Category: World Government (Page 6 of 12)

United Nations marks first International Day for People of African Descent.

August 31, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

The United Nations on Tuesday celebrated the enormous contributions the African diaspora has made in every field of human endeavour, marking the first-ever International Day for People of African Descent.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a greater commitment to advance the promise of equality, justice and dignity for all, in his inaugural message.

“It is a long overdue recognition of the profound injustices and systemic discrimination that people of African descent have endured for centuries, and continue to confront today,” the UN Secretary-General said.

“And it is an urgent call to action for everyone, everywhere, to commit to rooting out the evil of racism.”

More than 200 million people in the Americas alone identify as being of African descent.

Millions more are located worldwide outside the African continent.

Whether as descendants of the victims of the transatlantic slave trade, or as more recent migrants, they are among some of the poorest and most marginalized groups, the UN said.

Last December, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing the International Day.

The objective was “to promote greater recognition and respect for the diverse heritage, culture and contribution of people of African descent to the development of societies, and to promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms of people of African descent”.

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United Nations Security Council urges Taliban to provide safe passage out of Afghanistan.

August 31, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

The UN Security Council passed a resolution on Monday that calls for the Taliban to facilitate safe passage for people wanting to leave Afghanistan, allow humanitarians to access the country, and uphold human rights, including for women and children.

Thirteen of the 15 ambassadors voted in favour of the resolution, which further demands that Afghanistan not be used as a shelter for terrorism.

Permanent members China and Russia abstained.

Airport attack condemned

Member states condemned in the strongest terms the deadly blasts at Kabul airport on Thursday, which killed more than 150 people and injured upwards of 200 more.

The terrorist group Islamic State in Khorosan Province claimed responsibility.

The attack targeted people fleeing Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover two weeks ago, and international forces assisting the evacuations.

Thousands of Afghans have been trying to escape from the country ahead of the full withdrawal of the United States by its self-imposed Tuesday deadline, according UN News.

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UN chief calls for action to end enforced disappearances on International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

August 30, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged countries to fulfill their obligations to prevent and prosecute cases of enforced disappearance on International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

The UN chief made the appeal in his message to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, honouring victims of this serious human rights violation, observed on Monday.

“Together, we can and we must end all enforced disappearances,” he said.

A global problem

Enforced disappearance refers to the arrest, detention or abduction of persons by agents of the state, or those acting with state authorization or support, whose whereabouts are unknown.

Once largely the product of military dictatorships, it has become a global problem, according to the United Nations, with hundreds of thousands of people “disappeared” in more than 80 countries.

Impunity remains widespread.

While strictly prohibited under international human rights law, Mr. Guterres said enforced disappearance continues to be used across the world as a method of repression, terror, and stifling dissent.

“Paradoxically, it is sometimes used under the pretext of countering crime or terrorism.

Lawyers, witnesses, political opposition, and human rights defenders are particularly at risk,” he added, accoring UN News.

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United Nations: Tokyo Paralympics lead towards a more inclusive society.

August 28, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

Innovators are joining Paralympians to discuss how sport can help to build a more inclusive society in a series of online discussions organized by the United Nations to coincide with the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, which continues until 5 September.

After losing her right leg in a car accident as a Japanese high school student, Kaede Maegawa was grateful when her friends offered her support.

Yet, she sometimes felt that she wouldn’t be capable of doing anything on her own.

In order to regain her confidence, she asked her friends and teachers to let her try do things on her own.

This started her on the road to becoming an elite athlete, and a competitor at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

Ms. Maegawa shares her story during SDG Zone at Tokyo panel discussion, in which three inspirational Paralympians talk about the power of sport to expand horizons, and what the Paralympic values – courage, determination inspiration, and equality, mean to them.

Ms. Maegawa, who competes in the long jump, is joined by renowned Sierra Leonean table-tennis para-athlete George Wyndham, and Miki Matheson, three-times Paralympic gold medalist in ice sledge speed racing.

Innovations featured in the Paralympics can eventually help all disabled people, explains Ken Endo, CEO of the technology company Xiborg, in a conversation highlighting technology, design, and initiatives that are making sport more accessible and enjoyable for all.

Mr. Endo leads a project to make a running-specific prosthesis called “blade” available for all, not only for athletes, and is working to break down various barriers, especially in developing countries, exploring how locally available materials can be used to develop blades and increase the number of people using prostheses.

The panel also features Lucy Meyer, Spokesperson for the Special Olympics-UNICEF USA Partnership, for young people with disabilities, and a five-times gold medal swimmer in the Special Olympics.

Ms. Meyer, who also has cerebral palsy, says that doctors told her parents that she wouldn’t be able to sit up or swallow but “we are so happy to report that the doctors were very wrong!”

She is very active in Special Olympics programme which enables children with and without disabilities to compete together in team sports.

“It’s important to me that everyone accepts and includes everyone, but especially people with disabilities, because we are no different.”

The last session of the SDG Zone at Tokyo looks at what sport can bring to the next generation, and how it can help societies to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and improve, according UN News.

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WHO chief: ‘coming months critical for future pandemic preparedness’.

August 26, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

The next three months will be a critical period for stepping up global collective action against future pandemics, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday, pointing to three major meetings on the international agenda.

Although the COVID-19 caseload stabilized last week, after nearly two months of increases, the level remains high, said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus, speaking during his regular press briefing from Geneva.

Cases have surpassed 4.5 million globally, with 68,000 deaths.

“Some regions and countries continue to see steep increases in cases and deaths, while others are declining,” he reported.

“As long as this virus is circulating anywhere, it’s a threat everywhere”.

Preparing for future pandemics

WHO is progressing on plans to strengthen global defense against future epidemics and pandemics, Tedros said.

He pointed out that with the UN General Assembly in September, followed by the G20 Summit in October, and a special session of WHO’s governing body set for November, the next three months represent “a critical period for shaping the future of pandemic preparedness and response”, according UN News.

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President Joe Biden keeps deadline of 31 August pullout US military Afghanistan.

August 25, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

President Joe Biden told G7 leaders on Tuesday that the United States is on pace to complete the U.S. withdraw from Afghanistan by Aug. 31 depending on cooperation from the Taliban.

“We are currently on a pace to finish by August 31, I am determined to complete our mission,” Joe Biden said in a speech.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to negotiate with the Taliban:

The Taliban must guarantee a safe passage for those who want to leave Afghanistan beyond the 31 August deadline, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said in a speech.

The World Government Movement will keep you informed about the situation in Afghanistan.

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UN rights chief tells Member States: Afghanistan women’s rights are ‘red line’.

August 25, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet led calls on Tuesday for Afghanistan’s new Taliban leaders to respect the rights of all Afghans and warned that the treatment of women and girls is a “fundamental red line” that should not be crossed.

Speaking at the opening of an emergency session at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, a little over a week since the Taliban swept to power, Ms. Bachelet reminded UN Member States of credible reports of violations of international humanitarian law against civilians in areas under their control.

These reports, she said, make it especially important that the Human Rights Council work in unison to prevent further abuses, and that Member States establish a dedicated mechanism to monitor the fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan and, in particular, the Taliban’s implementation of its promises.

Ms. Bachelet added that “a fundamental red line will be the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls, and respect for their rights to liberty, freedom of movement, education, self-expression and employment, guided by international human rights norms.

In particular, ensuring access to quality secondary education for girls will be an essential indicator of commitment to human rights”, according UN News.

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Police arrests more than 50 people at Extinction Rebellion protests in London.

August 24, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

Environmental activists took to the streets of central London for Extinction Rebellion’s fifth mass protest, targeting the “root cause” of the climate and nature crises.

Protesters blocked roads in central London, including around Trafalgar Square, as they demanded the government immediately end investment in fossil fuels.

Activists also set up a large pink structure at the junction of Long Acre and Upper St Martin’s Lane with the words “come to the table” written across it to highlight the right everyone has to have a say in how to tackle the crisis.

The group has planned two weeks of action in the capital of England.

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UN official briefs Security Council: no end to Yemen civil war on the horizon.

August 24, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

No progress has been made by parties in Yemen to reach a political agreement to settle the civil war, which is now in its seventh year, a senior UN official for the Middle East region told the UN Security Council on Monday.

“It is imperative to resume an inclusive, Yemeni-led political process to reach a negotiated solution to the conflict,” said Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Khaled Khiari.

Khaled Khiari referred to a 2015 peace plan, which called for a nationwide ceasefire, the reopening of Sana’a airport, the easing of restrictions on fuel and goods flowing through Hudaydah port, and the resumption of face-to-face political negotiations.

Mr. Khiari said that the Houthis continue to make the opening of Hudaydah ports and Sana’a airport, as well as on the ending of what they call the “aggression and occupation”, conditions of their renewed participation in the political process.

Moreover, negotiations facilitated by Saudi Arabia on the Riyadh Agreement – which were focused on the return of the Prime Minister and other ministers to Aden – have yet to resume following the Eid break in July.

Timely progress on the accord’s implementation remains vital to address the tensions in the south, he explained, according UN News.

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Hakainde Hichilema is elected President of Zambia.

August 23, 2021 / Michael Maas / 0 Comments

Out of the 7 million registered voters in Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema secured 2,810,777 votes while incumbent Edgar Lungu was in second place with 1,814,201 votes.

In his opening address to the nation, Hichilema promised democratic reforms, investor-friendly economic policies, better debt management and “zero-tolerance” for corruption.

Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper producer, saw its economy stagnate when copper prices collapsed around 2011.

Depressed commodity prices and the COVID-19 pandemic have further slowed any economic rebound.

“It is in no doubt what the instruction is to all of us,” he told supporters in Lusaka.

“We will not let you down,” he said.

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Airport attack condemned

A global problem

Preparing for future pandemics

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