News headlines in June 2024, page 12

Despite its huge potential, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, continues to grapple with a host of challenges which are impacting people’s lives and triggering conflict over key resources, a senior UN official in the country said on Friday.

The head of the UN human rights office (OHCHR) Volker Türk on Friday called for serious measures to be taken to end human rights violations that are jeopardizing reconciliation and peace efforts in Ethiopia.

The UN’s top genocide prevention official warned on Friday that hate speech remains a significant threat to global peace and security, often targeting society’s most vulnerable.

A surge of attacks by Russian forces on the Kharkiv area of Ukraine is causing significant civilian casualties, as well as the destruction of homes and crucial infrastructure, the top UN official in Ukraine said today, in a plea not to “normalize” the dire conditions for Ukrainian civilians.

A cautious welcome was given by civilians in Gaza to this week’s Security Council resolution endorsing a ceasefire for hostages deal - mixed with frustration that the fighting continues with both Hamas and the Israeli Government signalling that the three phase plan falls short.

Escalating fighting in the south and centre of Gaza makes it near-impossible for humanitarians to deliver desperately needed food aid, the Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Carl Skau, said on Friday at the end of a two-day mission to the enclave.

The global fight to tackle female genital mutilation (FGM) is being undermined by the movement of some girls across national borders and beyond to undergo the procedure, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) warned in a new report published on Friday.

NAIROBI, Jun 13 (IPS) - The global community is marking a tragic milestone for human rights, children's rights, and girls' rights, as it has been 1,000 days since girls were banned from attending secondary school in Afghanistan. The ban has wiped out decades’ worth of education and development gains, as approximately 80 percent of school-aged Afghan girls and young women are out of school.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 13 (IPS) - This week has seen noteworthy steps from the international community to put an end to the ongoing hostilities in the Gaza Strip since the start of the hostilities between Hamas and Israel.

BONN, Jun 13 (IPS) - As the technical session of the global climate negotiations enters the final stretch in Bonn, Germany, climate activists from Africa have expressed fears that negotiators from the developed world are dragging their feet in a way to avoid paying their fair share to tackle the climate crisis.