United Nations

Anniversary Of 1967 Arab-Israeli War

5 June 2007 -- The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

On this day, the Secretary-General remembers the men, women and children who have been killed or had their lives shattered by the tragedies of conflict in the Middle East, particularly the Palestinians, who continue to live under an occupation that has lasted 40 years.    » read more »

05 June 2007 -- Two United Nations agencies responsible for food security warned in a report issued on Tuesday that more than four million Zimbabweans - about one in three people in the Southern African country - will need food assistance by early 2008.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Program said in a joint report that 2.1 million could face shortages in the next few months.    » read more »

05 June 2007 -- A new United Nations report says melting glaciers and ice sheets caused by global warming could disrupt drinking and agricultural water supplies for up to 40 percent of the world's population.

The report released Monday said the depletion of ice caps could also contribute to global warming because the ice sheets reflect the sun's heat away from the Earth's surface.

It also warns that such low-lying countries as Bangladesh and Indonesia could face severe flooding by melting glaciers and rising sea levels.    » read more »

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for World Environment Day, to be observed on 5 June:

Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are causing our world to get warmer. Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are higher than at any time for the past 600,000 years, and the rate of increase is accelerating.    » read more »

29 May, 2007 -- The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:    » read more »

05/21/2007 -- Sen. Biden on Darfur: "The consensus among the American delegation, bipartisan delegation here, was that we cannot wait five or six or seven months for there to be any action taken on the ground [in Darfur]. There is a need to deal with stemming the bleeding. We know there's a need for a political solution, but you must – must stem the bleeding now… It is a disastrous, urgent situation that the international community has an obligation to respond to.    » read more »

22 May 2007 -- A U.N. panel on biological diversity says indigenous people are especially vulnerable to climate change. Victoria Cavaliere reports from VOA's New York bureau that the panel is appealing for international attention to help indigenous populations, saying they are suffering because of global warming.    » read more »

22 May 2007 -- The World Food Program warns it could eventually face food shortages if threats of pirate attacks against its relief vessels persist. The WFP is renewing its appeal to Somali authorities to do whatever it takes to make sure these mercy ships gets safely into port.

Somali Transitional Federal Government soldiers control the crowd during the World Food Program distribution of food on the outskirt of Mogadishu, 20 May 2007    » read more »

14 May 2007 -- Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the International Day for Biological Diversity, to be observed on 22 May:    » read more »

10 May 2007 -- The International Labor Organization is reporting some progress worldwide in fighting job discrimination based on gender and ethnic background. But a new report by the U.N. agency says discrimination is still undermining economic progress, and says new forms of bias are another problem. Ron Corben reports for VOA from Bangkok.

The International Labor Organization's report on "Equality at Work" says there has been both progress and failure since the last report four years ago.    » read more »

12 May 2007 -- Zimbabwe has been selected to head a United Nations panel focused on sustainable development, despite strong objections from some Western nations.

The Commission on Sustainable Development voted by secret ballot on Friday to approve the nomination of Francis Nhema, Harare's minster of environment and tourism, to head the panel. The vote was 26-21, with three abstentions.

The chair rotates among the world's regions, with Africa getting the pick this year. Zimbabwe was chosen to represent the continent.    » read more »

11 May 2007 -- A new survey suggests that while United Nations' member states frequently have a hard time agreeing on how the world body should carry out some of its key objectives -- preventing war, upholding human rights and promoting justice -- citizens of those states overwhelmingly support the United Nations and want it to take a more active role in resolving conflicts and preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. VOA's William Ide has more from Washington.    » read more »

11 May 2007 -- The U.N. refugee agency says a lull in fighting is enabling it to give assistance to more people in Somalia's capital. The UNHCR also says internally displaced people are slowly trickling back to Mogadishu, but most are waiting to see if the city will stabilize before returning. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.    » read more »

May 10, 2007 -- Zimbabwe is completely unfit to serve as chair of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, and its selection should be blocked by other members of the commission, Freedom House said today.    » read more »

The Commission on Sustainable Development “was in dangerous waters”, with little progress achieved, and negotiations continuing for a draft negotiating text for its current two-week session, which concludes tomorrow, correspondents were told at a Headquarters press conference this morning.    » read more »