UN News

• 'Emulate his example’ urges UN chief as world celebrates Nelson Mandela: a ‘global advocate for dignity and equality’ 
  Nelson Mandela was an “extraordinary global advocate for dignity and equality” who anyone in public service should seek to emulate, Secretary-General António Guterres said marking the International Day that honours the iconic anti-apartheid campaigner, and South Africa’s first democratically-elected President. 
• Wednesday’s Daily Brief: Ebola now an international Public Health Emergency, young peacemakers, defining moment for Sudan, war crimes fugitives, migrant ‘crisis’ in Hungary
  In today’s Daily Brief: the DR Congo Ebola outbreak is officially declared an international Public Health Emergency; UN Youth Envoy briefs Security Council; an ‘exciting and potentially defining’ moment for Sudan, says UN adviser; more cooperation’s needed to secure arrest of war crimes fugitives; and politicizing the migrant ‘crisis’ in Hungary
• ‘Young people care about peace’: UN Youth Envoy delivers key message to Security Council
  After visiting refugee camps in Jordan, UN-backed schools in Gaza, municipalities in Kosovo and Youth Councils in Denmark, the UN’s Youth Envoy visited the Security Council on Wednesday with a simple message from the field that “young people care about peace”.
• DR Congo Ebola outbreak now an international Public Health Emergency, UN health agency declares
  The second worst Ebola outbreak of all time, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), was officially declared an international Public Health Emergency of International Concern on Wednesday, with the head of the World Health Organization calling for countries to ‘take notice and redouble our efforts”.
• Politicization of migrant ‘crisis’ in Hungary making them scapegoats, independent UN human rights expert warns 
  Expressing deep concern over how migration and migrants themselves are being politicized and scapegoated in Hungary, an independent United Nations human rights expert on Wednesday urged the Government to immediately end its “crisis” approach to the issue. 
• International Court of Justice orders Pakistan to review death penalty for Indian accused of spying
  In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Pakistan to review a death sentence handed down in the case of a former Indian Navy officer accused by Pakistan of spying, finding that the country’s authorities acted in breach of the Vienna Convention, which lays out rules for diplomatic relations between countries.
• 25 years after population conference, women still face challenges to ‘well-being and human rights’, says UN chief
  Many women and girls “still face enormous challenges to their health, well-being and human rights”, Secretary-General António Guterres told a High-level General Assembly meeting on Tuesday conevened to mark the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), a milestone in reproductive health and rights. 
• Tuesday’s Daily Brief: inclusion in development, Asia monsoons, Ebola risk for youth, obesity and Yemen latest
  In today’s Daily Brief: Inclusion resonates widely at development meeting, UN offers help after monsoons devastate Asia, DR Congo Ebola effecting children, obesity plagues island communities, Yemen’s warring parties agree to ceasefire for key port
• Inclusion, empowerment and equality, must be ‘at the heart of our efforts’ to ensure sustainable development, says UN chief
  The world’s people are demanding “transformative change that is fair and sustainable,” Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday, calling on government leaders to use the upcoming slate of key United Nations meetings in September to “kickstart a decade of delivery and action for people and planet.” 
• UN agency helps stranded Ethiopians return home, ending ‘harrowing migration ordeal’
  With the support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), some 280 Ethiopians returned home on 10-11 July, after being facing traumatic experiences in Yemen.  
• ‘Severe’ new US asylum restrictions will put vulnerable families at risk, UN refugee agency says
  Deeply concerned about the new rule barring from asylum the majority of people crossing the southern land border of the United States, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has warned that the ‘severe’ measure will endanger vulnerable people in need of international protection from violence or persecution.
• Human cost of Ukraine conflict is growing, Security Council told
  The human cost of the conflict in Ukraine is growing, the UN political chief told the Security Council on Tuesday, during a briefing on the current situation in the country.
• ‘Greater urgency’ needed in fight against HIV/AIDS, warns UN agency, amidst $1 billion investment cuts
  The UN programme leading the global effort to end AIDS is calling for greater urgency and more funding in the fight against the disease, with data showing that the pace of progress in reducing new HIV infections is slowing, and some countries experiencing a rising number of cases.
• Ebola emergency meeting to go ahead as UNICEF warns of higher risk to very youngest children
  Ahead of a key expert meeting convened by the United Nations to decide whether to declare the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) an international health emergency, the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF warned that the epidemic “is infecting more children” than earlier outbreaks.  
• Governments at UN forum on development urged to close spending gaps, honour aid commitments
  The main UN platform following up on Member States’ actions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) continued its work Monday taking up the issue of finance, including examining ways to better align and distribute funds for development at national, as well as global levels.
• Survivors of ISIL terror in Iraq want justice, not revenge, says head of UN investigation team
  The scale and barbarity of the crimes committed by ISIL have ultimately served not to divide but to unify, Karim Asad Ahmad Khan, head of the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (UNITAD), told the Security Council on Monday.   
• ‘No hope’ global development goals can be achieved without women, says UN Assembly President
  Without the full participation and leadership of women, “we have no hope” of realizing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the President of the United Nations General Assembly told gender equality leaders on Monday.
• ‘We won’t get to zero cases of Ebola without a big scale-up in funding,’ UN relief chief warns
  Deadly, attacks on health workers in Ebola-hit areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), including one at the weekend that left two dead, are an indication that combating the disease outbreak will require far greater international support, UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said on Monday. 
• Monday’s Daily Brief: numbers of hungry people rising, millions of children need vaccines, Mali children need more protection
  In today’s Daily Brief: achieving zero hunger an “immense challenge”, with numbers of hungry rising; 20 million children are missing out on potentially life-saving vaccines, the killing of health workers in DR Congo shows the need for a stronger Ebola response; a UN expert calls for an end to violations against children in Mali; and better training is needed to cut global youth unemployment.
• Baby foods high in sugar, inappropriately marketed in Europe, reveal two UN studies
  Proper nutrition for newborn babies into early childhood is key to development and good health in later life, according to the Regional Director of the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe, as she launched two new studies on Monday.
• ‘Complacency’ a factor in stagnating global vaccination rates, warn UN health chiefs
  More than one in 10 children – almost 20 million worldwide – failed to receive potentially lifesaving vaccines in 2018, the UN said on Monday, citing obstacles including conflict, cost and complacency. 
• UN highlights importance of skills development on World Youth Skills Day
  At UN Headquarters, and across the globe, events are taking place on Monday to celebrate World Youth Skills Day – marked each year on 15 July – to raise awareness about the importance of youth skills development.
• Over 820 million people suffering from hunger; new UN report reveals stubborn realities of ‘immense’ global challenge
  After nearly a decade of progress, the number of people who suffer from hunger has slowly increased over the past three years, with about one in every nine people globally suffering from hunger today, the United Nations said in a new report released on Monday.
• With half of Somaliland children not in school, UNICEF and partners launch education access programme
  Access to education in Somaliland is extremely limited, with more than 50 per cent of children in Somaliland out of school. In an effort to address the problem, the UN children’s fund, UNICEF, has partnered with the government, and the global fund Education Cannot Wait, to launch a programme designed to help children affected by ongoing crises in the country.
• UN chief condemns terror attack in Kismayo, Somalia
  UN Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the terrorist attack that took place on July 12 in southern Somalia.