Author: Dianne Penn

    • Gaza crisis: humanitarians warn of ‘tragic, entirely preventable surge’ in child deaths
    • Afghan nationals face uncertain future after Pakistan eviction order: UNHCR, IOM
    • Record numbers of Sudan refugees seek shelter from fighting in Chad

    This post was originally published on UN News – Global perspective Human stories.

    • Gaza crisis: humanitarians warn of ‘tragic, entirely preventable surge’ in child deaths
    • Afghan nationals face uncertain future after Pakistan eviction order: UNHCR, IOM
    • Record numbers of Sudan refugees seek shelter from fighting in Chad

    This post was originally published on UN News – Global perspective Human stories.

  • Needs are immense among people who fled Karabakh for Armenia, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) reports.

    The UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency has rushed to support women and girls, helping them to maintain their dignity amidst the chaos of displacement.

    More than 2,000 pregnant women are among the refugees and UNFPA is also making sure that hospitals and health facilities can assist them, especially with some 230 women set to deliver next month.

    UN News’s Dianne Penn spoke to Emmanuel Roussier, Humanitarian Coordinator for UNFPA’s Emergency Response in Armenia, about its work there.

    This post was originally published on UN News – Global perspective Human stories.

  • Needs are immense among people who fled Karabakh for Armenia, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) reports.

    The UN’s reproductive health agency has rushed to support women and girls, helping them to maintain their dignity amidst the chaos of displacement.

    More than 2,000 pregnant women are among the refugees and UNFPA is also making sure that hospitals and health facilities can assist them, especially with some 230 women set to deliver next month.

    UN News’s Dianne Penn spoke to Emmanual Roussier, Humanitarian Coordinator for UNFPA’s Emergency Response in Armenia, about its work there.

    This post was originally published on UN News – Global perspective Human stories.

  • The parents of an American teenager killed in one of the nation’s worst school shootings are hoping the international community will do more to end gun violence.

    Manuel and Patricia Oliver visited the UN this week for a tour and briefing, part of their cross-country road trip visiting communities affected by mass shootings.  

    Their son Joaquin, 17, was murdered in Florida’s Parkland high school shooting in February 2018 but lives on through their non-profit Change the Ref, which uses art and non-violent creative confrontation to raise awareness about mass shootings.

    Dianne Penn spoke with the Olivers, who came to the UN through the Non-Violence Project Foundation, a non-governmental organization that has consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

    John McKenna, US Country Director, began by providing an example of how art, activism, non-violence and peace, are linked here at UN Headquarters in New York. 

    • Supportive workplaces key to achieve global breastfeeding targets
    • Agencies warn against South Sudan food crisis 
    • Pakistan: Security Council condemns ‘heinous’ suicide bombing

    This post was originally published on UN News – Global perspective Human stories.

  • Nelson Mandela was a giant of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa and the country’s first democratically elected President, but he also had a wonderful sense of humour.

    That is just one of the recollections of American politician and activist Andrew Young, a former US Ambassador to the UN and friend of the man who was affectionately known as Madiba, his Xhosa clan name.

    Mr. Young was US Ambassador in the late 1970s, when Mr. Mandela was still serving out a lifetime sentence for treason before being released in 1990 after 27 years in prison.

    Mr. Young, 91, was back at the UN on Thursday for the official commemoration of Nelson Mandela International Day.  He spoke to UN News’s Dianne Penn. 

     

    This post was originally published on UN News – Global perspective Human stories.

  • The COVID-19 pandemic has rolled back progress in development but collaboration between countries of the Global South could help get the world back on track. 

    This exchange of technology and skills is known as South-South cooperation, and triangular cooperation, when supported by developed countries or partner agencies. 

    The UN’s High-Level Committee on South-South Cooperation met this week to examine how the process can help accelerate recovery from the pandemic and achieve a more sustainable future for all. 

    Dima Al-Khatib is the recently appointed Director of the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), which is hosted by the UN Development Programme (UNDP). 

    She spoke to UN News’s Dianne Penn about some of the key issues discussed at the meeting, including the need for increased funding. 

    This post was originally published on UN News – Global perspective Human stories.

    • UN Secretary-General welcomes safe relocation of staff in Sudan
    • ‘Big Catch-up’ in vaccines focus of World Immunization Week
    • UN World Data Forum key to SDG progress

    This post was originally published on UN News – Global perspective Human stories.

  • The transatlantic slave trade was a global phenomenon – directly affecting Africa, Europe and the Americas, with implications for Asia – and the UN can be a leader in promoting dialogue to addresses its complicated legacy.

    That’s the opinion of renowned American lawyer and social justice activist Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a non-profit working to end mass incarceration in the United States, which mainly impacts people of colour and the poor.

    He was at UN Headquarters on Thursday for an event to examine how museums can deal with the colonial past and include the voices of people of African descent.

    Mr. Stevenson spoke to UN News’s Dianne Penn about what inspired his fight for justice, how slavery is linked to past atrocities such as lynchings and present-day violations such as police brutality, and why wider engagement by cultural institutions is needed to usher in a “new era” of greater inclusion.

    This post was originally published on UN News – Global perspective Human stories.

    • ‘Reasonable grounds’ Syrian air force behind 2018 chemical attack 
    • High Commissioner for Refugees calls for sustained support for Ukraine 
    • Myanmar has ‘profoundly regressed’ two years after coup: UN human rights chief 

    This post was originally published on UN News – Global perspective Human stories.

    • Chad: UN human rights office appeals for calm after protests 
    • Deadly floods affect 2.5 million in Nigeria: UNICEF 
    • Guterres salutes UN partnership with Viet Nam 

    This post was originally published on UN News – Global perspective Human stories.

    • WHO urges governments to get people moving 
    • Guterres highlights partnership between UN and India 
    • UNICEF warns of child deaths amid Somalia drought 

    This post was originally published on UN News – Global perspective Human stories.

    • Finland violated #HumanRights of Finnish children held in Syria 
    • New WHO framework to boost people-centric TB services 
    • Venezuelan refugees struggle to rebuild life in Latin America and the Caribbean  

     

    This post was originally published on UN News – Global perspective Human stories.

    • UN deputy chief urges climate support for developing nations 
    • Africa’s economic slowdown to affect millions: UNCTAD  
    • Halt deforestation, preserve biodiversity, fight climate change: FAO

    This post was originally published on UN News – Global perspective Human stories.