Page 5 - United Nations

Amid debate on Ukraine conflict, India to host event on Gandhian philosophy

As the United Nations discusses the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, India said it will be hosting an event on the Gandhian thought and philosophy at the UN headquarters in New York on Thursday. To be organised jointly by the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations and the University for Peace at Economic and Social Council Chamber, the event on Thursday evening is expected to be attended by diplomats from across the world. On Friday, the UN Security Council is scheduled to hold a discussion on Ukraine. Announcing the event in a tweet, India's Permanent Mission to the United Nations said, "Join us tomorrow at UN for a thought-provoking initiative on the centrality of Mission Life & sustainable development to Gandhian thought as part of the the India Roundtable series." It also shared a quote by Gandhi: "In a gentle way, you can shake the world." The announcement comes as the UN General Assembly held an Emergency Special Session on Ukraine. UN Secretary-General Antonio ...

UNESCO chief urges tough regulation of social media to curb misinformation

The United Nations' educational, scientific and cultural agency chief on Wednesday called for a global dialogue to find ways to regulate social media companies and limit their role in the spreading of misinformation around the world. Audery Azoulay, the director general of UNESCO, addressed a gathering of lawmakers, journalists and civil societies from around the world to discuss ways to regulate social media platforms such as Twitter and others to help make the internet a safer, fact-based space. The two-day conference aims to formulate guidelines that would help regulators, governments and businesses manage content that undermines democracy and human rights, while supporting freedom of expression and promoting access to accurate and reliable information. The global dialogue should provide the legal tools and principles of accountability and responsibility for social media companies to contribute to the public good, Azoulay said in an interview with The Associated Press on the ...

Ukraine prez office head calls NSA Doval, seeks support for UN resolution

Head of Ukrainian President's Office Andriy Yermak has spoken to National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and sought India's support for a draft resolution in the UN on peace in Ukraine, asserting that cooperation with New Delhi was very important. According to a Ukrainian statement, Yermak during a phone call informed Doval about the current situation at the front, in particular about the "extremely difficult defense" of the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. "We know that Russia is preparing certain offensive actions, and we are preparing to respond. The Russian army is very unmotivated, while Ukrainian warriors are showing extraordinary bravery and resilience. We will not stop until we liberate all our territories. We only need weapons," Yermak said. Yermak's call to Doval comes days ahead of the UN General Assembly voting on the draft resolution underscoring the urgency to find lasting peace in Ukraine, a year after Moscow invaded its neighbour. India has mostly abstained on ..

Peacekeeping missions should not exist in perpetuity: India to UN

Observing that the security landscape of the UN peacekeeping missions today is more complex, violent and riskier, India has told the United Nations that such missions should not exist in perpetuity. Exit strategies should be part of the plans from the very beginning, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ruchira Kamboj told the UN General Assembly's Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations on Tuesday. "India believes that UN peacekeeping missions should not exist in perpetuity. Exit strategies should be part of the mission planning process from inception," Kamboj said at the UN headquarters in New York. Maintaining redundant missions for political expediency diverts essential resources from other crucial missions, she said, asserting, "It is high time we reviewed the need for continuing such missions." India has been at the forefront of UN peacekeeping missions for seven decades now. More than 2,60,000 Indians have worn the 'Blue Helmet' in 49 missions across t

Recent earthquakes have left 1.5 mn people homeless in Turkey: UNDP

The amount of rubble that needed to be cleared was enormous, and that the UNDP was seeking to minimise the threat of hazardous waste

Bangladesh demands Bangla be adopted as UN's official language

A senior Bangladesh minister on Tuesday exhorted the United Nations to formally adopt Bangla as one of its official languages, on the day when the country celebrated the Language Martyrs Day to commemorate the pioneers of the Bengali language movement. The UN has six official languages -- English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and Arabic. During the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly held last year, it adopted Bangla, Hindi and Urdu as the non-official languages following an India-sponsored resolution. We are again demanding that Bangla be given the status of an official language of the UN, the ruling Awami League general secretary and senior government minister Obaidul Quader said. The minister made this comment after paying tributes at Central Shaheed Minar here to the martyrs of the historic Language Movement by placing wreaths marking Amar Ekushey. "Let the spirit of Amar Ekushey inspire the fight against the anti-liberation forces," Quader asserted. Ekus

US urges UN to condemn N Korea; China, Russia blame Washington for tension

The United States and its allies urged the UN Security Council to condemn North Korea's unlawful ballistic missile launches, but China and Russia blamed the US for escalating tensions with stepped-up military exercises targeting Pyongyang. At the emergency meeting on Monday, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council that the United States will propose a presidential statement, saying at a minimum all 15 members should be agreeable to condemning the North's unprecedented missile launches, to urging Pyongyang to comply with UN Security Council sanctions resolutions, and to engage in meaningful dialogue. A presidential statement from the Security Council requires the support of all its members, including North Korea's closest allies, China and Russia. Thomas-Greenfield said the United States condemns North Korea's firing of two short-range ballistic missiles Monday following the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile Saturday in the strongest terms as flagrant ...

UN appoints Indo-Canadian coordinator for Scaling Up Nutrition Movement

United Nations Secretary-General Antnio Guterres has announced the appointment of Indo-Canadian Afshan Khan as the coordinator of the 'Scaling Up Nutrition Movement'. The Scaling Up Nutrition or SUN Movement is a country-driven initiative led by 65 nations and four Indian states united in their mission to end all forms of malnutrition by 2030, Stphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the secretary-general told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York. "Afshan Khan will succeed Gerda Verburg of the Netherlands, to whom the secretary-general expresses his gratitude for her efforts and dedication in leading the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement," he said. Born in India, Khan will lead the SUN Movement Secretariat, as well as coordinate the network of SUN Government Focal Points, the movement's stakeholders, and supporters, Dujarric said. She has both Canadian and United Kingdom citizenship. Khan holds a master's degree in public policy from the , and a bachelor's degree in political science

UN appeals for $45 mn aid for deadliest cholera outbreak in Malawi

"The flash appeal aims to help the people who are most at risk and hardest hit by the outbreak, through health, water and sanitation, nutrition, education and protection services"

UN continues to deliver cross-border aid to Syria in wake of earthquakes

The UN and its partners continue to scale up operations in other parts of Syria, with aid in the impacted areas remaining a top priority, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General

Syria urges UN to deter Israeli attacks after deadly missile strike

Five people, including a soldier, were killed and 15 others wounded by the Israeli missiles launched from the Golan Heights early Sunday

United Nations ocean treaty talks resume with goal to save biodiversity

United Nations members gather Monday in New York to resume efforts to forge a long-awaited and elusive treaty to safeguard the world's marine biodiversity. Nearly two-thirds of the ocean lies outside national boundaries on the high seas where fragmented and unevenly enforced rules seek to minimise human impacts. The goal of the U.N. meetings, running through March 3, is to produce a unified agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of those vast marine ecosystems. The talks, formally called the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, resume negotiations suspended last fall without agreement on a final treaty. The ocean is the life support system of our planet, said Boris Worm, a marine biologist at Canada's Dalhousie University. For the longest time, we did not feel we had a large impact on the high seas. But that notion has changed with expansion of deep sea fishing, mining, plastic pollution, climate change, and other hu

UNDP calls for proactive measures to eliminate violent extremism in Africa

Growing threat of violent extremism in the Sub-Saharan African region should be nipped in the bud using a raft of economic, social and political tools, a UNDP report said

UN chief calls for international support for people in quake-hit Turkey

Turkey is home to the largest number of refugees in the world and has shown enormous generosity to its Syrian neighbors for years, he noted

Hong Kong sees more pro-Beijing voices at United Nations rights review

Hong Kong supporters of a tough national security law imposed by China's ruling Communist Party have set their sights on a United Nations session, drawing concern from rights advocates. The law, which critics say Hong Kong authorities have used to crush dissent following massive 2019 protests, has been a focus at the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights' two-day hearing on China that concludes Thursday in Geneva. The committee reviews respect of those rights in nearly all UN member states every few years. Of some 30 reports on Hong Kong submitted for the session, more than half upheld the broadly applied national security law. None of the organisations some of which were led by pro-Beijing politicians that provided positive reports filed a submission in the previous review nine years ago, prompting concern from rights advocates that their participation could sway how the committee views human rights situations on the ground. They worry whether events are being ...

UN draft resolution calls for peace to ensure Ukraine's sovereignty

The European Union on Wednesday circulated the resolution to be voted on by the UN General Assembly on the eve of next week's first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, calling for a cessation of hostilities and a peace that ensures Ukraine's "sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity." There are no vetoes in the 193-member world body, so the resolution is certain to be adopted at the end of a high-level emergency special session of the assembly February 23. But the big question is how many "yes" votes it will get. To mark the anniversary, Ukraine asked the EU to draft the resolution in consultation with UN member states, with the aim of gathering strong support from the international community for peace in Ukraine in line with the UN Charter, said an EU diplomat who was not authorized to speak publicly. The charter calls for peaceful settlement of disputes and declares that all countries shall refrain "from the threat or use of force against the territorial

UN appeals for $5.6 billion to help millions affected by Ukraine conflict

With the full-scale war in Ukraine to enter its second year, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the UN Refugee Agency jointly appealed for $5.6 bn

All at sea

The impact of warming oceans is a neglected threat

India organises exhibition on millets at UN headquarters in New York

India has organised a special exhibition on the millets at the UN headquarters in New York to commemorate the 'International Year of Millets 2023'. The focus of the exhibition launched on Tuesday by India's Permanent Mission to the UN was on the different kinds of millets grown in India, their nutritional value and health benefits, including information on calorific content. The exhibition was attended by over a hundred delegates from the UN member states and senior UN officials. In her brief remarks, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ruchira Kamboj shared the reasons why India pursued making 2023 the International Year of Millets (IYM) and how millets were an important solution in the collective march towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This was followed by a launch video on the IYM and a special address by Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. The Co-Founder and Director of MRIDA Group, Arun Nagpal, shared his experiences on his journey with

UN chief Guterres calls for action to address root cause of rising seas

'Sea-level rise is not only a threat in itself. It is a threat-multiplier,' Guterres told a Security Council debate on 'Sea-level Rise: Implications for International Peace and Security'