insert_link Africa UN Security Council worried over rising violence in the Congo The United Nations Security Council is concerned about the escalating violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Clashes have intensified recently between the M23 rebels and the country’s army. The M23 is one of dozens of armed groups that have long plagued the country’s mineral-rich east, battling for control of land there. Guyana ambassador, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett. todayFebruary 13, 2024 12
Africa Tanzania’s elections are vulnerable to state abuse – urgent law reforms are needed By Aikande Clement Kwayu, Tumaini University Makumira Tanzania’s electoral law reform is overdue for an overhaul. This was made most apparent by the 2019 local elections and the 2020 general elections. The results were big wins for the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM): 99% of local authorities, 98.9% of parliamentary seats and 84% of the presidential vote. These margins of victory were contested. The United Nations, research […] todayFebruary 9, 2024 17
insert_link World UN Chief urges world peace amid ‘age of chaos’ The UN Secretary-General has outlined his priorities for 2024 in a speech at the General Assembly on Wednesday. Antonio Guterres has stressed the need for peace in the world saying the world is in an "age of chaos". Jody Jacobs reports from the United Nations in New York. todayFebruary 8, 2024 14
insert_link World UN chief pays tribute to late President Hage Geingob United Nations Secretary-General has paid tribute to late President Hage Geingob during the Wednesday of the UN General Assembly’s 55th plenary meeting’s 78th session. The 82-year-old died in hospital in the early hours of Sunday morning, weeks after he was diagnosed with cancer. Antonio Guterres called Geingob a respected and principled statesman who dedicated his life to serving and developing his country. The UN chief called Geingob a prominent anti-apartheid […] todayFebruary 8, 2024 26
insert_link South Africa UN selects South Africa’s Dire Tladi for ICJ role Professor Dire Tladi is set to be sworn in as South Africa’s first permanent judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague today. The former professor of international law at the University of Pretoria was elected by the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council. Tladi will serve a term of nine years as a member of the ICJ. todayFebruary 6, 2024 16
World As Donors Suspend Critical Funding to UNRWA, Allegations Against Staff Remain Murky Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, severed the contracts of staffers accused by Israel of taking part in the Hamas killing spree of Oct. 7. Yet the Israelis refuse to share evidence to the UN agency or to the larger UN organization about the allegations. Meanwhile, major donors to UNRWA have frozen funding just as Gazans face life or death situations. BBC SCREEN GRAB […] todayFebruary 6, 2024 5
insert_link 2 Namibia Obituary: Hage G Geingob 3 August 1941 – 4 February 2024 Hage Gottfried Geingob (3 August 1941 – 4 February 2024) President Dr. Hage G Geingob became the first Namibian president to die in office when he succumbed early in the morning of 4 February 2024, after having been rushed to a private hospital in Windhoek on 3 February 2024 shortly after his return from the United States where he had sought novel cancer treatment. Dr. Geingob was born in Tsumeb in 1941, receiving […] todayFebruary 4, 2024 771 2
World International Community Must Not Waver in Its Commitment to Two-State Solution, Secretary-General Tells Palestinian Rights Committee Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the opening of the 2024 session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, in New York today: Mr. Chair, Ambassador Cheikh Niang, congratulations on your election to the Bureau. The Committee’s mandate and advocacy are crucial amidst the unresolved Question of Palestine and the enormous violence and suffering, particularly since the horrific 7 October attack by […] todayFebruary 1, 2024 17
insert_link World Guyana, Leading the UN Security Council, Is Not Giving Up on a Ceasefire in Gaza Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, permanent representative of Guyana, photographed at the country’s mission to the UN, Jan 22, 2023. “We would very much like to see a ceasefire for the people to receive the necessary humanitarian aid,” she said about Gaza in an interview. “We are not at that point yet, and that is really regrettable.” JOHN PENNEY/PASSBLUE By Damilola Banjo via PassBlue The United Nations Security Council’s continuing failure to agree […] todayFebruary 1, 2024 4
