Friday, March 5We Break the News

UN Women

Mar32021 by Ronald KabuubiNo Comments
Facebook Launches ‘LeadHERs: Life Lessons From African Women’ – a Book Spotlighting Female Leaders from across Africa

Facebook Launches ‘LeadHERs: Life Lessons From African Women’ – a Book Spotlighting Female Leaders from across Africa

AFRICA, EAST AFRICA, Facebook, HUMAN INTEREST STORIES, INTERNATIONAL, South Africa, TECHNOLOGY, UGANDA, UN Women
Available for free in digital and physical formats, the book provides inspirational real-life stories for future generations and young leadersJOHANNESBURG, South Africa, March 3, 2021/ -- As part of its celebration around International Women’s Month, Facebook (www.Facebook.com) today announced the launch of ‘LeadHERs: Life Lessons From African Women’, a collection of beautifully inspired stories & life advice from 19 women who are breaking boundaries in fields such as media, entertainment, politics, education and business.Available for free in digital and physical formats, the book provides inspirational real-life stories for future generations and young leaders. Each chapter focuses on a personal experience and life lesson around how these women have navigated their path to success, ...
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Feb232021 by Ronald KabuubiNo Comments
PM RUGUNDA LAUNCHES THE FIRST EVER NATIONAL RISK AND VULNERABILITY ATLAS OF UGANDA

PM RUGUNDA LAUNCHES THE FIRST EVER NATIONAL RISK AND VULNERABILITY ATLAS OF UGANDA

AFRICA, Disaster Preparedness, EAST AFRICA, HUMAN INTEREST STORIES, INTERNATIONAL, TECHNOLOGY, UGANDA, UN, UN Women, UNDP, UNHCR, WORLD
The Prime Minister of Uganda, RT Hon. Ruhakana Rugunda has today launched the first of its kind National Risk and Vulnerability Atlas for Uganda at the Office of the Prime Minister headquarters in Kampala. The National Risk and Vulnerability Atlas is a key instrument designed by the Office of the Prime Minister, with support from the United National Development Program (UNDP) to enhance understanding of disaster risk in all its dimensions; including hazards, exposure and vulnerability in all the 122 Districts of Uganda. While giving his remarks at the launch, PM Rugunda said that the National Atlas will enable policy makers and practitioners in government, private sector, media and the general public to understand and make informed decisions on planning and implementing disaster...
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Feb142021 by TUMUTEGYEREIZE WILBER1 Comment
UN Women calls upon all stakeholders to listen to the voices of women in Myanmar in response to political events

UN Women calls upon all stakeholders to listen to the voices of women in Myanmar in response to political events

AFRICA, EUROPEAN UNION, INTERNATIONAL, UN, UN Women, WORLD
Statement by UN Women Myanmar In light of recent political events in Myanmar, UN Women expresses strong concern over the use of force by security forces against peaceful demonstrators including women and calls upon all stakeholders to listen to the voices of Myanmar women. On 9 February 2021, there were several reports from Nay Pyi Taw, Mandalay and other cities in Myanmar of demonstrators having been injured by security forces in connection with the peaceful disobedience movement sweeping across the country. It was later confirmed that Ma Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing a 19-year old woman, who was shot in the head by security forces, was the first reported victim of this violence. Doctors have confirmed since that the young woman is currently in critical condition and being kept on life ...
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Feb142021 by TUMUTEGYEREIZE WILBERNo Comments
UN Women Executive Board to convene First Regular Session of 2021

UN Women Executive Board to convene First Regular Session of 2021

AFRICA, EUROPEAN UNION, INTERNATIONAL, UN, UN Women, WORLD
The UN Women Executive Board will convene for this year’s First Regular Session from Monday 15 to Tuesday 16 February 2021, remotely via the Zoom Platform. The President of the Executive Board, H.E. Alie Kabba, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone to the United Nations, will open the Session at 10 a.m. EDT. UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, will deliver opening remarks, which include updates on the COVID-19 response, the implementation of General Assembly resolution 72/279, the QCPR, UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2022-2025, and the Generation Equality Forum. Over the two days, UN Women will present: An overview on the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS Programme Coordinating Board meeting, including UN Women’s follow-up to recommendations...
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Feb62021 by TUMUTEGYEREIZE WILBERNo Comments
UNHCR and IOM call for improved safeguards for the displaced on the frontlines of climate emergency

UNHCR and IOM call for improved safeguards for the displaced on the frontlines of climate emergency

AFRICA, EUROPEAN UNION, INTERNATIONAL, UN, UN Human RiGHTS, UN Women, UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), are calling on states to strengthen the protection and assistance of people displaced in the context of disasters and climate change, ahead of a virtual conference co-hosted today, 4 February, with PDD, the state-led Platform on Disaster Displacement, currently chaired by the Government of Fiji, with the Government of France as vice-chair.   The virtual event is held to commemorate the five years since states established three key frameworks to find solutions for people displaced in the context of disasters and climate change– the Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate C...
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Feb52021 by TUMUTEGYEREIZE WILBERNo Comments
Comment by UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Russia

Comment by UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Russia

AFRICA, EUROPEAN UNION, INTERNATIONAL, UN Human RiGHTS, UN Women, UNDP, WFP
We urge the authorities in Russia to immediately release all those detained for exercising their right to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression yesterday and over the past few weeks of protests across the country. There are reports that the number of people arrested yesterday was as high as 1,400. The Government must ensure that demonstrations are handled in line with its obligations under international human rights law. We are deeply dismayed by the sentencing of Russian opposition figure Aleksei Navalny by a court in Moscow yesterday to imprisonment* for allegedly violating the conditions of a 2014 suspended sentence in an embezzlement case that the European Court of Human Rights had in 2017 already unanimously found to be arbitrary, unfair and manifestly unreasonable. ENDS
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Feb52021 by TUMUTEGYEREIZE WILBERNo Comments
Iran: UN experts alarmed over execution of Baloch minority prisoners

Iran: UN experts alarmed over execution of Baloch minority prisoners

AFRICA, EUROPEAN UNION, INTERNATIONAL, UN Human RiGHTS, UN Women, UNDP, WFP, WORLD
GENEVA (4 February 2021) – UN human rights experts today condemned the weekend hanging of Javid Dehghan, an Iranian from the Baloch minority. They fear a disturbing recent increase in executions of Baloch minority prisoners in Iran will continue. “We are shocked that Mr. Dehghan’s execution on 30 January was carried out despite our urgent appeal last week to the Iranian Government to halt it, as well as calls by the UN Human Rights Office and civil society,” the experts said. “We informed the Iranian Government of grave concerns that Mr. Dehghan’s death sentence followed serious violations of his fair trial rights, including claims he was tortured, held in prolonged solitary confinement, subjected to enforced disappearance and forced to confess, concerns that do not appear to have b...
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Feb52021 by TUMUTEGYEREIZE WILBERNo Comments
US should end use of private, ‘for-profit’ migrant detention centres, say UN experts

US should end use of private, ‘for-profit’ migrant detention centres, say UN experts

AFRICA, EUROPEAN UNION, INTERNATIONAL, UN Human RiGHTS, UN Women, UNDP, USA, WFP
GENEVA (4 February 2021) – A group of UN experts* welcomed the US decision to stop using privately run federal prisons and urged the Biden Administration to also end outsourcing of all detention centres, including those holding migrants and asylum seekers.“Ending the reliance on privately run prisons for federal prisoners is an encouraging step, but further action is needed,” said Jelena Aparac, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries. “Given the magnitude of mass incarceration in the US, this decision will benefit only the very small percentage of federal prisoners who are held in private prisons and specifically excludes vulnerable people held in migrant and asylum centres who are at particular risk of serious human rights violations.” The US Department of ...
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Feb52021 by TUMUTEGYEREIZE WILBERNo Comments
UN report reveals continuing high rate of detainee torture allegations in Afghanistan

UN report reveals continuing high rate of detainee torture allegations in Afghanistan

Afaghanstan, AFRICA, EUROPEAN UNION, INTERNATIONAL, UN Human RiGHTS, UN Women, UNDP, WFP, WORLD
GENEVA (3 February 2021) – Almost a third of people detained for security or terrorism-related offences in Afghanistan have been subjected to torture or other forms of ill-treatment, according to a UN report published on Wednesday. The report - jointly published by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights - covers the period from 1 January 2019 to 31 March 2020.* It is based on 656 interviews with men, women and children suspected, accused or convicted of security or terrorism-related offences held in 63 detention facilities across Afghanistan. While the percentage of detainees claiming to have been tortured has decreased slightly compared to the previous monitoring period (2017-2018), the figure remains alarming, with 30.3...
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Feb52021 by TUMUTEGYEREIZE WILBERNo Comments
Sri Lanka: Experts dismayed by regressive steps, call for renewed UN scrutiny and efforts to ensure accountability

Sri Lanka: Experts dismayed by regressive steps, call for renewed UN scrutiny and efforts to ensure accountability

AFRICA, EUROPEAN UNION, UN Human RiGHTS, UN Women, UPDF, WFP, WORLD
GENEVA (5 February 2021) – UN human rights experts* have urged the Sri Lankan authorities to stop rolling back hard fought progress made in recent years on rebuilding democratic institutions, and to press for accountability for past crimes and deliver justice for victims and promote reconciliation between communities.The independent experts published today an assessment of the government’s follow up to some 400 recommendations made following 10 official visits from 2015 to 2019. They called on the Human Rights Council to continue its efforts to increase independent human rights monitoring in the country and to ensure accountability for past crimes. “We are dismayed at the emerging trends setting back the promotion of reconciliation, accountability and human rights, reducing civic space...
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Feb42021 by TUMUTEGYEREIZE WILBERNo Comments
Press Releases | International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Press Releases | International Rescue Committee (IRC)

AFRICA, EUROPEAN UNION, INTERNATIONAL, UN Human RiGHTS, UN Women, WFP, WORLD
Beirut 6 months on: IRC statement Beirut, Lebanon, February 4, 2021 — Six months ago, an estimated 300,000 people were displaced from their homes by the explosions at Beirut Port on August 4 - one third of them children. Over 6,500 people were injured. The IRC is continuing to provide support to help the most vulnerable get back on their feet, but the explosions came at a critical juncture: the economy was already in freefall, COVID-19 had drained the health sector and the country was already hosting large numbers of refugees who had fled the war in Syria. This ‘triple crisis’ quickly turned into a ‘quadruple crisis’, further deepening the suffering of people who had already been pushed to the brink. Today, the needs remain vast, and are continuing to grow. Matias Meier, Country Dir...
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Feb42021 by TUMUTEGYEREIZE WILBERNo Comments
WFP boosts global co-operation on humanitarian drone use

WFP boosts global co-operation on humanitarian drone use

AFRICA, BREAKING NEWS, INTERNATIONAL, UN Human RiGHTS, UN Women, UNDP, WFP
ROME: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) with support from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is stepping up global co-operation on the use of humanitarian drones, which are a game-changer for fast, accurate, disaster impact assessment and response. With growing threats from famine and climate change, it is hoped a new online platform will help respond to the challenges ahead, as currently being demonstrated in the response to tropical storm Eloise in Mozambique. To ramp up engagement from leading public, private and academic experts, WFP have launched the platform (https://drones.wfp.org/) to facilitate the safe and ethical use of this emerging technology. The new site complements wider response activities across the humanitarian community and draws ...
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