Human rights through the eyes of Andy Vermaut

In the second half of 2024, the UN will look to a brighter future, with a major summit devoted to forward thinking in September, and the fight against the climate change in November. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145222?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The UN Secretary-General praised the hard work of judges and staff of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which closed on Sunday following efforts to try those responsible for a 2005 attack that killed 22 people, including former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and injured 226 people. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145217?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The UN peacekeeping operation in Mali is poised to complete its drawdown on Sunday following a decade of multifaceted efforts to support the West African nation and its people after Malian authorities requested earlier this year to end the mission by 31 December. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145207?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The top UN political affairs official condemned attacks against the Russian city of Belgorod, located near the Ukrainian border, as he briefed the Security Council at an emergency meeting convened on Saturday afternoon. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145212?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

In 2024, the UN will once again be at the heart of international efforts to tackle the world’s most urgent challenges, from bolstering the global economy, to supporting climate action and keeping the peace in conflict hotspots.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145127?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Halting unsustainable consumption and production which have contributed to the decline of biodiversity and the health of the world’s marine, terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems was central to the establishment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1144002?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The UN Secretary-General on Friday condemned in the strongest terms a massive aerial attack by Russia on Ukrainian towns and cities, which left at least 30 civilians dead and over 160 injured. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145197?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The suffering of people in Ukraine is likely to deepen and they will fall into more poverty through the winter as they continue to endure an almost two-year-old Russian invasion, according to the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the country, Denise Brown. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145167?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The global push for a safer, greener and more just world, as outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, has reached its halfway mark, but what progress has been made so far? https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1143967?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Thursday condemned an attack on one of its patrols, in which one peacekeeper was injured. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145147?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The UN human rights office on Thursday urged the Ethiopian Government to ensure that ongoing efforts addressing a legacy of rights abuses, rooted in years of violence and ethnic unrest, prioritize the rights and needs of victims and their families. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145142?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called for global unity to make 2024 a year for “building trust and hope” following the immense suffering, violence, and climate chaos that characterized 2023. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145137?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Bulldozers in refugee camps, detainees stripped naked and spat at, farmers robbed of their harvest: against the backdrop of the war in Gaza the situation in the occupied West Bank is “rapidly deteriorating” amid levels of violence not seen in years, UN rights chief Volker Türk warned on Thursday. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145132?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Frank Sinatra and Edward G. Robinson were two of the 20th century’s biggest stars of the stage and screen, and when it came to the World Health Organization’s campaign to tackle two of the biggest killers of the post-war era, they answered the call. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1144327?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The World Health Organization (WHO) and partners delivered fuel and other essential supplies to two hospitals in northern and southern Gaza this week, the UN agency reported on Wednesday. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145122?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has appealed for action in the wake of a mob attack against refugees in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Wednesday. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145117?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

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Aid missions to supply Gaza have become increasingly difficult amid reports of continued heavy bombing of the Strip overnight by the Israeli military and intense clashes “in most areas” with Hamas fighters, UN humanitarians warned on Wednesday. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145102?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

A veteran Dutch diplomat and politician who previously held top UN positions has been appointed Senior Humanitarian Coordinator for Gaza, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced on Tuesday. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145097?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The past year saw significant milestones and challenges in global public health but also immense and avoidable suffering, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145092?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The UN Special Envoy for Yemen has welcomed steps towards a ceasefire in the war-torn country, where Government forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and Houthi rebels have been fighting for more than eight years. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145087?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Overwhelmed medics in Gaza on Tuesday continued to try to save victims of missile strikes including attacks near refugee camps in the centre of the devastated enclave that have reportedly killed well over 100 people, the UN health agency said. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145077?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Historic audio recordings covering the recent history of Somalia are being preserved for future generations thanks to UN support. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1143962?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The General Assembly has approved a $3.59 billion budget for the United Nations for 2024, including the establishment for a special account to finance the Organization’s peacebuilding fund. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145072?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Investing more in women and girls’ education, safety and economic and social empowerment will speed the drive towards gender parity. That’s according to Academy Award-winning actor, director and activist Natalie Portman. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1144402?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed hope that a Security Council resolution to get more aid into Gaza, adopted on Friday, could pave the way to a humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145067?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

As the Security Council prepared to meet once again in New York on Friday for a long-delayed vote on a pause in fighting to allow more aid into Gaza, UN rights chief Volker Türk added his voice to deep concerns over the rising threat of famine across the Strip. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145047?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

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The year 2023 has presented more challenges for Syria, marked by devastating earthquakes, escalating humanitarian needs and the most severe fighting in years, the UN’s envoy for the country said on Thursday. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145037?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

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There are no functioning hospitals in the north of Gaza and injured patients who need surgery and cannot be moved are “waiting to die”, the UN health agency said on Thursday, in a plea for a ceasefire to allow more aid into the shattered enclave. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145017?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) has said it is continuously monitoring the global spread of JN.1, a COVID-19 variant of interest, adding that current vaccines continue to offer protection against severe disease and death from this and other variants in circulation. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145012?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Wednesday that it has temporarily suspended assistance in some parts of Al Jazirah State in Sudan as conflict has spread south and east of the capital, Khartoum.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1145002?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Lack of progress in resolving human rights issues is a key factor behind the current impasse between Afghanistan and the international community, the UN Special Representative for the country said on Wednesday in a briefing to the Security Council in New York.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1144977?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Wednesday welcomed a key deal by members of the European Union (EU) to overhaul their joint migration system which promises a fresh and unified approach to deal with asylum claims. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1144987?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

As the UN Security Council was slated to meet for a third consecutive day on Wednesday in a new push for consensus to pause the fighting in Gaza, the head of the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF warned that without safe water, “many more children” will soon die from disease. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1144972?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Repeated long-range ballistic missile launches by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) represent a serious threat to international air and sea transportation, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Tuesday.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1144957?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The UN Security Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to renew the mandate of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for another year.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1144952?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Tuesday marks another crucial day again at the Security Council, where diplomatic negotiations are continuing to find consensus on further unified action in response to the crisis in Gaza, more than ten weeks after terror attacks by Hamas plunged the Israel-Palestine conflict into an unprecedented phase of violence. Follow our live coverage here. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1144937?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

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Gaza is by far the most dangerous place in the world to be a child and deaths of youngsters from disease will likely surpass those from bombardment in the absence of a ceasefire, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1144927?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

“Haiti is not hopeless”, the President of the UN General Assembly said on Monday during a meeting addressing the multiple crises besetting the Caribbean nation, alongside the presidents of the UN Security Council and Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1144902?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Migration is a “fact of life” and a “force for good”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday, calling for safer options for the millions seeking opportunities to improve their lives in the face of danger and despair. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1144897?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

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The head of the UN health agency Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has spoken out against the “effective destruction” of a hospital in northern Gaza by Israeli forces over the weekend, leading to the deaths of eight patients including a nine-year-old child. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1144887?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The members of the Security Council have condemned Friday’s assault on a police station in southern Iran, in which 11 Iranian police officers were killed, and eight critically wounded. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1144882?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

UN workers delivering medical supplies to the Al-Shifa Hospital in north Gaza on 16 December have described the emergency department as a “bloodbath”, with hundreds of injured people inside, and a constant flow of new patients. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1144877?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Amidst a multitude of global crises and escalating of armed conflicts, small arms and light weapons remain a silent killer, having claimed over 260,000 lives during 2021, amounting to 45 per cent of all violent deaths. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1144867?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The UN Spokesperson has welcomed the announcement on Friday by the Israeli cabinet that the Kerem Shalom border crossing into the Gaza Strip will be reopened. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2023/12/1144862?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger