Category: Europe

The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has been extended for 6 months, as a result of a Security Council Resolution unanimously adopted on Wednesday. The move comes at a time when reunification talks between the two divided halves of the island are at an impasse, following the collapse of talks in July 2017. Read More

Speaking in Geneva, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) spokesperson Charlie Yaxley explained that the legislative move came at a time when other European countries had largely stopped sea rescue activities.  “Under changes approved by Parliament, fines for private vessels that undertake rescue of people and do not respect the ban on entry into territorial waters, have risen to a maximum of… Read More

“Migrants are portrayed as dangerous enemies in both official and public discourses in this country,” said Felipe González Morales, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, in a statement released following the end of his official visit to Hungary.   He stressed that he had seen groups of “desperate, traumatised and helpless men, women, boys and girls confined… Read More

DiCarlo’s briefing to the Council was delivered just days before Ukrainians vote in parliamentary elections on July 21. The Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs expressed her hope that the poll will be “peaceful and democratic”, and inclusive, reflecting the “broadest participation of women”. However, the current political transition takes place against the backdrop of ongoing conflict in the eastern… Read More

During much of his 30-year career as a humanitarian with the UN, Fabrizio Hochschild, today a senior UN official reporting directly to the Secretary-General, struggled with mental health issues associated with his work. Mr. Hochschild, who has risen through the ranks to become the Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination, suffered post-traumatic stress disorder following a posting in Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the… Read More

IOM Greece reported that the deaths bring the total this year to 41, on the so-called Eastern Mediterranean route linking Africa and the Middle East to Europe, which is one of the busiest routes for migrants. The agency said that more than half the passengers on the boat had come from three Sub-Saharan African countries: The Democratic Republic of the… Read More

In a 45-minute speech at the International Labour Organization’s Centenary conference in Geneva, Mr. Macron insisted that the accumulation of wealth in the hands of the few from globalization had created a “law of the jungle”, which had opened the door to damaging nationalism, xenophobia and disillusionment with democracy.  “This market economy in which we are living is much less social than… Read More

“My most urgent concern is that, in the United States, Mr. Assange would be exposed to a real risk of serious violations of his human rights, including his freedom of expression, his right to a fair trial and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” said Nils Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture,… Read More