United Nations

UN chief, Security Council condemn deadly mosque attack in Pakistan

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council have condemned the suicide bombing at a mosque in Peshawar city of Pakistan, with a UN spokesperson saying countries must ensure that their territories are not used for terror activities. Strongly condemning the suicide bombing on Monday that killed at least 90 people and injured over 100 others, Guterres said in a statement that it is particularly abhorrent that the attack occurred at a place of worship. The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Freedom of religion or belief, including the ability to worship in peace and security, is a universal human right, he said. At the daily press briefing here, spokesman for the Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, said, What is clear is that every government or every authority that has control over territory has a responsibility towards the international community to make sure that their territory is not be

PM Modi leads International Yoga Day celebrations at UN headquarters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday addressed the ninth International Yoga Day celebrations at the United Nations headquarters in New York

Russia loses election to three UN bodies over West's support to Ukraine

Russia lost elections to three United Nations bodies this week, a sign that opposition to its invasion of Ukraine over a year ago remains strong. The votes in the 54-member UN Economic and Social Council follow approval of six non-binding resolutions against Russia by the 193-member U.N. General Assembly. The latest on Feb. 23, the eve of the first anniversary of the invasion called for Moscow to end hostilities and withdraw its forces and was adopted by a vote of 141-7 with 32 abstentions. In the ECOSOC votes, Russia was overwhelmingly defeated by Romania for a seat on the Commission on the Status of Women. It lost to Estonia to be a member of the executive board of the U.N. children's agency UNICEF. And it was defeated by Armenia and the Czech Republic in secret ballot votes for membership on the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after Wednesday's votes, This is a clear signal from ECOSOC members that no country ...

Iran says won't hesitate to give 'decisive response' to Israeli threat

Iran's envoy to the United Nations said Iran will not hesitate to give a "decisive response" to any threat from Israel, state media reported.

India elected to UN statistical body for 4-yr term, EAM congratulates

India has been elected to the highest statistical body of the United Nations for a four-year term beginning January 1 next year. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said this on Twitter. People familiar with the matter said India won handsomely in the UN Statistical Commission election securing 46 out of 53 votes, leaving rivals Republic of Korea (23) China(19) and the United Arab Emirates (15) far behind. This was a multi-cornered election, four candidates for two seats, they said. "India elected to the highest UN statistical body for a 4-year term beginning on 1 January 2024! Congrats Team @IndiaUNNewYork for coming through so strongly in a competitive election," he said. Jaishankar said India's expertise in the field of statistics, diversity and demography has earned it the seat on the UN Statistical Commission.

UN in touch with India for food supplies to Afghanistan: Official

India and the World Food Programme signed an agreement last month to provide Afghanistan with 20,000 tonnes of wheat that would be sent through the Chabahar Port

New green industrial age needed to achieve climate targets: United Nations

Financing Sustainable Transformations says urgent, massive investments are needed to accelerate transformations, including in electricity supply, industry, farming, transportation, and buildings

UN Women chief Sima Bahous condemns Taliban ban on its female Afghan staff

"We will not replace our female workforce with men," she added

India elected to UN statistical body for four-year term from January 1

India has been elected to the highest statistical body of the UN for a four-year term beginning January 1 next year. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said this on Twitter. "India elected to the highest UN statistical body for a 4-year term beginning on 1 January 2024! Congrats Team @IndiaUNNewYork for coming through so strongly in a competitive election," he said. Jaishankar said India's expertise in the field of statistics, diversity and demography has earned it the seat on the UN Statistical Commission.

Taliban bans Afghan female employees of UN from work in eastern province

Female Afghan employees of the United Nations have been banned from working by Taliban authorities in eastern Afghanistan, UN officials said on Tuesday. The UN mission expressed serious concern after its female staffers were prevented from reporting to work in Nangarhar province. We remind de facto authorities that United Nations entities cannot operate and deliver life-saving assistance without female staff, the world body said in a tweet. Taliban spokesmen were not immediately available for comment and it wasn't immediately clear whether the ban extended beyond Nangarhar province. Despite initial promises of a more moderate rule than during its previous stint in power, the Taliban have imposed harsh measures since seizing power in 2021 as US and NATO forces were pulling out of Afghanistan after two decades of war. Girls are banned from education beyond sixth grade and women are barred from working, studying, travelling without a male companion, and even going to parks. Women mus

Nearly 70 countries still contaminated by mines, people being killed: UN

Landmines, which can be produced for as little as USD 1, do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Their use violates international human rights and humanitarian laws

UN adopts resolution seeking court clarity on climate change obligations

The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution to seek opinion of the world body's principal judicial organ on countries' obligations to address climate change

UN calls for democracy in Myanmar after army dissolves Aung San's party

After the dissolution of Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the United Nations has called for a return to democracy in the country

UN expert advising IOC gives views on Russians athletes at Olympics

Russian athletes who have actively served in the military invasion of Ukraine should be allowed to return to international sports if they did not take part in war crimes, according to a United Nations expert advising the International Olympic Committee. The U.N. special rapporteur for cultural rights, Alexandra Xanthaki, said late Sunday only Russian military members implicated in "allegations of war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity or propaganda for war" should be denied neutral status to compete in international sports ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Xanthaki angered Ukrainian athletes who took part in an IOC-hosted call to consult them ahead of an Olympic announcement due Tuesday to update guidance for sports bodies 16 months before the opening of the Paris Games. Ukrainian government and sports officials want the IOC to ban all Russians from the 2024 Games and claim most of the country's recent Olympic medalists were affiliated with the military. Xanthaki wrote on he

Taliban urges for removal of officials from UN blacklist, says report

The Taliban has once again urged the United Nations (UN) to remove the names of its members from the blacklist

India must end crackdown on Kashmiri human rights defenders: UN expert

A top UN expert on Friday asked India to immediately end the crackdown on Kashmiri human rights defenders and urged New Delhi to release and close all investigations initiated against them. Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders made this comment days after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) formally arrested jailed Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society programme coordinator Khurram Parvez in connection with its NGO terror funding case. The NIA said the case relates to the terror funding of proscribed terrorist organisations, such as LeT and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, by certain NGOs, trusts and societies based in the Valley. Indian authorities appear to be intensifying the long-standing repression of Kashmiri civil society, Lawlor said. The State must respect its human rights obligations and be held accountable where it violates them," she said in a statement. Parvez has been in prison since his arrest by the NIA in November 2021 for anti-national ...

Receding glaciers to cut flows of rivers like Indus, Ganges: UN chief

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that major Himalayan rivers like the Indus, the Ganges and Brahmaputra, all hugely important for India, could see reductions in their flows as glaciers and ice sheets recede over the coming decades due to global warming. "Glaciers are critical to all life on earth. Over centuries, they carved out the landmasses we call home. Today, they cover 10 per cent of our world. Glaciers are also the world's water towers," Guterres said in his remarks to an event on the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation Wednesday. Guterres voiced concern that human activity is driving the planet's temperature to dangerous new levels and "melting glaciers are the canary in the coalmine". Antarctica is losing an average of 150 billion tons of ice mass every year while the Greenland ice cap is melting even faster losing 270 billion tonnes per year. In Asia, 10 major rivers originate in the Himalaya region, supplying freshwater to 1.3 billion people living

UN chief Guterres urges 'game-changing' commitments on clean water

The United Nations chief urged the first world conference on water in over 45 years on Wednesday to address the 21st century emergency that is wasting the world's most important resource and has left billions of people without clean water and basic sanitation. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the opening session that water is humanity's lifeblood and a human right, but the world is draining it through vampiric overconsumption and unsustainable use and evaporating it through global heating. In a challenge to all nations and the broader international community, he said the three-day conference must represent a quantum leap in recognition of the vital importance of water and the need for action to ensure its sustainable use. Guterres called for game-changing commitments toward U.N. goals, including ensuring that all people have access to drinking water and sanitation by 2030. The U.N. World Water Development Report, issued on the eve of the conference, says 26% of the world's .

About half of world's urban population to face water scarcity by 2050

26% of the world's population doesn't have access to safe drinking water

India likely to be severely affected by water scarcity by 2050: UN report

India is expected to be the most severely affected as the global urban population facing water scarcity is projected to increase from 933 million in 2016 to 1.7-2.4 billion people in 2050, a flagship UN report said on Tuesday. The 'United Nations World Water Development Report 2023: partnerships and cooperation for water', issued Tuesday ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference, said that around 80% of people living under water stress lived in Asia; in particular, northeast China, as well as India and Pakistan. "The global urban population facing water scarcity is projected to increase from 933 million (one third of global urban population) in 2016 to 1.7-2.4 billion people (one third to nearly half of global urban population) in 2050, with India projected to be the most severely affected," the report said, citing data. "There is an urgent need to establish strong international mechanisms to prevent the global water crisis from spiralling out of control," said UNESCO Director-General .