Wounded in Syria, Journalist Edith Bouvier Appeals for Help On YouTube
Bouvier’s distressing video is yet another indication of how dire the situation is in Homs
Kofi Annan: A Wise Choice for a Near Impossible Task
He would make an Special Arab League/UN envoy to Syria, though he faces a near impossible task: to secure the immediate humanitarian access to besieged cities in Syria while simultaneously mediating a political solution to the crisis.
Top of the Morning: Wave of Attacks in Iraq; Big London Conference on Somalia Kicks Off
Feb 23, 2012 07:54 AM
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Syria; Somalia; Iran; Yemen elections; and more
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked the United Nations relief chief, Valerie Amos to visit Syria to assess the humanitarian situation in the Middle Eastern country, where a deadly Government crackdown continues against a pro-democracy uprising. Mr. Ban has asked Valerie Amos “to visit Syria to assess the humanitarian situation and renew the call for urgent humanitarian access,” the Secretary-General’s spokesperson told reporters today.
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Syria Envoy; Sustainable Energy for All; The Sahel; Kenya; and more
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday he was working urgently to find a special envoy for Syria who would initially have a humanitarian role but would also seek a political solution for the violence-torn country.Ban, who was asked by the U.N. General Assembly last week to appoint the envoy, told Reuters in an interview that he hoped to select an Arab who would represent both the United Nations and the Arab League.
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SG Travels; Libya; Iran; MDGs in the Asia-Pacific; and more
The Secretary-General will begin a three-nation trip next week that will take him to the United Kingdom, where he will attend an international conference on the situation in Somalia, before proceeding to Zambia and Angola, where he will meet with senior officials. He will also attend the launch of a polio vaccination campaign and meet with young people at a project on water and sanitation.
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Syria; Women and Youth empowerment; Access to contraception; and more
The General Assembly today strongly condemned the continued “widespread and systematic” human rights violations by the Syrian authorities and demanded that the Government cease all violence and protect its people. The text, which was adopted by a vote of 137 in favor to 12 against with 17 abstentions, also called on Syria “to immediately put an end to all human rights violations and attacks against civilians.”
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Syria draft in GA; Somalia; Bahrain; and more
The U.N. General Assembly has scheduled a Thursday vote on an Arab-sponsored resolution strongly condemning human rights violations by the Syrian regime and backing an Arab League plan aimed at ending the 11-month conflict.Similar to the failed Security Council resolution, the assembly draft “fully supports” the Arab League plan floated last month and demands an immediate halt to military operations in Syrian cities and withdrawal of government security forces.
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SG at KPMG Summit; Sudan/South Sudan; Advancement of Women; Madagascar; and more
G Ban Ki-moon today at the KPMG Summit: Business Perspective for Sustainable Growth encouraged more businesses to embrace the principle of sustainability in their strategies, noting that with the most of the world’s ecosystems in decline, widening social inequality and climate change, global prosperity, productivity and stability was at stake. He urged business leaders gathered at the conference to five steps to advance sustainability:
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Syria; Sudan/South Sudan; the Sahel; Haiti; and more
The UN human rights chief today appealed to Member States to act now to protect the Syrian people as the Government’s violent crackdown on peaceful protests continues unabated and the number of dead and injured continues to rise. “The longer the international community fails to take action, the more the civilian population will suffer from countless atrocities committed against them,” High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told the General Assembly.
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Syria; Libya; Haiti; WFP/Horn of Africa
The United Nations and the League of Arab States are considering sending a joint observer mission to Syria, including a joint special envoy, to try to end the crisis engulfing the Middle East country, with SG Ban Ki-Moon warning yesterday that recent attacks against civilians in the city of Homs were “a grim harbinger of worse to come.”Mr. Ban spoke yesterday with Nabil al-Araby, Secretary-General of the Arab League, about how to end the killings and start political negotiations between the Government of President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition.
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Syria; Sudan; Mali; DPKO’s new sexual abuse policy; and more
The UN’s human rights chief today urged the international community to protect civilians in Syria, stating that the Security Council’s failure to agree on collective action seems to have fuelled the Government’s readiness to massacre its own people. According to local sources, as well as independent media reports from inside the city of Homs, the Syrian army has sharply increased the use of tanks, helicopters, mortars, rockets and artillery fire to attack civilian areas, stated a news release issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
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UNCTAD Report; Syria; Libya; UN Refugee Agency; DR Congo
The world needs “a global new deal” to break the mold of economic thought that led to the international financial crisis, the head of the UN agency tasked with promoting trade and development says today. In a newly released report entitled Development-led globalization: Towards sustainable and inclusive development paths, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) urges the international community to take decisive steps towards reforming global finance into a system allowing for more stable and inclusive economic progress.
