February 23, 2021 No comments
Experts accuse Iran of rights violations in shooting down Ukraine airlines flight
INTERNATIONAL, 23 February 2021, Human Rights - Iran committed multiple human rights violations in shooting downing Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Flight PS752 last year and in the aftermath of the deadly attack, two independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council said on Tuesday. Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and Javaid Rehman, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the country, have consistently expressed concern over the 8 January 2020 incident. Flight PS752 was heading from Tehran to Kiev when it was struck down by two missiles fired by the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), killing all 176 people on board. Iran said the military personnel mistook the civilian aircraft for a US missile. The strike took...
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February 23, 2021 No comments
First wave of COVID-19 vaccine syringes start journey to Maldives
INTERNATIONAL, 23 February 2021, Health - The critical task of ensuring that all countries have enough medical equipment to vaccinate people safely against COVID-19 gathered pace on Tuesday, with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announcing that 100,000 syringes have been sent to the Maldives, ahead of an inoculation drive there. The shipment is part of “the first wave” of syringes and safety boxes organised by the agency, which over the next few weeks, plans to dispatch more than 14.5 million single-use needles to more than 30 countries, including Côte d'Ivoire and São Tomé and Principe. These include the 0.5 millilitre syringes which are meant for use with the AstraZeneca vaccine, while the 0.3 millilitre version is for the Pfizer-BioNTech shot. One billion jabs In total, UNICEF aims to...
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February 23, 2021 No comments
UN to review deadly convoy attack in DR Congo which led to Italian Ambassador’s death
INTERNATIONAL, 23 February 2021, Peace and Security - The World Food Programme (WFP) has provided further information on the deadly convoy attack in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Monday in which Italy’s Ambassador to the country, his bodyguard, and a WFP driver were killed. The UN’s Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) will be leading a detailed review into the incident, the agency said in an update on Tuesday. Forced to disembark Ambassador Luca Attanasio and his security escort, Vittorio Iacovacci, were among seven people travelling in two WFP vehicles from Goma, capital of North Kivu province, to visit one of the agency’s school feeding programmes in Rutshuru, approximately 40 kilometres away. The group left Goma at approximately 9:00 AM, local time, on Monday. An armed group...
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February 23, 2021 No comments
Climate crisis and economic shocks leave millions food insecure across Central America
INTERNATIONAL, 23 February 2021, Humanitarian Aid - Reporting that hunger has increased almost fourfold in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua in the past two years, the World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday warned that 1.7 million people are in the ‘emergency’ category of food insecurity, calling for $47.3 million now, to provide urgent food assistance. According to WFP, the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 pandemic and years of extreme climate events have left almost 8 million people in Central America chronically hungry so far this year. ‘Long and slow’ recovery “Considering the level of destruction and setbacks faced by those affected, we expect this to be a long and slow recovery”, said Miguel Barreto, WFP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. A WFP survey in January...
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February 23, 2021 No comments
UN rights experts call for US to address ongoing violations at ‘Kafkaesque’ Guantánamo military prison
INTERNATIONAL, 23 February 2021, Human Rights - In response to the Biden Administration’s announced review into closing the infamous Guantánamo Bay detention centre in Cuba, independent UN human rights experts on Tuesday said it was vital to also address ongoing violations being committed against the 40 or so inmates still incarcerated there. This should include investigating alleged torture and other ill-treatment at the facility, which was set up to house foreign terrorist suspects in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, said a statement from the UN rights office, OHCHR. The new United States administration said on 12 February, it was launching the formal review in an effort to finally close the military prison, reviving a stalled effort to shutter it during the Obama...
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