News headlines in April 2023, page 20

It is estimated that up to one million people in Iraq have disappeared over the past five decades – a crisis that continues today, UN independent human rights experts said on Tuesday, calling for investigation and legislation to eradicate “this heinous crime.” 

The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Tuesday calling for the appointment of an independent rights expert on Haiti, amid mounting concern over deadly gang violence engulfing the country, threatening livelihoods, and pushing half the population into hunger.

Measures adopted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and supported by the UN have been described as a “game changer” for future Olympic events in terms of driving sustainability in sport and fighting climate change.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Apr 03 (IPS) - Discriminatory family laws and policies that restrict women’s access to educational opportunities, employment, inheritance, property ownership and equal pay, are making women disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of the global economic downturn.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 03 (IPS) - As signs of a new Cold War are fast emerging at the United Nations, the US continues its war of words with the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

The rivalry, which extends from Russia and Taiwan to Iran and Myanmar – where the UN’s two permanent members are on opposite sides of ongoing political or military conflicts– has now triggered a battle on semantics.

One in six people worldwide is affected by infertility and access to affordable care is insufficient, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday, in a major new report.

Child casualties in Ukraine have hit a “tragic milestone”, the head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday, as the UN human rights office (OHCHR) released its latest report on rising numbers of deaths and injuries in the country since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ahead of its 75th anniversary on Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for countries to both address inequities in care and protect the workers who provide it, many of whom are burned out from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Global efforts are key to saving lives from the ‘terrifying legacy’ of unexploded ordnance, as it wreaks daily havoc in war-torn and post-conflict communities alike, UN officials said, as Mine Action Week kicked off on Monday.

The global transition to renewable energy will require greater investment in integrated weather and climate services, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Monday.