The COVID-19 outbreak is posing unprecedented challenges to police and other law enforcement agencies worldwide, such as ensuring public safety, while taking care of police officer health and well-being. The challenge is even greater in peacekeeping contexts, where both police and public health systems are either weak, or wrecked by the years of armed conflict. Current UN Police Adviser and… Read More

“As the world comes together to develop a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19, we must not forget the dozens of lifesaving vaccines that already exist and must continue to reach children everywhere”, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaking in Geneva on Friday. “Any suspension of childhood vaccination services is a major threat to… Read More

In a video message for the day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres focused on the symbiotic relationship between humans and all other life on Earth, stressing that preserving and sustainably managing biodiversity is necessary for mitigating climate disruption, guaranteeing water and food access, and even preventing pandemics. “COVID-19 – which emanated from the wild – has shown how human health is… Read More

Speaking at a virtual press conference in Geneva, Jens Larke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Yemen was “really on the brink right now”, with teams on the ground “talking about having to turn people away because they do not have enough oxygen, they do not have enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)”. He… Read More

Returnees perceived to have the virus have been the target of violence and discrimination, while their reintegration is fraught with “major protection risks”, the agency reported on Thursday. Fear of #COVID19 mixed with existing discrimination and violence for returned migrant children in Central America and Mexico is leaving them doubly at risk. Deportation of children must stop during the pandemic,… Read More

The new pact, signed by the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN refugee agency (UNHCR), updates and expands a 1997 agreement between the two and covers around 26 million people – 80 per cent of whom are refugees sheltering in low and middle-income countries with weak health systems. The revised contract also provides assistance to another 40… Read More

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday launched Verified, which will create a cadre of “digital first responders” to increase the volume and reach of trusted, accurate information surrounding the crisis. “We cannot cede our virtual spaces to those who traffic in lies, fear and hate”, the UN chief said. “Misinformation spreads online, in messaging apps and person to person. Its… Read More

“Venezuela is mired in a deepening protracted crisis that only Venezuelans can resolve,” said Rosemary A. DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. Despite significant international facilitation efforts, attempts at reaching a negotiated solution have failed to bear fruit, she said, briefing the 15-member organ on the situation in the Latin American nation. Reiterating the Secretary-General’s oft-repeated call for a… Read More

“It assigns responsibilities for both the WHO and its member States, and captures the comprehensive whole of government and whole of society approach we have been calling for since the beginning of the outbreak”, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.  We saw unprecedented solidarity with Heads of Government from around the world beaming into #WHA73 to discuss lessons,… Read More

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, and Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Solomon Dersso, issued a joint call for urgent measures to mitigate the ripple effects of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable. “We cannot afford to stand idly by and hope this most viral and deadly of diseases bypasses Africa, which is home… Read More