Every UN secretary-general has flagged the financial situation, but Antonio Guterres has issued the direst warning yet, calling it a 'race to bankruptcy and of imminent financial collapse, points out Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
President Donald Trump has withdrawn the United States from over 60 international organisations, including United Nations bodies and the India-France-led International Solar Alliance, calling the institutions 'redundant' and 'contrary' to America's interests.
A US federal government commission has raised concerns about the state of religious freedom in India, recommending its designation as a 'Country of Particular Concern' and suggesting targeted sanctions.
Afghans have deep self-respect and are the last people to put up with humiliation. Is it any surprise that relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have touched an all-time low and the two countries are now at war? asks M R Narayan Swamy.
The independent UN human rights expert,Walter Klin, who is dealing with IDPs said that the restoration of freedom of movement for Sri Lankans confined to the camps is becoming 'a matter of urgency.'Klin, who just wrapped up a visit to the country, said he remained 'very concerned about the very slow pace of releases' from the camps.
The Canadian government is seeking to revoke the citizenship of Tahawwur Rana Hussain, a Pakistan-born businessman accused of involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, due to misrepresentation on his citizenship application.
'The unexpected turn of events and assertion of sovereignty by the Taliban has baffled the Pakistan security establishment.'
India has called for a ceasefire, release of all hostages, and peaceful resolution of the Israel-Hamas conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. The Centre informed Parliament that India welcomed the agreement on the first phase of the Gaza Peace Plan. The article also covers India's energy sourcing strategy and the release of Indian fishermen by Pakistan.
The Israeli Parliament enacted a law prohibiting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the primary UN organisation assisting Palestinians, from operating within the country, CNN reported.
The Trump administration said it will conduct a "rigorous" re-examination of all Green Cards issued to immigrants from "every country of concern".
President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the UN Human Rights Council and prohibiting any future funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Trump also directed the US to review its participation in UNESCO, citing concerns about anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment within the organizations. The executive order argues that the UNHRC, UNESCO, and UNRWA have drifted from their missions and act contrary to US interests. Trump previously halted funds for UNRWA during his first term, and President Joe Biden put a block on US funds for UNRWA in January 2024 over allegations that staff for the agency participated in Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack against Israel.
Hollywood star Angelina Jolie has been appointed as Special Envoy of the United Nations refugee agency.
'Non-compatible with Western Civilization' is about as vague and jingoistic as it gets and Trump saying this gives full license to his acolytes to go full throttle on making life as difficult and scary as possible for as many non-white people as possible,' notes Sree Sreenivasan.
New figures compiled by the United Nations refugee agency have shown a dramatic fall in the number of asylum-seekers trying to enter the industrialised world over the last decade.
More than 2,80,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria following the sudden and massive offensive into government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group, the United Nations said on Friday.
Nearly 58 years after the United Nations adopted a convention on refugees, India is finally shaping its own legal framework to define the status and rights to be granted to refugees.The Home Ministry is currently chalking out the draft of the Refugees and Asylum Seekers (Protection) Bill and it will be presented before the Union Cabinet early in November. Once it is cleared by the Cabinet, it will be introduced in the winter or Budget session of the Parliament.
Remember the heartbreaking image of the dead 3-year-old boy washed up on a beach?
Approximately 70 percent of the population lacks access to adequate water supplies, while 80 percent does not have effective sanitation.
A Syrian amputee swimmer, granted asylum in Greece, will be a torch-bearer for the 2016 Rio Games and is to run with the Olympic flame through a refugee camp in Athens on Tuesday.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday received a standing ovation after he addressed the European Parliament as the Russian military operation entered its sixth day.
President Donald Trump is expected to sign a series of executive orders fulfilling campaign promises, including declaring an emergency at the southern border, addressing a national energy crisis, and defining sex-related policies. The orders aim to address immigration, national security, and energy independence, with a focus on reversing policies implemented by the previous administration.
One of the refugees managed to contact the Rohingya Human Rights Initiative and give the coordinates which showed the ship drifting southeast of the Andaman Islands towards Aceh in Indonesia.
The bodies of 117 refugees have been recovered in the Mediterranean sea after a smuggling boat carrying mainly African migrants capsized off the coast of Libya
'Decline of the UN did not start with the Trump administration. It has been happening over the last two decades or more.'
The drowning on May 19 was the latest in a series of incidents involving Sri Lankan refugees traveling to India, which includes abandonment at sea, capsized vessels, and previous fatalities.
More than 5,00,000 people have left Ukraine since the start of Russia's military operation and about 1,60,000 have become internally displaced, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths told the UN Security Council on Monday.
"The largest displacements in the context of disasters in 2021 occurred in China (6.0 million), the Philippines (5.7 million) and India (4.9 million). Most disaster displacements during the year were temporary," it said.
Fighting in Ukraine has so far pushed more than 500,000 people across the country's borders, according to the United Nations refugee agency.
The total number of displaced people rose to 653 lakh by the end of 2015 from 595 lakh in 2014 -- a 58 lakh increase on the year before.
'The Hindus and Sikhs came to India after the Taliban came to power,' says UNHCR Officer Nayana Bose.
The Indian economy is projected to grow at 6.2 per cent in 2025-26, slower than earlier estimated rate of 6.5 per cent, due to escalated trade tensions and global uncertainty, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday. "For India, the growth outlook is relatively more stable at 6.2 per cent in 2025, supported by private consumption, particularly in rural areas," IMF said in its World Economic Outlook (WEO).
Helen said the US embassy in Dhaka will resume this week its consular service to expedite visa processing.
According to the data, the total number of persons of concern to UNHCR in India stands at 43,157. Among them, 15,559 refugees and asylum seekers are from Afghanistan.
The United Nations agency assisting Palestinian refugees has said that over 100,000 internally displaced people are seeking safety in its facilities amid deteriorating security conditions in the Gaza Strip as it appealed for $60 million (Rs 361 crore) for urgent humanitarian needs.
United nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern over the 'highly dangerous' militarisation of conflict in Syria, even as the world body said that over 100,000 people fled the country last month.
On July 2 or July 6, the Dalai Lama will reveal his mind on his successor. This makes Beijing extremely nervous as the Communist regime fully realises the importance of controlling the next Dalai Lama, points out Claude Arpi.
The ministry of home affairs on Tuesday clarified India's stand of giving Asylum to Myanmar refugees, saying that the country is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereon.
US President Donald Trump has 'America First' as his priorities and this includes making America safe again, making the country affordable, achieving energy dominance, draining the swamp and bringing back American values, the White House said on Monday.
India voted in favour of a resolution that condemns Israeli settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
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