Tag: United Nations

Vetoes in U.N. Security Council Imperil Cross-Border Humanitarian Aid to Syria

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The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday failed to adopt two rival resolutions to extend cross-border aid deliveries into northern Syria from Turkey, effectively cutting off a vital lifeline to about 4.1 million people in opposition-held territories. Russia vetoed a bid put forth by Brazil and Switzerland to extend one resolution for nine months, a compromise from an initial 12-month extension called for by the United Nations and international aid agencies. A second resolution put forth by Russia for a six-month extension was vetoed by Britain, France and the United…

UN report on Japan’s Fukushima water plans fails to placate opponents

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The publication this week of the UN nuclear watchdog’s positive assessment of Japanese plans to pump more than 1m tonnes of water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean has failed to placate opponents. China is fiercely opposed to the plans, despite a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) backing the scheme, while the support of the government of South Korea has failed to quell widespread public opposition to the idea in the country. The government in Seoul said on Friday that it “respected…

China, Myanmar and now Darfur … the horror of genocide is here again | Simon Tisdall

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It’s happening again. In Darfur, scene of a genocide that killed 300,000 people and displaced millions 20 years ago, armed militias are on the rampage once more. Now, as then, they are targeting ethnic African tribes, murdering, raping and stealing with impunity. “They” are nomadic, ethnic Arab raiders, the much-feared “devils on horseback” – except now they ride in trucks. They’re called the Janjaweed. And they’re back. How is it possible such horrors can be repeated? The world condemned the 2003 slaughter. The UN and the International Criminal Court (ICC)…

China concerns prompt US move to rejoin Unesco

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The UN’s cultural and scientific agency, Unesco, has announced that the US plans to rejoin – and pay more than $600m (£477m) in back dues – after a decade-long dispute sparked by the organisation’s move to include Palestine as a member. US officials say the decision to return was motivated by concern that China is filling the gap left by Washington in Unesco policymaking, notably in setting standards for artificial intelligence and technology education around the world. The US deputy secretary of state for management and resources, Richard Verma, submitted…

UN experts express ‘grave concern’ over detention of Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong

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A group of UN experts have expressed “grave concern” over the arrest and detention of Jimmy Lai, a former media mogul in Hong Kong who has been charged with violating the territory’s national security law. In a joint communication sent to the Chinese government, the experts from the UN working group on arbitrary detention and several special rapporteurs focused on human rights said Lai’s arrest and multiple prosecutions related to “his criticism of the Chinese government and his support for democracy in Hong Kong”. The involvement of such a large…

India’s population set to overtake China’s by June, UN figures show

Chin@Strategy

India is expected to overtake China as the world’s most populous country with almost 3 million more people by the middle of this year, according to UN figures. The State of World Population 2023 report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates India’s population will be 1.4286 billion by the end of June, compared with China’s 1.4257 billion. The US is a distant third, with an estimated population of 340 million people by the end of June. The data in the report is based on information available up to…

The Observer view on the dubious excuses for not backing the UN resolution on the Ukraine invasion | Observer editorial

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In times of trouble, a person or country discovers who their true friends are. Such insights can be disillusioning. The war in Ukraine has produced a number of such disturbing moments, for the government in Kyiv but also for the western democracies that are its most ardent supporters. “Whose side are you on?” is a crude but necessary question when international law is flouted and innocent people begin to die in large numbers. The UN general assembly’s non-binding resolution last week condemning Russia’s invasion, demanding its immediate, unconditional withdrawal and…

UN marks one year of Ukraine war with vote as Germany and China clash over supply of weapons – video

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The United Nations overwhelmingly isolated Russia by calling for a ‘comprehensive, just and lasting peace’, demanding Russia withdraw its troops from Ukraine and stop fighting. Marking one year since Moscow’s invasion, the resolution was adopted with 141 votes in favour and 32 abstentions. Six countries joined Russia to vote no: Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua and Syria. China abstained from the vote – accusing the west of ‘adding fuel to the fire’ – a day after Beijing’s top diplomat visited Moscow and pledged a deeper partnership with Russia The Guardian

Germany and China clash over west’s supply of weapons to Ukraine

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The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, clashed with Chinese diplomats on Thursday, passionately rejecting their claim that the west was adding fuel to the fire by arming Ukraine. Baerbock said it was time for China to tell Russia to stop its aggression. In a debate at the UN general assembly marking the anniversary of the invasion and seen as a key barometer of the state of world opinion, China intervened to present itself as above the conflict by proposing a catalogue of measures: a ceasefire, dialogue, security guarantees for Russia,…

UN expected to endorse demand for Russia to leave Ukraine

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The 193-strong UN general assembly is expected by a massive majority on Thursday to endorse a broad resolution demanding Russia unconditionally and immediately withdraw from Ukraine’s territory, but China, South Africa, India and many countries in the global south are likely to continue to abstain, underlining their alienation from what they regarded as the west’s war. The resolution has been the subject of weeks of negotiations and has required Ukraine’s allies in the G7 to persuade Kyiv not to press for very specific wider demands and risk seeing some of…