September 15, 2019 No comments
Guterres calls for ‘maximum restraint’ following drone assault on key Saudi oil facility
INTERNATIONAL, 15 September 2019, Peace and Security - The UN Secretary-General appealed on Sunday for “maximum restraint" following a wave of drone attacks claimed by Houthi rebels in Yemen, against a huge Saudi Arabian State-owned Armco petroleum processing facility, which threatens to disrupt global oil supplies. Yemen-based rebels who have been fighting a Saudi led coalition, creating the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, said they were responsible for the aerial assault early on Saturday, but the United States said there was no evidence to back that up, and accused Iran of an “unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply”. Iran firmly denied any responsibility on Sunday, and reportedly increased tensions around the region by pointing out that US facilities were within range of Iranian missiles. Saudi oilfields have been the target...
Read more
September 14, 2019 No comments
UN chief urges ‘active, substantive and meaningful participation’ on International Day of Democracy
INTERNATIONAL, 14 September 2019, Human Rights - On the International Day of Democracy, the United Nations chief urged each Government to respect its citizens’ right to “meaningful participation” in the political process. “At heart, democracy is about people”, Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message for Sunday. “It is built on inclusion, equal treatment and participation, and it is a fundamental building block for peace, sustainable development and human rights”. While saluting all who “strive tirelessly to make this happen”, he affirmed that these values and aspirations “cannot be seen as tokens or lip service” but must instead be “real in people’s lives”. “Yet the International Day of Democracy takes place at a time when trust is low and anxiety is high”, Mr. Guterres continued. “People are frustrated by...
Read more
September 14, 2019 No comments
In The Bahamas, Guterres sees impact of ‘Category Hell’ hurricane, ‘powered by climate change’
INTERNATIONAL, 14 September 2019, Humanitarian Aid - The UN chief saw for himself the deadly power of Hurricane Dorian on the shattered islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama on Saturday, describing it as more like a “Category Hell” disaster, than the official Category 5 designation used by meteorologists. Dorian was “Category Hell”, said Secretary-General António Guterres, “but he was not powered by a devil. We have always had many hurricanes, but now they are more intense, and more frequent, and they are powered by climate change.” He said it was key for the international community to learn two things from the monster storm which struck on 1 September, killing at least 50 people, while around 1,300 are still reported missing: “We need to stop climate change, we...
Read more
September 13, 2019 No comments
Monsoon destroys Rohingya shelters, sparking record UN emergency food agency response in Bangladesh
INTERNATIONAL, 13 September 2019, Humanitarian Aid - Unusually heavy monsoon rains have inundated shelters in refugee camps in southern Bangladesh creating “havoc”, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday, as it launched its biggest emergency response of the year for displaced Rohingya families. At a regular briefing in Geneva, WFP spokesperson Hervé Verhoosel said that 16,000 people had received food assistance in just 24 hours - more than all those reached since the monsoon season began in June. The flooding was “much bigger” than usual, Mr. Verhoosel insisted, adding that the area of Teknaf was worst-affected, thanks to record rainfall this week. Relaying information from colleagues in Cox’s Bazar – a series of camps that have been home to hundreds of thousands of mainly Rohingya refugees...
Read more
September 13, 2019 No comments
Delhi Declaration: Countries agree to make ‘land degradation neutrality’ by 2030, a national target for action
INTERNATIONAL, 13 September 2019, Climate Change - A major UN conference on fighting desertification agreed on Friday to make the Sustainable Development Goal target of achieving “land degradation neutrality” (LDN), a national target for action. The Governments which are party to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), met in the Indian capital of New Delhi over ten days for COP14, adopting a series of breakthrough measures in the accord, known as the Delhi Declaration. Besides the LDN agreement - whereby countries have pledged to halt the degradation of land to the point where ecosystems and land use can no longer be supported - there was a landmark decision to boost global efforts to mitigate and manage the risks of crippling drought. Countries will also now be...
Read more
