UN News Centre

• Belarus: UN rights chief condemns violence against protesters, calls for grievances to be heard

  2020-08-12

  The flow of free information is “crucial” in a democratic society, the UN human rights chief said on Wednesday, spotlighting the landlocked eastern European nation of Belarus, “especially in a context of crisis and social unrest”.

• Amid COVID-19, UN commitment to peace ‘more urgent than ever’

  2020-08-12

  COVID-19 threatens not only hard-won development and peacebuilding gains, but also “risks exacerbating conflicts or fomenting new ones”, the UN chief reminded the Security Council on Wednesday, during a briefing on the challenges to achieving sustainable peace, while pandemics ravage communities worldwide.  

• Lebanon: WFP racing to help vulnerable, prevent food shortages

  2020-08-12

  The World Food Programme (WFP) is racing to prevent food shortages in Lebanon as the country continues to reel from the triple shock of the devastating blast in Beirut, economic meltdown and the COVID-19 pandemic.

• UN praises resilience and vision of younger generation, marking International Youth Day  

  2020-08-12

  Commemorating International Youth Day, top UN officials have called on leaders around the world to “do everything possible” to enable young people to reach their fullest potential.

• Real Life Heroes: heading into disaster, in the service of others

  2020-08-12

  Growing up in Indonesia in the shadow of an active volcano, Agus Haryono has witnessed the deadly risks of living in a disaster-prone region. This prompted him to join the country’s Search and Rescue Agency, in the hope of saving lives, when disaster strikes.

• Pandemic ‘inflicting multiple shocks’ on the young, threatens entire generation

  2020-08-11

  Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, more than 70 per cent of students have been shut out of schools, universities and training centres, according to a new report issued on Tuesday by the UN’s labour agency.

• Somalia: Draft law a ‘major setback’ for victims of sexual violence

  2020-08-11

  The UN official working to end rape during wartime is urging authorities in Somalia to scrap a proposed law that allows for child marriage, among other “very disturbing provisions”.

• Refugees also affected by Beirut blast as UN relief efforts continue

  2020-08-11

  Dozens of refugees were among the victims of the deadly explosions at Beirut’s port a week ago that destroyed large areas of the Lebanese capital, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported on Tuesday.

• Polio vaccination campaigns restart in Afghanistan and Pakistan after COVID-19 hiatus

  2020-08-11

  Polio vaccination campaigns have resumed in Afghanistan and Pakistan, months after having been severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday. 

• Violence in Sudan’s Western Darfur forces 2,500 into Chad: UN refugee agency

  2020-08-11

  Recent clashes in Sudan’s Western Darfur region has driven more than 2,500 people across the border into neighbouring Chad, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has reported.

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