Month: June 2023
Thailand: Moving from punishment to treatment of people who use drugs
“I first started taking drugs when I was 15,” says 49-year-old Prapat Sukkeaw. “I smoked marijuana, but it was laced with heroin. I felt like I was floating, and it meant that I could forget about all the problems that I faced as a teenager. It was a beautiful feeling.” Prapat Sukkeaw is one of…
Read MoreWith needs at a record high, underfunding is chronic Guterres tells humanitarians
With 360 million people worldwide in need of humanitarian assistance, up 30 percent since early 2022, global humanitarian needs have yet again reached record levels. In a video message to the Humanitarian Affairs Segment, a platform created by the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to find solutions to pressing humanitarian aid issues, Antonio Guterres cited…
Read MoreOn Peacebuilding Day, ambassadors discuss response to organized crime in the Sahel
The PBC, an intergovernmental advisory body launched in 2006, plays a crucial role in supporting peace efforts in conflict-affected countries. Consisting of 31 Member States elected from the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the Economic and Social Council, it brings together top donors and troop-contributing countries. Ambassador Ivan Šimonović of Croatia, Commission Chair, cited the…
Read MoreUkraine: War ‘weakening’ international security, political affairs chief warns
“The war in Ukraine has created a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe, traumatized a generation of children, and accelerated the global food and energy crises,” said Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. “We cannot discount further dangerous knock-on effects,” she cautioned, citing urgent concerns, from rising death tolls to nuclear threats. Worsening conditions The impact…
Read MoreSudan: OHCHR calls for ‘urgent action’ to end militia attacks on people fleeing El Geneina
The explosion of ethnic violence in Darfur largely by nomadic “Arab” groups in alliance with the RSF who have been battling national army forces for control of the country since mid-April, has led tens of thousands to flee into neighbouring Chad. ‘Horrifying accounts’ In a statement, OHCHR Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said interviews with people fleeing…
Read MoreUkraine’s ‘Wild West’: Rebuilding a ‘new’ Kharkiv during an invasion
Speaking with UN News one hour after fierce shelling sparked fires across the city, Mr. Rosenfeld said his “Kharkiv is a frontier city” concept is now being sketched out amid the rubble. “Seeing the whole city from the panoramic windows and the smoke from the fire, you understand that our city is proud of itself,…
Read MoreTunisia must ‘change course’ amid media crackdown: UN rights chief
“It is troubling to see Tunisia, a country that once held so much hope, regressing and losing the human rights gains of the last decade,” Mr. Türk said, urging the country to “change course”. The UN human rights office (OHCHR) said that over the past three months, the Tunisian authorities have used security and counter-terrorism…
Read MoreUrgent reform needed to shield women and children from violence during custody battles
“The tendency of family courts to dismiss the history of domestic violence and abuse in custody cases, especially where mothers and/or children have brought forward credible allegations of domestic abuse, including coercive control, physical or sexual abuse is unacceptable,” said Reem Alsalem, UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, in a report to the Human Rights Council…
Read MoreKillings drive Israelis and Palestinians ‘deeper into an abyss’, warns Türk
“These latest killings and the violence, along with the inflammatory rhetoric, serve only to drive Israelis and Palestinians deeper into an abyss,” said the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as his Office warned of the “terrible impact on both Palestinians and Israelis” of the escalation, before calling for an immediate end to the bloodshed. Mr. Türk’s comments…
Read MoreSomalia in danger of losing hard-won gains, Security Council hears
“Whilst many challenges and risks lie ahead, there are also many opportunities, and I urge all international partners to lean in and provide additional support to the people,” said the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia Catriona Laing. Regarding current security conditions, Ms. Laing, who also heads the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), raised concerns…
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