UNICEF welcomes Israel’s release of Palestinian child detainees Israeli soldier arresting 12 year-old Palestinian youth at Nablus checkpoint The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) welcomed the release of 55 Palestinian child detainees by Israel yesterday as part of a prisoner swap deal struck two months ago, and said it looked forward to more advancements on […]

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UN launches Decade on Biodiversity to stem loss of ecosystems The United Nations today launched the Decade on Biodiversity with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urging humanity to live in harmony with nature and to preserve and properly manage its riches for the prosperity of current and future generations. “Ensuring truly sustainable development for our growing human family depends […]

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Migration policies should protect rather than infringe human rights – Ban South African soldier apprehends illegal migrants from Zimbabwe Migrants are a strong force of progress in their host countries and policies should protect, not infringe their human rights, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says, calling for States to ensure their inalienable rights are not violated. “Migrants make vast […]

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Viet Nam: UN-backed study shows well-being disparities for children, women Disparities in the well-being of children and women persist in Viet Nam, according to the findings of a United Nations-backed survey released today, which also shows that the differences vary across regions by gender, area of residence, wealth, and ethnicity. On immunization, the finding of […]

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WTO policies harming small-scale farmers in poor countries – UN expert Timor-Leste Farmer Carries Away Crops Destroyed by Heavy Rains The current international trade regime backed by the World Trade Organization (WTO) is harming small-scale farmers in the least developing countries (LDCs), significantly increasing their risk of food insecurity and reliance on large-scale producers, an […]

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Somalia: UN expert urges greater efforts to tackle violence against women A displaced woman with two children after fleeing their home in southern Somalia. Photo: UNHCR/B.Bannon An independent United Nations human rights expert today called for greater efforts to improve the plight of women in Somalia, thousands of whom remain extremely vulnerable to discrimination and […]

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UN rural poverty agency unveils billion-dollar funding target Member States of the United Nations’ rural development arm announced today that they will aim to raise $1.5 billion in new contributions to support the agency’s efforts to bolster the living conditions of rural poor across the developing world. With almost two billion rural people worldwide depending for their […]

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Thousands of South Sudanese children to benefit from UN polio vaccine scheme Hundreds of thousands of children are benefiting from a United Nations-backed polio vaccination campaign in a northern state of South Sudan, the world’s newest country.The four-day campaign, which ends tomorrow, is part of a nationwide effort to curb the disease and was launched by the […]

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Myanmar leads rise in opium poppy cultivation in South-East Asia – UN survey Poppy field A United Nations survey launched today points to “significant” increases in opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar and Laos, and calls for greater investment to support alternative livelihoods. The 2011 South-East Asia Opium Survey, released today in Bangkok by the UN Office on […]

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‘Storm of hunger’ threatens lives of 2.5 million South Sudanese – UN official Sudanese refugees rest next to their UNHCR tent inside South Sudan Damaged crops combined with conflict and insecurity are threatening to leave some 2.5 million people in South Sudan – the world’s newest country – in critical conditions unless food assistance is […]

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