Month: August 2023
Indonesian doctors act on tell-tale signs of family violence
When the parents of an injured five-year-old boy told Dr. Fai’zah A. Salim that he fell off a ladder, she was not convinced and suspected otherwise. Trained by UNFPA in the Central Sulawesi capital city of Palu to identify both physical and psychological signs of domestic violence, she referred the boy to a social counsellor.…
Read MoreSudan: ‘lost generation’ of children amid war, hunger, disease: UN humanitarians
Mr. Griffiths said that the conflict spelled trauma for Sudan’s youth and cited “deeply disturbing” reports that some children were being used in the fighting. He also warned that hundreds of thousands of children in the country were severely malnourished and “at imminent risk of death” if left untreated. Those children were particularly vulnerable to…
Read MoreDPR Korea: Dialogue ‘only way forward’, UN official says in wake of latest launch
“I emphasize the importance of re-establishing communication channels, particularly between military entities,” said Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, briefing ambassadors at the Security Council. “Exercising maximum restraints is critical to avoid unintended escalation. Diplomacy and dialogue – not isolation – is the only way forward.” On 24 August,…
Read MorePakistan: Flood waters have gone but horror continues for children, UNICEF warns
Speaking one year on from the unprecedented disaster, Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan, noted new challenges for about four million children living without safe water in flood-affected areas. “Vulnerable children living in flood-affected areas have endured a horrific year. They lost their loved ones, homes and schools. As the monsoon rains return, the fear…
Read MoreNew global fund ‘welcome boost’ to safeguarding biodiversity
The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, launched at the Global Environmental Facility Assembly in Vancouver, Canada, will support the implementation of the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and guide nature towards recovery by 2050. Maria Helena Semedo, FAO Deputy Director-General, emphasized the importance of the Kunming-Montreal…
Read MoreSecurity Council hears of ‘unimaginable suffering’ of Ukrainian people, 18 months into war
Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, was briefing a meeting of the Security Council, which also coincided with the 32nd anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. “I would like to congratulate the Ukrainian people today and take this occasion to stress, once again, that the UN’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity…
Read MoreAt BRICS Summit, Guterres global unity call in face of ‘existential’ challenges
Addressing the BRICS Summit, taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa, Secretary-General António Guterres commended the Rainbow Nation’s “extraordinary path to unity through action and justice.” “That’s what our world needs: unity for action and unity for justice; we are confronting existential challenges,” he said, drawing attention to worsening impacts of climate change and rising poverty,…
Read MoreMore than two million children displaced by Sudan war: UNICEF
Fighting between the Sudanese Army and military rival the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which erupted in April, has displaced 1.7 million children within the country while more than 470,000 have fled across the border to safety. Urgent response needed Given these numbers, and that countless more children are trapped by the violence, “the urgency of our collective response…
Read MoreJapan: IAEA monitoring treated water release from Fukushima nuclear plant
Experts from the UN nuclear watchdog were present to monitor and assess that all relevant international safety standards were applied, as part of a multiyear review of a process that could last for decades. The decision to release the water into the sea has sparked criticism in Japan and the region. Long-term commitment The IAEA…
Read MoreTop UN aid official in Ukraine deplores latest wave of ‘massive Russian attacks’
Denise Brown issued a statement deploring this “new wave of massive Russian attacks”, and appealed for the violence to end. “Grain storage facilities, vital for the Ukrainian farmers and global food security, have been hit in the Danube area,” she said. “A school in the Sumy region was damaged, and teachers were killed and injured.” International media…
Read More