Category: Europe

UN Secretary-General António Guterres was speaking in Sweden alongside Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, where he is attending the Stockholm+50 conference, which he described as “a crucial opportunity to bolster our response to the triple planetary emergency of climate disruption, pollution and biodiversity loss.” ‘Practical steps’ Mr. Guterres said the UN remained “intensely focused on practical steps to save lives and… Read More

“Poland remains the main country of arrival for refugees from Ukraine,” UNHCR spokesperson Olga Sarrado told journalists at a regular press briefing in Geneva. And while the pace has slowed in comparison to early March – when over 100,000 people were arriving per day – May has continued to witness around 20,000 daily arrivals. Vulnerable refugees Although more people are going… Read More

“As in other conflicts, we currently witness the unfolding of suffering in Ukraine that does not seem to end and we cannot stop,” said Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur on cultural rights. “The questioning and denial of the Ukrainian identity and history as a justification for war, is a violation of the Ukrainians’ right to self-determination and their cultural rights. “Self-identification… Read More

“Climate change is already posing serious challenges to water and sanitation systems in countries around the world,” said Thomas Croll-Knight, spokesperson for the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Rising risks According to UNECE and the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe), despite being a priority aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement, plans to make water access possible in… Read More

Monkeypox occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of Central and West Africa, but outbreaks have emerged in other parts of the world in recent days. Symptoms include fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes.  WHO said it was “working with the affected countries and others to expand disease surveillance to find and support people who may be affected, and to provide guidance on how… Read More

Special Rapporteur Morris Tidball-Binz called on the international community to step up support for Ukraine’s own investigations, and welcomed progress made so far by the Office of the Prosecutor General in ensuring perpetrators are brought to justice.  He also commended the international community’s swift mobilization in establishing mechanisms and initiatives to collect, document and preserve evidence of violations of human… Read More

“This remains the case today,” Thomas Markram said.  The Russian Federation, the United States and Ukraine are all States Parties to the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention prohibiting the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use of biological and toxin weapons.  Channels for recourse  Mr. Markram – who is also the Deputy to the High Representative – explained that the Convention… Read More

“Our recent efforts to evacuate civilians in the east has shown us that there is good will and common ground for us to build on between the parties,” she told ambassadors.    Monumental feat Joint operations by the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) resulted in more than 600 people being evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant… Read More

Expressing his “deep gratitude” for the country’s “unwavering commitment to multilateralism,” Secretary-General António Guterres said that support and commitment are “more critical today than ever”. “In our time – a time of conflicts, climate crisis and COVID-19 – there is simply no sustainable alternative to dialogue, international cooperation, and global solutions,” he said. Building a better world Amidst a proliferation… Read More

High Representative Christian Schmidt said that more than 26 years after the signing of the General Framework Agreement for Peace – known as the Dayton Accords – citizens are once again talking about the possibility of another conflict, posing the risk of inflammatory incidents.  “The conflict in Ukraine, not so far away, is a sobering reminder that even in the… Read More