• The United Nations declares 2023 the International Year of Millets
• What unites us, is yoga: PM Modi delivers special video message on International Yoga Day 2023
• UN members adopt first-ever treaty to protect marine life in the high seas

• Ex-official accuses United Nations of 'colossal mismanagement'
• Trafficking in children on the rise, says new UN report
• Up to 10,000 people from Christian communities flee violence in northern Iraq - UN

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Positive Trends
Short Summaries of Top Stories

The United Nations declares 2023 the International Year of Millets
23 June 2023 - Millets, an alternative crop to corn and soybeans, is getting new attention in the U.S. The resilient grain could help U.S. farmers survive climate change. 2023 is the international year of millets -- at least the United Nation has declared that so. Millets are a type of ancient grain mostly grown in parts of Asia and Africa, and millets are nutritious and drought resistant. That last quality could make them useful to farmers in the United States, especially in places facing deepening drought. Harvest Public Media's Eva Tesfaye reports. (more)

What unites us, is yoga: PM Modi delivers special video message on International Yoga Day 2023
23 June 2023 - Although in the United States on his first official State Visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a special video message on International Day of Yoga early Wednesday morning local [New York] time. In his video message, Modi emphasized India's commitment to embracing unity and diversity through the ancient practice and 'global movement' of yoga. (more)

UN members adopt first-ever treaty to protect marine life in the high seas
19 June 2023 - Members of the United Nations adopted the first-ever treaty to protect marine life in the high seas on Monday [19 June], with the U.N.'s chief hailing the historic agreement as giving the ocean 'a fighting chance.' Delegates from the 193 member nations burst into applause and then stood up in a sustained standing ovation when Singapore's ambassador on ocean issues, Rena Lee, who presided over the negotiations, banged her gavel after hearing no objections to the treaty's approval. (more)

Plenty abuzz on World Bee Day
6 June 2023 - Beekeepers around the world earn their livelihoods from the golden honey their bees produce, but they also play a critical role in pollinating 87 of 115 leading food crops worldwide. World Bee Day, observed on Saturday [20 May], is abuzz with promoting their sustainable agricultural practices and respecting the role these pollinators play in nature. (more)

Access to clean and healthy environment a universal human right
11 August 2022 - Recently, the UN General Assembly adopted a historic resolution, declaring access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, a universal human right. 'The resolution will help reduce environmental injustices, close protection gaps and empower people, especially those that are in vulnerable situations, including environmental human rights defenders, children, youth, women and indigenous peoples', said UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. (more)

Indigenous women's work to preserve traditional knowledge celebrated on International Day
10 August 2022 - Indigenous women are the backbone of indigenous peoples' communities and play a crucial role in the preservation and transmission of traditional ancestral knowledge. They have an integral collective and community role as carers of natural resources and keepers of scientific knowledge. Many indigenous women are also taking the lead in the defense of indigenous peoples' lands and territories and advocating for indigenous peoples' collective rights worldwide. (more)

World Bee Day 20 May
20 May 2022 - We all depend on the survival of bees. To raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development, the UN designated 20 May as World Bee Day. The goal is to strengthen measures aimed at protecting bees. This year the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN will celebrate World Bee Day through a virtual event, under the theme 'Bee Engaged: Celebrating the diversity of bees and beekeeping systems'. (more)

U.N. chief names Michael Bloomberg climate envoy to rally action
5 February 2021 - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reappointed former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg as his special envoy on climate ambition and solutions on Friday [5 February] 'to mobilize stronger and more ambitious climate action' ahead of a global summit in November. The media mogul will support Guterres in 'growing and strengthening' a coalition of governments, companies, cities, and businesses committing to net-zero emissions by 2050 in line with the goals of the 2015 global climate deal struck in Paris, the United Nations said. (more)

To cultivate art and mind is also to cultivate peace, UNESCO chief says on World Poetry Day
21 March 2018 - Not merely limited to beautiful and poignant words and phrases, poetry holds the extraordinary power to open new horizons, bridge differences and illuminate a path to peace and dialogue, the head of the United Nations cultural agency said on World Poetry Day. Commemorated every year every year on 21 March, World Poetry Day recognizes the prominent art as one of humanity's most treasured forms of cultural and linguistic expression as well as identity. (more)

World Water Day 22 March
21 March 2018 - Water is an essential building block of life. It is more than just essential to quench thirst or protect health; water is vital for creating jobs and supporting economic, social, and human development. Planting new forests, reconnecting rivers to floodplains, and restoring wetlands will rebalance the water cycle and improve human health and livelihoods. (more)

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Flops
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Ex-official accuses United Nations of 'colossal mismanagement'
18 March 2016 - A former United Nations official with decades of experience in senior positions accused the world body of 'colossal mismanagement,' saying on Friday it had failed to uphold the principles for which it was established. Anthony Banbury, former head of the U.N. mission to combat the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, made the remarks in an op-ed column on the New York Times website. He had overseen the establishment of the U.N. mission to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons programme. 'In terms of its overall mission, thanks to colossal mismanagement, the United Nations is failing,' Banbury said. (more)

Trafficking in children on the rise, says new UN report
24 November 2014 - One in three known victims of human trafficking is a child, and girls and women are particularly targeted and forced into 'modern slavery', according to the 2014 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, released on 24 November by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna. 'Unfortunately, the report shows there is no place in the world where children, women, and men are safe from human trafficking,' said UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov. 'Official data reported to UNODC by national authorities represent only what has been detected. It is very clear that the scale of modern-day slavery is far worse,' he added. (more)

Up to 10,000 people from Christian communities flee violence in northern Iraq - UN
27 June 2014 - The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said that up to 10,000 people from predominately Christian communities in northern Iraq have fled their homes this week amid the ongoing violence in Mosul. Those fleeing are from Qaraqosh -- also known as Hamdaniya -- a town of 50,000 people that is located 30 kilometres south-east of Mosul, where armed opposition groups seized control two weeks ago. UNHCR said many of them have fled to Iraq's Kurdistan region, which is already hosting an estimated 300,000 people from Mosul and the surrounding areas. 'They fled by bus, car and taxi into Iraq's northern Kurdistan region on Wednesday night,' UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming told reporters in Geneva. 'Many are women and children staying with families, relatives and in schools and community centres, mostly in Erbil. They tell us they fled in a big rush, and didn't bring many belongings with them so that is a sign of how afraid they are.' (more)

Steady increase in incidents of genetically modified crops found in traded food, UN agency reports
14 March 2014 - As a result of the increased production of genetically modified crops worldwide, the United Nations food agency warns in a ground-breaking survey that an increasing number of incidents of low levels of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are being reported in traded food and feed. 'The incidents have led to trade disruptions between countries with shipments of grain, cereal and other crops being blocked by importing countries and destroyed or returned to the country of origin,' said the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in a news release, explaining that with no international agreement defining or quantifying 'low levels', interpretation varies from country to country. The first-ever survey also revealed that the highest number of incidents involved linseed, rice, maize and papaya, and that shipments with low levels of GM crops originated mainly from the US, Canada and China, among other countries. Once detected most shipments are destroyed or returned to sender. (more)

Survey by UN health agency shows major gaps in cancer control and care
2 February 2013 - Ahead of World Cancer Day, (4th February), the United Nations health agency has launched a survey showing that more than half of all countries are struggling to prevent cancer and to provide appropriate long-term treatment and care to avoid human suffering and protect countries' social and economic development. 'Cancer should not be a death sentence anywhere in the world as there are proven ways to prevent and cure many cancers,' Oleg Chestnov, Assistant Director-General for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health at the World Health Organization (WHO), said in a statement about the global capacity survey. 'In order to reduce exposure to risk factors leading to cancer and ensure that every person living with cancer gets access to appropriate care and treatment, comprehensive cancer control programmes need to be set up in every country.' A functional cancer control plan includes prevention, early detection, treatment, and care, according to WHO. The agency's recent survey of 185 countries and their national capacity for noncommunicable diseases revealed major gaps in cancer control planning and services. Even if countries developed cancer plans or policies, many of them are struggling to move from commitment to action, the survey showed. (more)

With zero reserves, UN refugee agency faces 'unprecedented' combination of crises
5 October 2012 - With its financial reserves at zero, the United Nations refugee agency is facing an 'unprecedented' combination of crises, its top official warned today as he appealed to the international community to provide the necessary financial support. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, noted that his agency, known by the acronym UNHCR, is currently dealing with four acute crises as it tries to protect and assist 700,000 people who had fled conflict in Syria, Mali, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by the end of September, on top of last year's record exodus of 800,000 refugees worldwide. 'As a matter of fact, UNHCR is presently overstretched,' the UN refugee chief told reporters in Geneva, stressing that all the current problems come on top of dealing with long-standing chronic problems, such as one million Somali refugees who have fled conflict and drought in their homeland to Kenya, Ethiopia, and Yemen. (more)

Almost 21 million people worldwide are victims of forced labour, UN finds
1 June 2012 - Almost 21 million people worldwide are trapped in jobs into which they were coerced or deceived and which they cannot leave, according to new estimates released by the United Nations labour agency. According to ILO, forced labour takes different forms, including debt bondage, trafficking and other forms of modern slavery, with the victims normally the most vulnerable - women and girls -- migrants trapped in debt bondage, and sweatshop or farm workers kept there by clearly illegal tactics and paid little or nothing. In the new estimates, 18.7 million people -- 90 per cent of the total -- are exploited in the private economy, by individuals or enterprises. Of these, 4.5 million are victims of forced exploitation and 14.2 million are victims of forced labour exploitation in economic activities, such as agriculture, construction, domestic work or manufacturing. Another 2.2 million people are in state-imposed forms of forced labour, such as in prisons under conditions which violate ILO standards, or in work imposed by the state military or by rebel armed forces. (more)

UN nuclear body ends annual meeting in disunity
25 September 2011 - The United Nations atomic agency ended its annual member state meeting in disunity late on Friday, with delegates unable to adopt a resolution on a policy area central to its work in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. Two Western diplomats accused Iran, Cuba and Egypt -- the troika representing non-aligned states within the International Atomic Energy Agency -- of blocking attempts to find a consensus on a safeguards resolution. The West accuses Iran of trying to develop a nuclear weapons capability in secret. Iran denies this, saying its nuclear programme is designed to generate electricity. Tehran often hits out at the United States over its atomic arsenal, and also criticizes the Islamic state's arch foe, Israel, and that country's assumed nuclear weapons. (more)

UN climate chief warns warming can cause conflict
15 February 2011 - Global warming is a looming threat to stability and national security around the world, and militaries should spend some of their ever-expanding budgets on reducing carbon emissions to avoid 'climate chaos', the UN's top climate official said Tuesday. Christiana Figueres, head of the UN climate secretariat, warned of the destabilizing effects created by growing water stress, declining crop yields, and damage from extreme storms in some of the world's poorest countries, which could set off mass international migration and regional conflicts. Figueres said the world's military budgets grew by 50 per cent in the first nine years of this century. Rather than continue that growth in weaponry, she said, the generals should invest in preventative budgets to 'avoid the climate chaos that would demand a defence response that makes even today's spending burden look light'. (more)

Fraud plagues global health fund
23 January 2011 - A $21.7 billion development fund backed by celebrities and hailed as an alternative to the bureaucracy of the United Nations sees as much as two-thirds of some grants eaten up by corruption, The Associated Press has learned. Much of the Global Fund money is accounted for with forged documents or improper bookkeeping, indicating it was pocketed, investigators say. The fund's newly reinforced inspector general's office, which uncovered the corruption, can't give an overall accounting because it has examined only a tiny fraction of the $10 billion that the fund has spent since its creation in 2002. But the levels of corruption in the grants they have audited so far are astonishing. (more)