United Nations

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Blacks Should Get Reparations From US: UN Panel

Experts say it's only right after history of 'racial terrorism'

(Newser) - While officials in Barcelona lobby to replace what they say is a symbol of oppression and slavery , a United Nations panel is calling on the United States to offer reparations to black people for the country's history of "racial terrorism," per the Washington Post . In a nonbinding... More »

8 Big Lines From Obama's Farewell Speech to UN

He warns of a 'nation ringed by walls'

(Newser) - President Obama addressed the United Nations as president for the final time on Tuesday with a speech that urged world leaders make a "course correction" and be more open to refugees and less authoritarian. And he seemed to be take a shot, more than once, at Donald Trump's... More »

Amal Clooney Aiding Ex-ISIS Captive, With George's Blessing

Human rights lawyer is helping Nadia Murad seek justice for the Yazidi people

(Newser) - Nadia Murad, a 23-year-old Yazidi woman who survived captivity as an ISIS sex slave, was named a UN goodwill ambassador Friday—the first time a human trafficking survivor was named as such, Time reports. Murad has another distinction: a high-profile human rights lawyer helping her cause of bringing ISIS criminals... More »

As Syrians Die, UN Aid Flows Through Assad Cronies

Critics say aid money is propping up regime

(Newser) - United Nations aid is making the Syrian civil war a very profitable enterprise for cronies of President Bashar al-Assad, according to a Guardian investigation. The aid—tens of millions of dollars of it, in some cases—has been awarded to hundreds of businesses closely linked to the regime, some of... More »

In Profanity-Laced Tirade, Duterte Says He'll Leave 'Stupid' UN

Philippines prez goes on a tear amid criticism

(Newser) - The Philippines' brash-talking president threatened Sunday to withdraw his country from the United Nations and lashed out at US police killings of black men in his latest outburst against critics of his anti-drug campaign, which the AP reports has left hundreds of suspects dead. In an angry news conference that... More »

Thousands of Haitians Are Dead; UN Admits It's Partly to Blame

A cholera outbreak has been ravaging the country since 2010

(Newser) - After six years, the UN has admitted it is at least partially responsible for the cholera outbreak ravaging Haiti, the New York Times reports. The epidemic started in 2010 near a base where UN peacekeepers from Nepal had just arrived. Nepal was experiencing an outbreak of cholera at the time,... More »

ISIS Reportedly Captures 3K Fleeing Iraqis

Several may have already been killed: UNHCR

(Newser) - The UN refugee agency says it has received reports that the Islamic State may have captured up to 3,000 Iraqis who were fleeing violence and that 12 of them may have been killed, reports AP . In a report published Thursday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said the internally... More »

UN to Look Into Possible CIA-Backed Killing of Its Former Head

Dag Hammarskjold died in a plane crash in 1961 in Africa

(Newser) - The UN is on the verge of reopening the investigation into the death of former secretary-general Dag Hammarskjold, what Foreign Policy calls "the most notorious and perplexing cold case in the UN's history." Hammarskjold died in a plane crash during a 1961 peace mission in Africa. Since... More »

1 in 113 People Are Forced From Their Homes

UN Report: Conflict is the "main driver"

(Newser) - By the end of last year, more than 65 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced—enough to comprise the 21st-largest nation in the world, the UN Refugee Agency reports. According to CNN , it's more people than were forced from their homes in the aftermath of World War Two. The... More »

US Calls for UN to Unite on Gay Rights

Members urged to do more than just condemn killers

(Newser) - The United States on Monday called on all 193 members of the United Nations to not only condemn the terrorism that resulted in the mass killing of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Florida over the weekend, but also to protect gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people from such... More »

A Child-Killer List Is Roiling the UN

Saudis accused of threatening to yank funds

(Newser) - Big controversy is afoot at the UN over an annual report that lists armed groups responsible for killing children. When it came out last week, the report included the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen among the guilty parties. On Monday, however, the UN backtracked and removed the coalition from the... More »

Besieged Syrian Town Gets First Food Aid Since 2012

Nearly 500 food rations will feed about 2,400 individuals in Daraya for one month

(Newser) - The Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the UN have delivered food aid to the Damascus suburb of Daraya for the first time since it came under siege in November 2012, hours after the UN said the Syrian government had approved access to 15 of the 19 besieged areas in Syria,... More »

UN: Ireland's Abortion Ban Is 'Inhumane'

Committee finds woman's human rights were violated

(Newser) - The UN's human rights committee says Ireland's effective ban on abortion violated a woman's human rights and must be reformed in what the Guardian calls "a ground-breaking judgment that is expected to set an international precedent." The committee responded to the case of Amanda Mellet,... More »

UN Armies Use Troops Prone to Corruption

Alleged crimes described as 'sickening and odious'

(Newser) - Thirty countries that provide the most troops to UN peacekeeping armies are particularly prone to corruption, according to a new study . Transparency International, an organization that monitors corruption, says six of the most troop-contributing nations scored an F in an A-to-F grading system—Togo, Morocco, Chad, Egypt, Burkina Faso, and... More »

UN: Falklands Are Actually in Argentina

Territory ruling sparks concerns among islanders

(Newser) - Argentina's government celebrated on Monday a decision by a UN commission expanding its maritime territory in the South Atlantic Ocean by 35% to include the disputed Falkland Islands and beyond. The Argentine foreign ministry says its waters have increased by 0.66 million square miles and the decision will... More »

Ex-UN Chief Boutros Boutros-Ghali Dead at 93

He died in a Cairo hospital after suffering a broken pelvis

(Newser) - The first Arab and African to hold the UN's top position has died. Egyptian Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who served as the UN's secretary general from 1992 to 1996, died Tuesday at a Cairo hospital where he was admitted last week with a broken pelvis, Egypt's state news agency... More »

UN to N. Korea: 'Significant' Sanctions on the Way

'There can be no business as usual,' says US ambassador to UN

(Newser) - The UN Security Council has issued a statement strongly condemning North Korea's rocket launch and pledging to "expeditiously" adopt a new resolution with "significant" new sanctions. The statement approved by all 15 council members at an emergency meeting on Sunday underscored that launches using ballistic missile technology,... More »

UN to Britain: You Owe Assange Money Over His Detention

Panel cites his 'deprivation of liberty,' but London dismisses idea

(Newser) - A UN panel not only thinks Julian Assange is being unlawfully held in Britain, it wants the UK to set him free and pay him for his "deprivation of liberty." London thinks that's "ridiculous." Assange, meanwhile, said the ruling vindicates him—even though he'll... More »

UN: ISIS Has 3.5K Slaves in Iraq, Slaughtered Thousands More

Report documents 'staggering' death toll, murder of child soldiers

(Newser) - The United Nations released some disturbing numbers Tuesday related to ISIS activity in Iraq, noting that its actions may "amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possibly genocide," CBS News reports. In the period from Jan. 1, 2014, to Oct. 31, 2015, more than 18,800 civilians... More »

UN Syria Plan Leaves Assad's Fate a Mystery

Security Council votes 15-0 to try to end conflict

(Newser) - After years of ruinous civil war, the United Nations Security Council has finally approved a peace deal for what's left of Syria—but it leaves the future of President Bashar Assad a mystery. The resolution adopted by a unanimous vote on Friday says Syria must hold elections within 18... More »

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