UN

New Zealand stands with Vanuatu on climate at UN

The United Nations voted unanimously to adopt a resolution led by Vanuatu to ask the ICJ for an advisory opinion on states’ climate change obligations.

The resolution tabled by Vanuatu and a core group of 17 countries, aims to clarify what the obligations of states are in protecting the rights of current and future generations from the adverse effects of climate change.

“This decision has the potential to change the landscape,” Climate Minister James Shaw said in a statement.

UN official says human cost of climate crisis being ignored

The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, Ian Fry, says the huge human cost of the climate crisis is being ignored.

He told the Human Rights Council that the long-term costs are not being addressed.

Mr Fry implored agencies to provide lasting support for people impacted by climate change.

Missile programme funded through stolen crypto, UN report says

Between 2020 and mid-2021 cyber-attackers stole more than $50m (£37m) of digital assets, investigators found.

Such attacks are an "important revenue source" for Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programme, they said.

The findings were reportedly handed to the UN's sanctions committee on Friday.

The cyber-attacks targeted at least three cryptocurrency exchanges in North America, Europe and Asia.

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UN condemns deadly air strike on Yemen prison

The facility in Saada, a stronghold of the rebel Houthi movement in north-western Yemen, was hit on Friday.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a statement that the "escalation needs to stop".

In a statement on Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in the country denied it had carried out the air strike.

The coalition also said the site was not on a list of targets to avoid that had been agreed with the UN and had not been reported by the Red Cross.

UN defines Holocaust denial in new resolution

The resolution, put forward by Israel and Germany, was passed without a vote by the 193-member General Assembly.

The move sends "a strong... message against the denial or the distortion of these historical facts", the UN said.

Six million Jewish people died in the Holocaust - Nazi Germany's campaign to eradicate Europe's Jewish population.

On Thursday, the UN General Assembly said it "rejects and condemns without any reservation any denial of The Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part".

Distress signal prompts UN concern after Tonga volcanic eruption

Initial reports suggested no mass casualties on the main island of Tongatapu, but two people were reported missing and the capital Nuku'alofa was badly damaged, as were resorts and homes along the island's western beaches, it said.

"Further volcanic activity cannot be ruled out," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in the update on Monday, reporting only minor injuries but emphasising that formal assessments, especially of the outer islands, had yet to be released with communications badly hit.

Vanuatu laments lack of action on West Papua at UN

Bob Loughman told the UN General Assembly that the indigenous people of West Papua continue to suffer human rights violations under Indonesian rule.

In recent years both the Pacific islands Forum and the African, Carribbean and Pacific Group of countries have sought UN scrutiny of the rights situation in Papua.

Both groups of countries had urged Indonesia to allow the UN Human Rights Commissioner's Office to visit Papua and provide an independent assessment.

"To date there has been little progress on this front," Loughman said.

Dozens killed in Burkina Faso attack

Homes and the local market were burned during the overnight raid on Solhan.

No group has said it was behind the violence, but Islamist attacks are increasingly common in the country, especially in border regions.

The UN chief said he was "outraged" by the incident.

António Guterres "strongly condemns the heinous attack and underscores the urgent need for the international community to redouble support to member states in the fight against violent extremism and its unacceptable human toll," his spokesperson said.

Afghanistan conflict: US makes new push for UN-led peace process

In a letter to the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Blinken called for a 90-day reduction in violence and a transitional government formed from both sides.

Blinken also said no decision had been made about whether to stick to a planned US troop withdrawal by 1 May.

He called on President Ghani to show "urgent leadership".

Blinken's letter, a copy of which was obtained by the BBC on Sunday, reflected the difficult position the US finds itself in as it reviews whether to withdraw its last 2500 troops.

COVID-19 vaccination ‘wildly uneven and unfair’: UN Secretary-General

Addressing the virtual meeting, UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the goal of providing vaccines to all as “the biggest moral test before the global community”, underlining that everyone, everywhere must be included.  

“Defeating COVID19, now that we have begun to have the scientific capacity to do so, is more important than ever”, he said.