News Archives » United Nations
UN Secretary General Calls for True Sustainability in Global Economic and Political Relations July 6th, 2009
The United Nations Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development was held in New York on June 24-26. In his visionary opening remarks, H.E. Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann, President of The United Nations General Assembly, called for an economic system based on solidarity and a “…globalized policy and ethics based on the many cultural experiences and traditions of our peoples.”
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Urgent international scrutiny needed in Sri Lanka, say UN Human Rights Experts May 8th, 2009
The UN Human Rights Council experts dealing with summary executions, right to health, right to food and water and sanitation, Mr. Philip Alston, Mr. Anand Grover, Mr. Olivier De Schutter and Ms. Catarina de Albuquerque, released the following statement Friday:
The current humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka gives cause for deep concern, not only in terms of the number of civilians who have been and continue to be killed, but because of a dramatic lack of transparency and accountability. “There is good reason to believe that thousands of civilians have been killed in the past three months alone, and yet the Sri Lankan Government has yet to account for the casualties, or to provide access to the war zone for journalists and humanitarian monitors of any type”, said Philip Alston, the UN expert on summary executions.
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World Day for Water March 26th, 2009
To underscore both the potential dangers of “water wars” in places that are home to 40 percent of the world’s population – and the promising opportunities for cooperation and development – the United Nations marked the World Day for Water on 22 March with a focus on trans-boundary waters and their management.
“The amount of water we have has remained constant for thousands of years, while the number and types of users have increased massively… population growth, urbanization, land use changes, and global warming … are creating competing pressures on this finite resource,” says UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura in his remarks marking World Water Day. “As a result, the amount of water available for each person is increasingly unequal, and diminishing dramatically.”
This year’s theme, “Shared Water – Shared Opportunities,” aims to explore opportunities to build trust among countries as they manage their common water resources in ways that promote peace, security and sustainable economic growth. Some 900 million people lack access to safe drinking water, making them vulnerable to the water-borne illnesses that kill 4,200 children every day.
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Sri Lanka: No Let-Up in Army Shelling of Civilians March 25th, 2009
Tamil Tigers Unwilling to Release Their Hold on 150,000 People
The Sri Lankan army, despite government denials, is indiscriminately shelling the “no-fire zone” in northern Sri Lanka where thousands of civilians are trapped by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday, citing new information from the region. More than 2,700 civilians have reportedly been killed over the last two months, and the number of casualties rises daily.
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UN Assembly President Calls for Action to Bring the Marginalized into the Mainstream February 17th, 2009
Miguel D’Escoto, President of the UN General Assembly, stressed the need to recognize the rights of the marginalized and boost their inclusion in local and global financial structures, during the launch in New York of the first-ever World Day of Social Justice set for February 20.
A Prayer for Social Justice Day has been written by the USG/UISG Secretariat Commission for Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation in Rome.
The Prayer is available in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and German.
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