Tag: United Nations
UN hails ‘historic’ Obama drone vow [Ben Emmerson, t]he lawyer leading a UN drone inquiry has praised [last night’s national security] speech by US President Barack Obama as a “significant step towards increased transparency”.
‘Outraged’ by rising death toll in Syria, General Assembly demands halt to all violence Yet another (the fifth) non-binding resolution from the UN General Assembly on Syria, still none from the Security Council. Adopted by a vote of 107 in favour to 12 against, with 59 abstentions, the Assembly text expressed the body’s outrage at the “rapidly increasing death toll” in Syria, which the UN estimates to be in the tens of thousands. The resolution also strongly condemns the Syrian Government’s increased use of heavy weapons, and also condemns ongoing “widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights and fundamental…
united-nations: Every day, millions of people around the world are being threatened not only by international war and internal conflicts but also by chronic and persistent poverty, natural disasters, organised crime, human trafficking, health pandemics, and sudden economic and financial downturns. Human security aims at ensuring the survival, livelihood and dignity of people in response to current and emerging threats – threats that are widespread and cross cutting. World leaders have stressed “the right of all people to live in freedom and dignity, free from poverty and despair” — rights that form the foundation for human safety on all continents and…
May 8 marks the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe in 1945. By resolution 59/26 of 22 November 2004, the UN General Assembly declared 8–9 May as a time of remembrance and reconciliation and, while recognizing that Member States may have individual days of victory, liberation and commemoration, invited all Member States, organizations of the United Nations System, non-governmental organizations and individuals to observe annually either one or both of these days in an appropriate manner to pay tribute to all victims of the Second World War. Click here for more info.
Geneva, 6 May 2013 – The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic wishes to clarify that it has not reached conclusive findings as to the use of chemical weapons in Syria by any parties to the conflict. As a result, the Commission is not in a position to further comment on the allegations at this time. The Chair of the Commission of Inquiry, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, reminds all parties to the conflict that the use of chemical weapons is prohibited in all circumstances under customary international humanitarian law. In line with its mandate, the Commission is…
U.N. official: There are strong suspicions Syrian rebels used sarin gas Carla Del Ponte told an Italian-Swiss TV station that the findings come after interviews with doctors and Syrian victims now in neighboring countries.
united-nations: Monday’s annual Day of Remembrance for All Victims of Chemical Warfare is especially timely as the spectre of chemical weapons is once again casting its ominous shadow. According to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, “Recent allegations of the use of these indiscriminate and morally repugnant weapons in Syria serve as a reminder of the continuing vital importance of the Chemical Weapons Convention.” Related United Nations News Centre story: http://j.mp/184vkli
Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you are all enjoying a nice spring Sunday! Here in Hungary, we just skipped spring and from winter it turned into summer directly. I am not sure it is fortunate for the things of nature, but we are enjoying the hot weather for now. A few weeks ago, I posted about MOOCs and online learning, now I would like to recommend one of the courses I just signed up to. I wasn’t quite sure whether I can fit this in to my time schedule since there is one month left from the other course I…
united-nations: Friday is World Intellectual Property Day. This year’s theme is “Creativity – the next generation” to honor the talented and ingenious creators and innovators who are imagining how the world will look tomorrow.
I’ve been thinking about doing something like this for a long time and now I am happy to introduce the first in what I plan to be a series. Sunday Smacks are weekly round-ups of my favorite reads, most noteworthy happenings and everything I find worhty to mention here week by week. I haven’t used rss feeders before. I just decided recently to start using Google Reader to be able to catch up with all the blogs I was reading I was struggling to find the time to follow. But that was only days before Google Reader’s termination was announced (as timing…
