Iran expelled from U.N. women's commission in U.S.-led vote
The 29-8 vote in ECOSOC on Wednesday, with 16 abstentions, immediately expelled Iran from the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, based on a U.S. resolution.
John Heilprin
Award-winning U.N.-accredited journalist, with 30+ years on four continents, almost half of it for AP in Washington, New York and Geneva.
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U.N. atomic watchdog to secure all of Ukraine's nuclear plants
IAEA's director general and Ukraine’s prime minister announced the agreement for the U.N. atomic watchdog agency to establish a continuous presence of nuclear safety and security experts at all Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
Small island nations ask U.N. tribunal for climate opinion
The request is based on "the fundamental importance of the oceans as sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases and the direct relevance of the marine environment to the adverse effects of climate change on small island states."
More than US$50 billion later, U.N. to close First Gulf War commission
As a subsidiary of the U.N. Security Council, the commission processed and paid US$52.4 billion to 1.5 million claimants for losses and damage suffered as a direct result of Iraq’s invasion and occupation of Kuwait from 1990 to 1991.
IFJ reports 67 journalists, media workers killed on job this year
IFJ says the killings point to an "urgent" need for an international treaty on the safety and independence of journalists and other media professionals.
U.N. measure offers legal protection for aid in sanctioned regimes
Proponents said its passage is critical with 339 million people in need of aid and nearly 50 million on the verge of famine.
African Union membership in G-20 major economies picks up U.S. support from Biden administration
At last month's G-20 summit hosted by Indonesia, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa pushed for A.U. membership as a needed step to confront climate change.
IPU reports a record number of parliamentarians face threats and persecution around the world
A sharp increase in threats against women parliamentarians was seen: 137 in 2022, up from 123 last year and almost quadruple the 37 cases just eight years ago.
Biodiversity summit poses call to act, decade of protections on line
UNEP's chief describes the summit as an opportunity to 'secure our life-support system, to make peace with nature.'
U.S. backs WTO extension of deadline on patent waivers for COVID-19 tests and treatments
WTO has long deadlocked over a proposed annual waiver of parts of the 1995 TRIPS Agreement, a major intellectual property agreement, that would allow any nation or company to make a vaccine if it has the recipe and ingredients.
ILO reports more than 1-in-5 experience workplace violence
Only 23 nations have ratified the ILO treaty and it has entered into force in 10 of those nations: Argentina, Ecuador, Fiji, Greece, Italy, Mauritius, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa and Uruguay, according to ILO's latest tally. It will take effect in the other 13 nations at various dates next year.
U.S. open to New START talks with Russia after both 'prepared to meet'
The U.S. and Russia agreed to renew New START for another five years in February 2021, just before it was set to expire. The treaty was extended without changes, but the prospect of new talks chilled with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
U.N. committee against nukes, chemical and biological weapons renewed for next decade
The committee monitors implementation of council resolution 1540, approved in 2004 to prevent "non-state actors" from getting their hands on or trafficking a nuclear, biological or chemical weapon.
First WMO report on global water resources shows drier than normal conditions in large areas in 2021
Some 3.6 billion people face inadequate access to water at least one month per year and this is expected to increase to more than 5 billion by 2050, according to the U.N. weather agency.
CITES delegates move to protect more than 500 wildlife species, including nearly 100 sharks and rays
CITES, run by a secretariat in Geneva, sets the rules for international trade in wild fauna and flora and serves as a tool to ensure sustainability and to respond to losses in biodiversity by preventing and reversing declines in wildlife populations.
Venezuelan deal sets stage for US$3B in frozen assets to go to aid fund
The agreement restarts negotiations and clears the way for Chevron to resume pumping Venezuelan oil.