China: UN rights office reiterates need to review national security framework
The 31 August 2022 report stated that violations had taken place in the context of the Government’s assertion that it was targeting terrorists among the Uyghur minority with a counter-extremism strategy, involving the use of so-called Vocational Educational and Training…
Internally displaced families in Yemen need increased aid: UNHCR
The update highlights information from the first half of 2024 and reveals that 4.5 million people are displaced and 18.2 million overall require humanitarian aid. The refugee agency based its update on 47,000 families who have already “endured years of…
Polio vaccines arrive in Gaza in boost to vaccination campaign: UNICEF
More than 640,000 children are targeted to receive the polio type two (nOPV) vaccines, UNICEF said in a post on X. The World Health Organization (WHO), the UN’s main agency assisting Palestine refugees (UNRWA) and other partners aim to coordinate…
Rights experts reveal impact of Poland’s restrictive abortion laws on women
These restrictive laws have forced many women to carry unwanted pregnancies to term, travel abroad to have legal abortions or seek private unsafe procedures, based on information from the UN human rights office (OHCHR). The report from the UN Committee…
Top UN aid official deplores latest wave of Russian attacks across Ukraine
“Like millions of people in Ukraine I spent hours in a shelter this morning because of the ongoing wave of attacks on Ukraine by the Russian Armed Forces,” Matthias Schmale said in a statement issued on Monday. He added that…
Myanmar: UN WFP pushes to reach flood-affected communities
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that initial reports indicated that hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland have been inundated. In the hardest-hit areas, urgent needs include basic food, drinking water, and sanitation. The emergency compounds the dire…
Middle East: ‘No time to lose’ in negotiating ceasefire and Gaza hostage release: Top UN envoy
Posting on X, Tor Wennesland said he had met Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Mustafa following “intense exchanges” between the Israeli military – which said it had carried out large-scale pre-emptive strikes – and the militant group Hezbollah based in southern…
‘The world needs your leadership’, Guterres tells Pacific Islands Forum
Secretary-General António Guterres was addressing the opening of the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga, telling leaders that while much of the world is embroiled in conflict, injustice and socio-economic crisis, the Pacific “is a beacon of solidarity and strength, environmental…
Afghanistan: Meet the midwife who stayed
As foreign troops suddenly withdrew, life for millions of Afghans, especially women and girls descended into chaos. “If I had left, a mother or a baby could have died,” Ms. Ahmadi said. “I was worried, but I couldn’t leave because…
New York students rise to task of being ‘PGA for a Day’
This marks just one of many meetings the two young New Yorkers took, as part of the long to-do list that constitutes the Assembly President’s day. The concept of being PGA for a Day is simple: two students from the…