December 10, 2018 No comments
Iraq: Over 150,000 children endangered by ‘freezing’ temperatures, warns UNICEF
INTERNATIONAL, 10 December 2018, Humanitarian Aid - The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has ramped up efforts to provide warm clothes and life-saving supplies to more than 150,000 displaced children across northern Iraq whose lives are threatened by freezing temperatures. Many families in the region have been left with next to nothing after being on the move for years due to conflict and resulting economic hardship. It is “impossible” for them afford fuel for heating and winter clothes to keep their children warm, the UN agency warned. Flash floods last month worsened the situation, said Peter Hawkins, the head of UNICEF operations in Iraq. “The devastating floods have made this winter even more difficult for displaced children who are extremely vulnerable to hypothermia and respiratory diseases,”...
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December 10, 2018 No comments
Major UN aid operation for 650,000 gets underway across Syria-Jordan border
INTERNATIONAL, 10 December 2018, Humanitarian Aid - The United Nations began a four-week operation on Sunday, delivering lifesaving assistance to hundreds of thousands of Syrians in desperate need, from across the border in neighbouring Jordan. An estimated 369 trucks carrying over 11,200 metric tonnes of aid for over 650,000 people will be involved in the special aid operation at the Jaber-Nassib crossing with Jordan, which only re-opened in October. Six UN agencies and one international non-governmental organization (NGO) are participating in back-to-back trans-shipment deliveries that will provide one-month’s-worth of supplies. Anders Pedersen, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Jordan, called it “a major logistical operation” to “mitigatethe Syrian people’s suffering.” “We greatly appreciate the cooperation of the Jordanian authorities for their full support and commitment in...
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December 10, 2018 No comments
Worldwide UN family celebrates enduring universal values of human rights
INTERNATIONAL, 10 December 2018, Human Rights - Across the world, the UN family has been making sure that this year’s Human Rights Day – which falls on Monday, and marks 70 years since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – succeeds in raising awareness of the principles enshrined in the document, which are as important and relevant today, as they were in 1948. Speaking in Marrakesh, where over 160 Governments signed up to the first-ever global migration pact on Monday, UN chief António Guterres said that the Compact is an important step towards safety and dignity for millions of people which “sets out in practical terms how Member States and other stakeholders can respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of all migrants, in line with the Universal...
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December 10, 2018 No comments
‘Going green’ is good business says private sector at UN’s COP24 climate conference
INTERNATIONAL, 10 December 2018, Climate Change - Businesses across the world should no longer be viewed solely as greenhouse gas emissions culprits, but more as indispensable partners for climate action, who stand to increase profits from “going green”. That was the key message as the United Nations COP24 climate change conference went into its second week in Katowice, Poland. For years, sectors such as construction, transport, farming and retailing, have had the finger pointed at them for being major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions globally and for putting profit ahead of environmental protection. But increasingly, new technologies and models are transforming the private sector so that business leaders no longer have to choose between making money and taking better care of the planet. This...
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December 10, 2018 No comments
Governments adopt global migration pact to help ‘prevent suffering and chaos’
INTERNATIONAL, 10 December 2018, Migrants and Refugees - The Global Compact for Migration was adopted on Monday by leading representatives from 164 Governments at an international conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, in an historic move described by UN Chief António Guterres as the creation of a “roadmap to prevent suffering and chaos”. Speaking at the opening intergovernmental session, Mr. Guterres, said that the Compact provides a platform for “humane, sensible, mutually beneficial action” resting on two “simple ideas”. “Firstly, that migration has always been with us, but should be managed and safe; second, that national policies are far more likely to succeed with international cooperation.” The UN chief said that in recent months there had been “many falsehoods” uttered about the agreement and “the overall issue of migration”. In order to dispel...
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