Page 17 - United Nations

China puts hold on UN proposal to blacklist LeT terrorist Hafiz Talah Saeed

China on Wednesday put a hold on a proposal by India and the US at the United Nations to blacklist Pakistan-based militant Hafiz Talah Saeed, the son of Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed, in the second such move within two days. Hafiz Talha Saeed, 46, is a key leader of the dreaded terrorist group LeT and the son of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed. In April this year, he had been declared a terrorist by the Indian government. It is learnt that China placed the hold on the proposal under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council. It is the second time in less than two days that Beijing put a hold on the bid submitted by India and the US to designate a Pakistan-based terrorist as a global terrorist. In a notification, India's Home Ministry had said that Hafiz Talha Saeed, 46, has been actively involved in recruitment, fund collection, and planning and executing attacks by the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in India and Indian interests in Afghanistan

India has role in shaping global human rights: UN secretary general

'As an elected member of the HRC, India has a responsibility to shape global human rights, and to protect and promote the rights of all individuals, including members of minority communities'

UN Secretary General reaches Mumbai to pay tributes to 26/11 victims

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will pay tributes to the victims of the 26/11 terror attacks at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai on Wednesday on the first day of his three-day visit to India. Guterres landed in Mumbai on Wednesday shortly after midnight via a commercial flight from London. He was greeted by senior Maharashtra government officials on arrival. He later drove to the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in south Mumbai, where he will pay tributes to the victims of the 26/11 terror attacks. The Taj Mahal Palace hotel was one of the targets of the horrific 26/11 terror attacks in 2008. Guterres will deliver a public address at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai on the subject -- "India @75: UN-India Partnership: Strengthening South-South Cooperation" later in the day, before flying to Gujarat. It is his first visit to India since his second term in office commenced in January. He had earlier visited the country in October 2018 during his first term at the top ...

UN Chief Antonio Guterres to pay tributes to the victims of 26/11 attacks

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will pay tributes to the victims of the Mumbai terror attacks at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel on Wednesday on the first day of his three-day visit to India.United Nations Resident Coordinator in India, Shombi Sharp said in a tweet, "A true honor to welcome #UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres to #India on behalf of #TeamUNIndia Looking forward to an amazing two days sharing how India is leading the way for achievement of #SDGs and #LNOB in many areas & @UNinIndia is proud to partner!."UN chief arrived in India on Wednesday on a three-day official visit.Guterres will be on an official visit to India from October 18-20, 2022. This will be UNSG's first visit to India, since he commenced his second term in office in January 2022. He had earlier visited India (in his first term) from 01- 04 October 2018.""Warm welcome to the UNSG @antonioguterres as he arrives in Mumbai for his official visit to India from 18-20 October 2022," tweeted Arindam ...

Fully support PM Modi's 'not an era of war' remark to Putin: UN chief

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said that he fully supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark to Russian President Vladimir Putin that this is "not an era of war", emphasising that all efforts towards creating conditions for a solution to the Ukraine conflict under the UN Charter and international law will be "very much welcomed." Speaking to PTI here ahead of his visit to India, Guterres also said he is "very concerned with escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war, especially when escalation causes a large number of civilian victims, obviously it only worsens what is already a very difficult situation." Russian President Putin ordered a "special military operation" against Ukraine on February 24. The raging conflict has further heightened economic stresses, especially on food and energy. "I think that what" Prime Minister Modi "said to Russian President Putin that this is not the time for war is absolutely true. No time is the time for war. But this time in particular is

Poverty in India fell by 415 million in 15 yrs; still has maximum poor: UN

Global Multidimensional Poverty Index has revealed that COVID-19 pandemic had set progress in reducing poverty back by 3-10 years

Thousands protest across Haiti as UN to discuss troops deployment

Thousands across Haiti organised protests demanding the prime minister's resignation as the country commemorated the death of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a slave who became the leader of the world's first Black republic. The protests on Monday come hours before the United Nations Security Council is scheduled to meet and vote on several measures to tackle the increasingly chaotic situation in Haiti, which is awaiting a response on its recent request for the immediate deployment of foreign troops. "The US needs Haiti to make its own decisions and not interfere in Haiti's business," said Marco Duvivier, a 35-year-old auto parts store manager, who had joined Monday's protest in Port-au-Prince. "Life is not going to get better with an international force." Haiti has practically reached a standstill more than a month after one of the country's most powerful gangs surrounded a key fuel terminal in the capital and prevented the distribution of more than 10 million gallons of gasoline and fuel

Guterres on India visit from today; to commemorate 75 years of India at UN

General Secretary Antonio Guterres is to visit India from today to commemorate India's 75-year partnership with the UN during which India's contribution to fighting climate change will be highlighted

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2022: All you need to know

On December 22, 1992, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution designating October 17 as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

India committed to COP27 under Egyptian presidency: Jaishankar to Prez Sisi

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday held discussions with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and highlighted India's commitment to the success of COP27 under the Egyptian presidency

Poor nations to seek assistance for climate actions at COP27: LDC Chief

The chair of an influential negotiating bloc in the upcoming United Nations climate summit in Egypt has called for compensation for poorer countries suffering from climate change to be high up on the agenda. Madeleine Diouf Sarr, who chairs the Least Developed Countries group, told The Associated Press that the November conference known as COP27 should capture the voice and needs of the most climate-vulnerable nations and deliver climate justice. Sarr said the group would like to see an agreement to establish a dedicated financial facility that pays nations that are already facing the effects of climate change at the summit. The LDC group, comprised of 46 nations that make up just a small fraction of global emissions, negotiates as a bloc at the UN summit to champion the interests of developing countries. Issues such as who pays for poorer nations to transition to cleaner energy, making sure no communities get left behind in an energy transition and boosting how well vulnerable ..

UN chief Guterres seeks early-warning coverage for global climate disasters

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that he will soon launch a plan for universal early-warning coverage for climate disasters

75% of six million Venezuelan migrants go unfed, unhoused, says UN

The United Nations said on Wednesday that almost three-quarters of the six million Venezuelan migrants currently in Latin America do not have adequate food, shelter, employment or medical care. The UN's International Organisation for Migration said in a report that 4.37 million of the Venezuelans who fled to other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean often live on the streets or inadequate housing, and often go hungry. Latin America and the Caribbean host 84 per cent of the estimated total of about 7 million Venezuelans who emigrated in recent years. The IOM and the UN refugee agency said that half of the Venezuelans in Latin America can't afford three meals a day. Many are forced to turn to sex work to meet their basic needs, the report said. Other take out informal loans or turn to begging. In Colombia, one of the countries that has received the largest number of Venezuelans, 29 per cent of Venezuelan children between the ages of 6 and 17 are not enrolled in ...

UNGA condemns Russia's annexation of Ukrainian regions; India abstains

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday adopted a resolution condemning the Russian annexation of the four Ukrainian regions

Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant wihout external power: UN watchdog

The head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said Wednesday that a Ukrainian nuclear plant surrounded by Russian troops has lost all external power needed for vital safety systems for the second time in five days. International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi said agency monitors at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant reported the interruption and said backup diesel generators are keeping nuclear safety and security equipment operational. This repeated loss of #ZNPP's off-site power is a deeply worrying development and it underlines the urgent need for a nuclear safety & security protection zone around the site, Grossi tweeted.

50% of world's poorest need debt relief to avert development crisis: UNDP

Fifty-four developing economies accounting for more than half of the world's poorest people need urgent debt relief as a result of cascading global crises, according to the UNDP

UN-African Union cooperation the best but faces challenges: Guterres

Lauding the collaboration between the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) as the best ever, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned major challenges lie ahead

Venezuela, South Korea, Afghanistan lose vote for UN rights body

Venezuela, South Korea and Afghanistan lost contested races for seats on the top UN human rights body in Tuesday by the General Assembly, which faced criticism for electing countries like Vietnam and Sudan, which have been accused of having abysmal human rights records. The 193-member assembly voted by secret ballot to fill 14 seats on the 47-member Human Rights Council. Seats are allocated to regions to ensure geographical representation, a rule that has regularly led to many regions putting forward uncontested slates as Africa, Eastern Europe and Western nations did this year. Human rights groups have long criticised this practice, saying it denies UN member nations any choice of countries on the council and virtually guarantees seats for some countries with poor rights records. In this year's election, the most hotly watched race was in the Latin America and Caribbean regional group, where Chile, Costa Rica and Venezuela were vying for two seats. The result saw Chile get 144 ...

UN, G7 decry Russian attack in Ukrainian cities as possible war crime

Russian forces showered Ukraine with more missiles and munition-carrying drones Tuesday after widespread strikes killed at least 19 people in an attack the UN human rights office described as particularly shocking and amounting to potential war crimes. Air raid warnings sounded throughout the country for a second straight morning as Ukrainian officials advised residents to conserve energy and stock up on water. Strikes in the capital and 12 other regions Monday caused power outages and pierced the relative calm that had returned to Kyiv and many other cities far from the war's front lines. It brings anger, not fear, Kyiv resident Volodymyr Vasylenko, 67, said as crews worked to restore traffic lights and clear debris from the city's streets. We already got used to this. And we will keep fighting. The leaders of the Group of Seven industrial powers condemned the bombardment and said they would stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes. Their pledge defied Russian warnings tha

Serious debt crisis unfolding across developing countries, says UNDP report

The United Nations' Development Programme (UNDP) joined on Tuesday the chorus of institutions and charities warning that a serious debt crisis is now taking hold in the poorest parts of the world.