Kampala, Uganda | XINHUA | The week-long UN Virtual Counter-Terrorism Week kicked off Monday to discuss the strategic and practical challenges of countering terrorism in a global pandemic environment. Speaking at the high-level opening session, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “Like the virus, terrorism does not respect national borders. It …
Read More »UN chief calls for sense of shared fate in face of COVID-19
Kampala, Uganda | XINHUA | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called for a sense of shared fate and collective compassion in face of COVID-19. “This sense of shared fate and collective compassion is both the spirit of the Buddha and the animating force of the Charter of the United …
Read More »UN launches new campaign to counter misinformation
Kampala, Uganda | XINHUA | The United Nations on Tuesday launched a new campaign to counter, by fostering personal behavior change, the growing threat of misinformation online, particularly with regard to COVID-19. The campaign, called Pause, asks digital users to take the time to think about what they are about to …
Read More »UN chief backs global access to ‘people’s vaccine’ for coronavirus
London, United Kingdom | AFP | United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday said a new vaccine against the coronavirus had to be available to everyone across the world, as an international conference got under way to raise funds for new life-saving treatments. The virtual meeting, hosted by Britain, aims …
Read More »US holds up UN envoy on Libya, frustrating Europeans
United Nations, United States | AFP | The United States said Wednesday it was waiting to build an “empowered” UN mission for Libya, frustrating France and Germany which say the delay in approving an envoy is jeopardizing momentum to end the conflict. The position of UN envoy for Libya has been …
Read More »UN creates political mission in Sudan to support transition
United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Security Council on Wednesday unanimously adopted two resolutions to create a mission in Sudan to support the country’s political transition and extend the mandate of peacekeepers in Darfur, diplomats said. The resolution on the new United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in …
Read More »Growing US-China rivalry seen fueling UN paralysis amid virus crisis
United Nations, United States | AFP | For nearly a decade, the UN Security Council has been frequently paralyzed by Russia’s obstinacy over the Syrian crisis. Today, however, it is the US-China rivalry that has infected a growing array of issues, according to officials and diplomats. As recently as 2017, an …
Read More »UN chief deplores lack of ceasefire during virus
United Nations, United States | AFP | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday bemoaned the failure to heed his call for a ceasefire in conflicts around the world to aid the fight against COVID-19. “A global ceasefire would create conditions for a stronger response to the pandemic and the delivery of humanitarian aid to the …
Read More »UN says coronavirus is ‘wake-up call’ for the world
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | The coronavirus pandemic should serve as a “wake-up call” to the world which must be more united in responding to the crisis, UN chief Antonio Guterres said Monday. The secretary-general said COVID-19 was the “greatest challenge of our age” and had demonstrated the world’s fragility, as …
Read More »China calls on US to pay its debts to the United Nations
United Nations, United States | AFP | China on Friday issued a statement calling on all UN member states to “actively fulfill their financial obligations to the United Nations,” stressing that Washington owes the organization more than $2 billion. “As of May 14, the total unpaid assessments under the UN regular budget and peacekeeping budget …
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