief

MAY 1 (Reuters) — The devastating earthquake in Nepal has drawn high attention from all over the world and several of the UN agencies are offering their help for its recovery. In the past two days, the World Food Program and its affiliate corporations donated over 100 tons of food to the worst-hit districts while the UN Children’s Fund delivered nearly 30 tons of supplies, including tents, water purification tablets, and first aid and hygiene […]

PHL backs UN initiative in raising safety awareness vs disasters

Malacañang said it supports a United Nations initiative raising awareness on disasters to make vulnerable communities much safer. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction head, Margareta Wahlström, have urged disaster-prone countries like the Philippines to make “disaster risk reduction” a household word. In a radio interview on Sunday, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma said such an initiative is already being done by the Aquino administration. Disaster […]

UN court says neither Serbia nor Croatia committed genocide in 1990s wars

The United Nations‘ highest court ruled on Tuesday that neither Croatia nor Serbia had committed genocide against each other’s populations during the wars that accompanied the violent breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Peter Tomka, president of the International Court of Justice, said the forces of both countries had committed crimes during the conflict, but that the intent to commit genocide — by “destroying a population in whole or in part” — had not been […]

UN envoy says humanitarian efforts in Myanmar still minimal, unacceptable

U.N. special envoy on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, said on Friday (January 16) that some advancements had been made in addressing the serious humanitarian and human rights issues she saw in Rakhine State in July 2014, but she added that much more needed to be done. “In my view the situation remains at crisis stage. Humanitarian access is still minimal and high risk,” Lee told reporters in Yangon. She said further […]

U.N.: Children maimed, raped, tortured, killed in 2014

The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF has declared 2014 a devastating year for children, with as many as 15 million caught in conflicts in Central African Republic, Iraq,South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and the Palestinian territories. UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said earlier this month the high number of crises meant many of them were quickly forgotten or failed to capture global headlines, such as inAfghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. […]

U.N. council overrides China to add Nokor to agenda

Members of the U.N. Security Council on Monday (December 22) voted to override China’s objections and formally add the situation in North Korea, including allegations of grave human rights abuses, to the council’s agenda. There were 11 votes in favor, two against and two abstentions. Veto powers Russia and China voted against the inclusion of North Korea on the council’s agenda, but as there are no vetoes in procedural votes of the council, the Chinese […]

Aquino urges more active global action vs climate change

(ENS) – President Benigno Aquino addressed the international community at the United Nations (UN) Climate Summit on Tuesday (September 23), urging countries to “do everything they can to address climate change.” The Climate Summit is meant to add political momentum to a U.N. process to negotiate a climate-change agreement in Paris by 2015, and Aquino took this as an opportunity to remind world leaders of their shared responsibility to find a solution to the issue. Aquino said the Philippines, which felt the […]

UN Peacekeepers

The 84 Filipino peacekeepers that were part of the 7th Philippine contingent in the Golan Heights have returned to the country. AFP Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Pio Catapang Jr., met the peacekeepers as they arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. AFP is planning to give medals and promotions to the peacekeepers, particularly those who were involved at the fighting in Position 68 in the Golan Heights.

Iraq violence killed at least 1,420 in August – U.N

(Reuters) – At least 1,420 people were killed in Iraq in August as sectarian violence raged in the country’s centre and north, the United Nations has said. A further 1,370 Iraqis were wounded and 600,000 people forced to flee as Islamic State militants, who have grabbed large areas of territory since June, pushed into land controlled by Kurdish troops and targeted religious minorities. “Thousands continue to be targeted and killed by ISIL (Islamic State) and […]