Life is hard for Darfur's refugees in eastern chad. This disturbing video from the UN Refugee Agency shows how Darfuri refugees are coping with shortages of water and cooking fuel as they fight to survive in a harsh environment.
Life is hard for Darfur's refugees in eastern chad. This disturbing video from the UN Refugee Agency shows how Darfuri refugees are coping with shortages of water and cooking fuel as they fight to survive in a harsh environment.
ICJ: as you may have heard, today the International Court of Justice delivered its advisory opinion on the legality of Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence, which, by a vote of 10-4, decided that the declaration did not violate international law. Secretary Clinton issued this positive statement in response. Both the SG and Clinton have urged constructive dialogue in the wake of this decision.
The International Court of Justice issued a long-awaited ruling on the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia in February 2008.
Bec Hamilton writes a very important dispatch from Sudan where she reports that Sudanese authorities are heavily censoring what journalists may write about South Sudan's looming independence.
A new report by the UN Development Program shows how discriminatory laws against men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people undermine the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Asia Pacific region. The report is thorough and exhaustive, but the gist is this: In 19 of the 48 countries included in the study, sex between consenting male adults is illegal. Authorities and vigilantes use the legal prohibitions against MSM to harass, intimidate and extort MSM and transgender people.
When he was in Washington, D.C. a few weeks ago, the head of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq Ad Melkert stopped by the UN Foundation's Better World Campaign to discuss some of the challenges that his mission faces. Here's the video.
SG: today the SG opened the International Conference on Afghanistan in Kabul (a follow-up to the London Conference in January), in which he appealed to Afghan citizens to unite in the national interest and told participants that they were there, not to revise strategies, but to support the Afghan government and its priorities. He also emphasized the need for Afghans to take greater responsibility for security, including accountability for human rights.
In the focus on universal access to ARV treatment for people living with AIDS, it’s easy to forget the other thing that helps people survive HIV infection: food. Good nutrition has a huge impact on the progression of AIDS. Poverty in general makes HIV hit harder, but poor nutrition is the major part of that effect.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay offered sharp words for Kyrgyz officials. In the wake of violence and communal riots that uprooted some 400,000 ethnic Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan last month, her office sent a team of investigators to the region. Today, Pillay says that her office has collected evidence that Kyrgyz security forces are responsible for detaining 1,000 ethnic Uzbeks, and subjecting them to torture and other ill treatment.