Page 181 - Lobal Issues News Today

SYDNEY, Apr 19 (IPS) - Climate change and warming ocean waters are causing tuna fisheries to migrate to international waters, away from a country’s jurisdiction, thereby putting the food and economic security of many Pacific Island countries and territories at risk.

Women’s bodies must not be held captive to government policies or “alarmist narratives” concerning population growth, the UN sexual and reproductive agency (UNFPA) said in major new report published on Wednesday.

UN independent human rights experts on Monday said they were deeply concerned over delays in reaching an agreement on the restructuring of Zambia’s debt and its corresponding negative human rights impact on peoples’ lives there.

In his address marking the opening of the 2023 session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) on Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres drew attention to the ways that indigenous peoples are denied their human rights, and saluted them for the pioneering role they play in efforts to protect nature and preserve biodiversity.

Clashes intensified across Sudan on Monday, as top UN officials urged rival military factions to protect civilians and respect the country’s international obligations.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Monday that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is turning into a “mirage of what might have been,” at the opening of the Financing for Development Forum (FfD), taking place at UN Headquarters in New York.

Unity of the Security Council is “essential” to ease tensions and overcome the diplomatic impasse on the Korean Peninsula, Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari said on Monday, briefing on the latest developments following Pyongyang’s first-ever launch of a solid-fuel ballistic missile days ago.

An expired truce still delivering positive results, and a recent mass prisoner exchange, are signs of hope in Yemen, but more work remains to end the war between the Saudi coalition-backed Government and Houthi rebels, UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg told the Security Council on Monday.

Against the backdrop of a fragile human rights landscape, a “new dynamic” of cooperation among Libyan leaders provides much-needed momentum as the country prepares for elections later this year, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative told the Security Council on Tuesday.

The draconian restrictions on women’s ability to study and work have contributed to the calamitous socio-economic situation in Afghanistan, with devastating consequences for the population, according to a UN report released on Tuesday.