Month: December 2023
Rebuild trust and restore hope in 2024: UN chief’s call
“Humanity is strongest when we stand together. 2024 must be a year for rebuilding trust and restoring hope,” expressed Mr. Guterres in his New Year’s message. “Let’s resolve to make 2024 a year of building trust and hope in all that we can accomplish together,” he urged, concluding with warm wishes for a happy and…
Read MoreUN rights chief warns of ‘dehumanization’ of Palestinians amid West Bank violence as Gaza crisis deepens
Commenting on a new report on the West Bank released by his office, OHCHR, Mr. Türk expressed concern at the use of military means and weapons by law enforcement, movement restrictions affecting Palestinians and a sharp rise in settler violence resulting in the displacement of herding communities. “The dehumanization of Palestinians that characterizes many of the…
Read MoreStories from the UN Archive: Hollywood greats campaign against malaria and polio
Following the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness, marked annually on 27 December, we took a look at how two renowned actors helped the UN health agency in 1959. A singing legend, Mr. Sinatra lent his golden voice to WHO for a UN Radio story, telling the tale of two victims of polio in Indonesia, and Hollywood…
Read More‘Act on the lessons of COVID-19’, Guterres says on Epidemic Preparedness Day
The world must prepare for the next pandemic and act on lessons learned from COVID-19, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a message on Wednesday to mark the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness.
Read MoreIndonesia urged to protect refugees following mob attack
Hundreds of young people stormed a building basement where scores of Rohingya refugees were sheltered, according to media reports. The Rohingya are a mainly Muslim community who have fled waves of persecution in Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country. Nearly one million are living in camps in Bangladesh and more than 1,000 have arrived in Indonesia…
Read MoreGaza crisis: southern areas ‘bursting at seams’ amid new wave of bombing and displacement
Locations in the north and south of the enclave were hit as Israeli ground forces also reportedly pushed into central areas, along with the firing of rockets by Palestinian armed groups into Israel, prompting concerns from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, about the safety of civilians uprooted time and again. Rafah governorate in…
Read MoreWorld News in Brief: Senior Humanitarian Coordinator for Gaza, cholera spreading in Sudan, aid for eastern Ukraine
Holland’s outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Sigrid Kaag will facilitate, coordinate, monitor and verify aid consignments to the embittered enclave, in line with a recent Security Council resolution. She will also establish a mechanism to accelerate humanitarian relief shipments through States that are not party to the conflict. She is expected to take up the assignment…
Read More2023 marked by achievements and ‘avoidable suffering’: WHO chief
Reflecting on 2023, which also marked the UN agency’s 75th anniversary, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted key achievements and set out objectives for the coming year. “In May, I declared an end to COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern. This marked a turning point for the world following three years of crisis,…
Read MoreUN envoy welcomes ‘significant step’ towards ceasefire in Yemen
The development follows a series of meetings with the sides held in Riyadh and Muscat, his office said in a statement on Saturday. Special Envoy Hans Grundberg welcomed their commitment to a set of measures to implement a nation-wide ceasefire, improve living conditions, and engage in preparations for the resumption of an inclusive political process…
Read MoreGaza health workers pushed to the limit amid airstrike ‘carnage’
World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Medical Teams coordinator Sean Casey said that “100-plus patients” had been brought into Al-Aqsa Hospital on Monday in the space of 30 minutes, following reported blasts, including near Al-Maghazi refugee camp. All of them needed urgent treatment for serious wounds, the WHO official told UN News, while “about 100” more…
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