Articles

In the first of a two-part series, Angela Muhindo spoke to UN Women ahead of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, marked annually from 25 November to 10 December, Human Rights Day. “My life has been full of pain,” she said, surveying the green landscape where she spent her childhood in Kasese, in Uganda’s western region. “In my community, women have less power, but if you are disabled, you are even more vulnerable to exploitation.” Ms. Muhindo, who has had a physical...

That’s the message from the UN World Food Programme (WFP), which appealed on Wednesday for $19 million to provide emergency food assistance to those “in desperate need” in the country’s western Herat province. The agency’s deputy director in Afghanistan Ana Maria Salhuana stressed that to assist earthquake survivors WFP “is having to take this food from an already severely underfunded programme in Afghanistan”. ‘Utter destitution’ “Disasters like these earthquakes pound communities who...

16 October 2023Human Rights An independent UN human rights expert on Monday expressed concern about the increased risk of recruitment and use of children by armed forces and armed groups in Sudan, as the months-long war between rival militaries continues. Siobhán Mullally, UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, said unaccompanied children and children from poor families have reportedly been targeted by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in the outskirts of the capital...

12 October 2023Peace and Security The United Nations-African Union partnership stands out as a “pillar of multilateralism”, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Thursday, one which has continued to grow in scope and depth. Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the AU, told ambassadors in New York that the alignment between the two organizations is particularly relevant for current challenges. “The African conflict landscape is...

Peacekeepers patrol Butembo in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to ensure the security of local communities. (file) 12 October 2023UN Affairs The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUSCO, has suspended some of its peacekeepers following reports of serious misconduct. “The Mission strongly condemns such behaviour which is not worthy of United Nations personnel,” MONUSCO said in a statement on Wednesday. Although the UN Mission did not give...

3 October 2023UN Affairs Independent UN human rights experts are warning that there is “an overwhelming risk” atrocity crimes “will continue” in Ethiopia. in a new report released on Tuesday. The International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia said it was vital independent investigators continue to review the country’s dire human rights situation.” “We are gravely concerned about the situation in Ethiopia and the potential for future atrocities,” said Mohamed Chande...

UNICEF stated that many more children are affected due to lack of essential services, such as health, schooling and safe water supply. “When disasters hit, children are always among the most vulnerable,” said Adele Khodr, UNICEF’s Regional Director, who has just returned from a visit to Al Bayda and Derna. Catastrophic flooding Storm Daniel struck eastern Libya on 10 September and left widespread flooding and destruction in its wake across Derna, Albayda, Soussa, Al-Marj, Shahat...

Leaders from Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea painted a grim picture of a planet marred by the unforgiving impacts of climate change. They left no room for equivocation: This is an existential crisis that demands immediate, collective action. They highlighted the upcoming COP-28 climate conference in the United Arab Emirates as an unparalleled opportunity for the world to fulfill its obligations to the planet’s most vulnerable nations. The leaders, whose respective statements set...

20 September 2023UN Affairs Fatalla Elzuni, Libya’s Minister of Youth, in an address on Thursday to the UN General Assembly, expressed deep sympathy and offered his condolences to Libyans “in the throes of a disastrous tragedy” following the devastating rains and floods that hit the east of the country last week. Mr. Elzuni called the devastating floods that struck the Libyan district of Jabal al-Akhdar this month “a terrible spectacle,” stating the torrential rains claimed the lives...

21 September 2023UN Affairs Warning that the months-long conflict in Sudan could spill over in the region, Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan on Thursday called on the international community to consider designating the militias ravaging his country as terrorist groups “to protect the Sudanese people, the region and the world.” In his speech to the annual general debate of the UN General Assembly, Mr. Al-Burhan, who is President of the Transitional Sovereign Council, said that the Sudanese people...