November 20, 2019 No comments
UN chief calls for ‘green and clean’ development in message for Africa Industrialization Day
INTERNATIONAL, 20 November 2019, Economic Development - As African countries gear up to implement an historic free trade agreement, the UN Secretary-General is urging leaders to pursue economic growth that benefits both people and the planet. António Guterres made the appeal in his message for Africa Industrialization Day, observed annually on 20 November. The UN chief said industrial development is “of critical importance” for sustained and inclusive economic growth in African countries. While manufacturing on the continent has been growing faster than the world average, he said it will need to speed up. Launched last year, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement is expected to usher in a market of least $3 trillion and a consumer base of more than one billion. At the same time, the manufacturing...
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November 19, 2019 No comments
US pardons for accused war criminals, contrary to international law: UN rights office
INTERNATIONAL, 19 November 2019, Human Rights - A presidential pardon for two United States soldiers accused of war crimes, and a sentence reduction for a third, “run against the letter and the spirit of international law which requires accountability for such violations”, the United Nations human rights wing said on Tuesday. “While pardons exist in international law, and can properly address issues of injustice or unfairness”, Rupert Colville, Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told reporters at a regular press briefing in Geneva that these cases showed no circumstances to suggest anything other than “simply voiding the otherwise proper process of law in the cases”. “These pardons send a disturbing signal to military forces all around the world”, he added. The accused According to news reports, Lieutenant Clint Lorance was tried and convicted for ordering the...
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November 19, 2019 No comments
‘Three-country crisis’ across central Sahel puts whole generation at risk, warns UN food agency
INTERNATIONAL, 19 November 2019, Humanitarian Aid - Violent attacks by extremists “almost every day” in the Sahel nations of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have displaced nearly one million people and caused emergency levels of malnutrition, UN humanitarians have said. Warning of an impending humanitarian crisis, the World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday said that if nothing is done to tackle hunger in the region, a whole generation could be at risk. A third of Burkina Faso now a conflict zone Burkina Faso is worst hit, with one-third of the country now a conflict zone. On Monday, just over the border in eastern Mali, more than 20 soldiers were killed in an attack on their patrol by militants, the latest in a series of deadly attacks linked to...
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November 19, 2019 No comments
UN ‘regrets’ new US position on legality of Israeli settlements
INTERNATIONAL, 19 November 2019, Peace and Security - The longstanding position of the UN regarding Israeli settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territory – that they are in breach of international law – is unchanged, Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said during a press briefing on Tuesday in New York, reacting to the policy reversal announced by the United States. Mr. Dujarric added that the UN “very much regrets” the announcement of the new US position on Monday and remains “committed to a two-State solution based on the relevant UN resolutions”. Earlier on Tuesday, at a press briefing in Geneva, Spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR), Rupert Colville, told reporters that a change in the policy position of one Member State does...
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November 19, 2019 No comments
Reconciliation helps ‘repair fractures’, enable lasting peace, Security Council hears
INTERNATIONAL, 19 November 2019, Peace and Security - The UN Security Council this Tuesday has been debating what one activist labeled “the toughest and arguably most important part of the peace-building cycle”: reconciliation. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the gathering, reconciliation processes have played a crucial role in resolving ethnic, religious and political differences in places such as Cambodia, Rwanda, and Northern Ireland, enabling periods of sustained peace. “Reconciliation helps to repair fractures caused by an absence of trust between state and people, when institutions and individuals acknowledge their role in past crimes, and both victims and perpetrators muster the courage to face the truth. It is a process through which societies can move from a divided past to a shared future,” he said. Inclusion comes...
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