Tag: UN Africa News

The sky turned red and lava spewed from the volcano on Saturday, causing thousands to flee the city of two million, located just to the south. News reports indicate up to five may have died during the evacuation, and some houses have reportedly been lost in the north of Goma. More than 150 children have been separated from their families… Read More

Trooper Jack Drake, who just celebrated his 25th birthday on tour, is a part of a 300-strong British reconnaissance contingent which arrived in the West African country in December 2020. Its role in the mission known as known as MINUSMA is to gather information about local conditions and protect civilians in trouble spots around its base in Gao in northeastern Mali.   Trooper Drake spoke to UN News ahead of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers which is marked… Read More

James Swan, UN Special Representative for Somalia and head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), said it is imperative that the summit yield an implementable agreement to hold elections in the shortest time possible. “Without such an agreement, and the goodwill and sincerity to implement it, the gains which have been made in recent years may be reversed,… Read More

Secretary-General António Guterres lauded 32-year-old Military Gender Advisor Steplyne Nyaboga who served in the recently completed UN-African Hybrid Union Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), for the excellence of her work, for which she was awarded the 2021 UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award.     “Peace and security can only be achieved and sustained if all members of society have equal opportunities, protection,… Read More

“This year’s Africa Day highlights arts, culture and heritage as levers for building the Africa we want”, Secretary-General António Guterres  said in his commemorative message.    Africa Day marks the 1963 founding of the Organization of African Unity, now known as the African Union (AU), and provides an annual opportunity to reflect on the challenges and achievements of the Governments and… Read More

“Let’s unblock the bottlenecks that are holding back potential by increasing coordination and upskilling human capacity in African nations”, urged QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).  Speaking at the launch of FAO’s latest report, Public Expenditure on Food and Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, he added that funds must also be unlocked and public finance systems streamlined, “so… Read More

“I have lost everything,” says Misrah, as she struggles to recount the most traumatic of events, witnessing the deaths of her three children. The 27-year-old Ethiopian woman, her husband and children – Aziza, five; Rachar, three; and Ikram, two – and at least 55 other migrants and refugees were aboard a boat controlled by smugglers crossing the Gulf of Aden… Read More

Dominic Ongwen, 45, was found guilty of 61 charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including rape, murder and sexual enslavement, committed in Northern Uganda between July 2002 and 31 December.  In summarizing the decision to sentence him, Presiding Judge Bertram Schmitt highlighted the unique nature of the case.  Victim and perpetrator  “The Chamber is confronted in the present… Read More

As many as 25,000 children were abducted as soldiers and forced labourers, as the Ugandan government fought a civil war with the LRA from the 1980s onwards. Okello Tito says he was “one of the lucky ones” because he was not kidnapped or killed, even though his family did have to flee their home in the middle of the night… Read More

The virus – an often-fatal illness spread through contact with bodily fluids, which kills, on average, around half of those infected – re-emerged in February, nine months after another outbreak in the same province was declared over. Heartfelt congratulations to the people of #DRC?? for ending the latest #Ebola outbreak! Huge credit to the expertise of local health workers &… Read More