If you are a history lover, news junkie, or student of political science, government, international studies, international relations, international law, diplomacy, public policy, etc. then this is a blog that will catch your eye!
The United Nations speaks with one voice at the UN Geneva press briefings - setting the news agenda for some of the biggest stories in the world.
From the Syria conflict to the refugee and migrant crises in Europe, from Ebola and Zika Virus to human rights situations across the world, this is where the news cycle begins.
Spokespersons for the many Geneva-based UN and partner organizations attend the Palais des Nations biweekly briefings, organized by the UN Information Service, to break the latest news from around the world and answer questions from journalists.
One of UN Geneva’s resident #PalaisDesNations peacocks stretches his feathers after a busy week.
Did you know that peacocks have roamed freely around the Ariana Park, which surrounds the Palais des Nations, since the start of the 19th century?
The history goes like this - in 1890 Ariana Park was bequeathed by Gustave Reviliod to the City of Geneva, which gave it to the League of Nations in 1929, which in turn handed it to the United Nations when it officially took over the Palais des Nations in 1946. Check out http://ow.ly/4mJdR5 to learn more.
The theme of the contest – ““Hotter, drier, wetter. Face the Future” – was chosen to illustrate the reality of climate change. As a result of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, land and sea surface temperatures are rising. The frequency and intensity of extreme events like heatwaves and heavy rainfall is increasing. Without urgent action to cut carbon dioxide emissions, this trend will accelerate.
The number of children involved in ‘suicide’ attacks in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger has risen from 4 in 2014 to 44 in 2015. More than 75% of the children involved are girls. Pictured, Salta, 11, lost her arm after a suicide attack on a market.
Two years on from the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Nigeria, read our report on the situation of children affected by Boko Haram: http://uni.cf/22rtqUY#BringBackOurChildhood
The objective of violent extremists is not necessarily to turn on us – it is for us to turn on each other. Their biggest mission is not the action, it is the reaction. The aim is to divide communities. The goal is to let fear rule.
That was the message from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as he opened the high-level segment of the Geneva Conference on Preventing Violent Extremism on Friday, April 8, 2016.
He told the gathering of Government Ministers and delegates from 130 countries across the world “Let us be absolutely clear from the outset: the phenomenon of violent extremism conducive to terrorism is not rooted or confined to any religion, region, nationality or ethnic group. Let us also recognize that today, the vast majority of victims worldwide are Muslims.
Let this conference – and our unity today – be the ultimate rebuke to that bankrupt strategy.”
“Who could think a poor female widow like me would be given land! For the first time in my life I can say something is mine. This land, as far as the eye can see is mine - this paper says so. This is my land and I am its queen.”
Durdana is a widow from Pakistan’s Dadu District in Sindh Province, who has received land tenancy rights for the first time in their life.
UN Women is working with 1,214 vulnerable women farmers in Pakistan to acquire land tenancy rights from their feudal and tribal landholders. For rural women like Durdana, owning land can change their lives.
“Those who are displaced want nothing more than to return home; those facing food insecurity want to be able to work to feed their families; those deprived of an education want the opportunity to learn; those who have suffered violence want to live in peace.They want what everyone deserves – the opportunity to live a life of dignity”.
– Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the people he met on his multi-country “Mission for Humanity”.
This week was #MineActionDay. Every year, landmines kill or injure thousands worldwide. Aside from the human toll, the disruption to people’s lives is devastating: children prevented from going to school, farmers prevented from working the land, people prevented from making a living.
Share these incredible images showing the live-saving work of the brave UN mine action specialists who clear explosive hazards in Afghanistan, Cyprus and South Sudan: http://bit.ly/1q2ZbZ1
Thanks to Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein for supporting Global Goals for Sustainable Development 1 & 2 to achieve no poverty and zero hunger. Her Royal Highness has been a great advocate for poverty eradication efforts and anti-hunger campaigns since she was appointed a United Nations Messenger of Peace in 2007.
“My name is Ziad. I grew up in a small village in Syria. If you were here in Zaatari refugee camp with me, I would welcome you into my home. I keep busy in Zaatari by working as a guard at WFP food distribution points, and by helping to fix things around the camp. My life now is very different to my life before the conflict started. Here in the refugee camp, you have to fend for yourself.
“All my hopes today are to go back to my country. I want my life back in Syria.” – Ziad
