June 25, 2022 No comments
Seafarers' Day honours maritime journeys and voyages
INTERNATIONAL, 25 June 2022, SDGs - The United Nations has underlined its support for the men and women working at sea, whose immeasurable contributions help to keep global trade moving. Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted both their critical role, as well as the challenges they face, In his message to mark the Day of the Seafarer on Saturday. “The world counts on seafarers,” he said. “Ships transport a remarkable 90 per cent of the world’s commodities — from grains and energy, to consumer goods and much more. Without ships and the women and men who work on them, economies would stall and people would starve.” Pandemic challenges However, seafarers have faced immense challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The UN chief listed some of these issues, which include contracts extended long beyond their expiry dates and...
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June 25, 2022 No comments
INTERVIEW: Pollution, Cartagena, and the Caribbean
INTERNATIONAL, 25 June 2022, Climate and Environment - Since the 1980s, a UN Environment Programme (UNEP) convention has been in place, to deal with pollution issues affecting the wider Caribbean region. Since then, the climate crisis has been added to the risks. Christopher Corbin, the acting coordinator for the UNEP Cartagena Convention Secretariat, told UN News that the focus of the Convention is shifting from policy to local action. UN News How did the Cartagena Convention come about? Christopher Corbin The Cartagena Convention was driven primarily by a major oil spill that took place in the region close to Trinidad and Tobago in the early 1980s. This brought home the fact that this region is so dependent on the coastal and marine resources on the Caribbean Sea...
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June 24, 2022 No comments
Bosnia and Herzegovina: UN rights chief urges leaders to ‘turn the page on rhetoric’
INTERNATIONAL, 24 June 2022, Human Rights - Leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina must abandon divisive policies and focus on building an inclusive future for all, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Friday in the capital, Sarajevo, concluding an official visit to the country. The four-day mission marked the first visit by a UN human rights High Commissioner in more than two decades, and she noted that some of the same rights challenges from that era persist today. Ms. Bachelet hailed an “unprecedented ruling” handed down this week, sentencing three people for incitement to hatred for singing songs threatening violence. “There is no place for hate speech on any grounds,” she said. “As Bosnia and Herzegovina readies for the election in October, I encourage all politicians to turn...
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June 24, 2022 No comments
UN plan calls for real progress towards ending internal displacement crisis
INTERNATIONAL, 24 June 2022, Migrants and Refugees - With record numbers of people uprooted within their homelands due to conflict, disasters, the climate emergency and other tragedies, more must be done to end this crisis, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday, launching his Action Agenda on Internal Displacement. The plan outlines 31 commitments by the UN system to better resolve, prevent and address internal displacement, and calls for action from countries, international financial institutions, the private sector, and others. “Let me be clear: the duty to end displacement lies first and foremost with governments. However, we all have a responsibility to act,” Mr. Guterres said in a video message. Nearly 60 million uprooted The Action Agenda builds on a 2021 report by a high-level panel convened by the Secretary-General to identify concrete recommendations towards solving...
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June 24, 2022 No comments
Overturning of Roe v Wade abortion law a ‘huge blow to women’s human rights’ warns Bachelet
INTERNATIONAL, 24 June 2022, Women - Friday’s decision by the US Supreme Court which overturns the 50-year-old Roe v Wade judgement guaranteeing abortion across the United States, was described by the UN human rights chief as “a huge blow to women’s human rights and gender equality.” The widely anticipated Supreme Court decision, by six votes to three, was made in the specific case of Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health, and Michelle Bachelet said in a statement that it represents a “major setback” for sexual and reproductive health across the US. The historic decision returns all questions of legality and access to abortion, to the individual states. Reacting earlier to the US ruling, without making specific reference to it, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA) and the...
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