UN News Centre

 UN human rights experts have condemned the continued use of firearms, including live ammunition, by Israeli security forces against mostly unarmed Palestinian protesters and observers for a third straight week near the fence between occupied Gaza and Israel. The United Nations and its independent human rights experts, along with the… »

Condemning the pardoning of former President of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, a group of United Nations independent human rights experts have said that the move undermines the work of the judiciary and the international community to achieve justice. “It is a major setback for the rule of law in Peru:… »

On the 30th of October, the First Committee of the UN General Assembly (Disarmament and International Security) approved six draft resolutions, including one on a legally binding instrument on the prevention of an arms race in outer space. During the meeting, the Committee approved the draft resolution “Further practical measures… »

The death penalty does little to deter crimes or serve victims, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on the 10th of October, calling on all countries which have not forbidden the extreme practice to urgently stop executions. “The death penalty has no place in the 21st century,” underscored… »

Nearly a decade after the UN Human Rights Committee agreed that a Peruvian woman’s rights were violated for having been denied an abortion – and recommended that the Government compensate her – the UN human rights office announced today that Peru has said it will pay compensation for having refused… »

The United Nations health agency today announced that the South-East Asia Region has completed five years without any case of wild poliovirus, a highly infectious disease that invades the nervous system and for which there is still no cure. “This is a remarkable achievement in view of the continued threat… »

As United Nations officials gave on-site accounts of the “horrible and terrible” situation in the besieged Syrian town of Madaya, from 400 critically ill people facing death without immediate medical care to a kilo of rice costing $300, the first emergency evacuation took place today – a five-year-old girl rushed… »

A humanitarian convoy has finally reached the besieged Syrian town of Madaya with life-saving health and food supplies from the United Nations and its partners for the 42,000 desperate residents after reports of people starving to death under encirclement by pro-Government forces. “Crowds of hungry kids around,” Office of the… »

Pressenza publishes here the statement by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to mark the international day of nonviolence. This year, as we commemorate the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, the International Day of Nonviolence has special importance. At a time of escalating conflicts, violent extremism, displacement and humanitarian need,… »

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for the laying down of arms and a 24-hour cease-fire on 21 September, which is observed around the world each year as the International Day of Peace. The United Nations General Assembly established the International Day of Peace in 1981 as an opportunity… »