News headlines in April 2024, page 9

APEX, North Carolina / DUBLIN, Ireland, Apr 22 (IPS) - Michelle Bachelet is a formidable candidate to be the next UN Secretary-General. Some would even make her the frontrunner, should she choose to stand. Bachelet was the first female head of state in Chile, having served as president on two separate occasions: 2006 to 2010, and 2014 to 2018. Bachelet can also boast a long pedigree when it comes to human rights.

NEW YORK, Apr 22 (IPS) - Today, the spectre of a major regional conflict, and even a possible nuclear conflagration, looms large in the Middle East. Despite stark warnings issued by the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, the multilateral system is struggling to resolve the very challenges it was supposed to address: conflict, impoverishment and oppression. In a deeply divided world, this September’s Summit of the Future offers a rare chance to fix international cooperation and make good on gaps in global governance.

As gang violence increases in Haiti, the international community must continue to stand in solidarity with the population, the UN Special Representative for the country told the Security Council on Monday.

The UN Middle East envoy has expressed concern about increased levels of violence in the West Bank, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists in New York on Monday.

A youth activist in Haiti has described how years of gang violence, kidnappings and insecurity in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, has forced their “tears to run dry”.

Independent UN experts have expressed concern over the role airlines and aviation authorities could have in the unlawful removal of asylum seekers from the United Kingdom to Rwanda under an agreement between the two governments and the proposed “Safety of Rwanda” bill.

The UN Secretary-General on Monday called for a “surge in investment” to give developing countries a chance to build better lives for their people.

Israeli authorities have provided no proof yet following their three-month-old claim that a dozen UN staff colluded with Hamas in the 7 October attacks in Israel, according to the final report of an independent review of the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna and released on Monday.

Meaningful action to prevent the use of explosive weapons in populated areas could reduce the number of child casualties in conflicts by nearly half, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday.

Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday emphasized the need for a “strengthened and updated” United Nations to better reach and support people around the world.