Category: International
Cultural diversity is an outstanding source of exchange, innovation and creativity, and has the enormous potential to accelerate sustainable development, the United Nations cultural agency declared today. In a message marking the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), highlighted that […]
The world is witnessing the highest level of human suffering since the Second World War. This is why, for the first time in the 70-year history of the United Nations, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has convened the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul on 23-24 May. www.worldhumanitariansummit.org
More than 80 per cent of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO), with populations in low-income cities the most at risk for respiratory diseases and other long-term health problems. Some 98 per cent of cities in […]
A United Nations human rights expert today signalled concern that efforts to counter “violent extremism” may be construed as the “perfect excuse” for democratic and authoritarian governments to restrict free expression and control access to information. “By ‘balancing’ freedom of expression and the prevention of violence, the programmes and initiatives aimed at countering ‘violent extremism’ […]
The Secretary General of Amnesty International suggests a rise “deeply worrying” of executions in the world. Death row executions have jumped more than 50% in 2015, reaching their highest level since 1989. In its annual report on the death penalty, Amnesty amounted to “at least 1634” the number of executions worldwide in 2015, an […]
At least half a million people will die in the year 2050 as a result of the impact climate change will have on food production, according to experts. The stark forecast is expected to occur because of changes in diet and bodyweight from reduced crop productivity. Most of these additional deaths will be in China, […]
The most senior United Nations officials are urging the world to eliminate female genital mutilation (FGM) by 2030, calling it a “violent practice” that scars girls for life, endangering their health, depriving them of their rights, and denying them the chance to reach their full potential. “Never before has it been more urgent – or […]
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday launched an appeal for 2.8 billion dollars in 2016 to help 43 million children caught in humanitarian crises around the world. For the first time, most of the amounts involved in this appeal – 25% – will go to education of children in emergencies, UNICEF says in […]
Faced with a global shortage of oral cholera vaccines (OCV), the United Nations health agency announced today that supply should double this year to six million doses, with further increases later, after it approved a third producer to fight a disease that kills up to 142,000 people annually. Last year, Sudan and Haiti asked the […]
An unprecedented situation. The number of migrants is expected to reach a historic high of 250 millions this year in the world on a mass influx of refugees background in Europe, according to estimates released Friday by the World Bank (WB). Migration within the South represents 38% of global migration and South-North migration 34%, according […]
