News from the United Nations

• COP29 gets boost from Rio as G20 leaders back scaling up climate finance from ‘billions to trillions’ November 19, 2024
  The high-level diplomatic push for climate action shifted southward on Tuesday as G20 leaders meeting in Rio sent a clear signal to negotiating teams at stalled UN climate talks in Baku on the need to rapidly and substantially ‘scale up climate finance from billions to trillions from all sources.’
• Hong Kong: 45 activists sentenced under controversial National Security Law November 19, 2024
  The Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has expressed grave concern over the sentencing of 45 opposition activists in Hong Kong to up to 10 years in prison under China’s National Security Law, highlighting the potential erosion of fundamental freedoms in the region.
• Middle East crisis: Live updates for 19 November November 19, 2024
  Fighting is becoming more violent and destructive either side of the UN-patrolled Blue Line separating Lebanon and Israel, UN peacekeepers said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, conditions continue to worsen in Gaza, particularly in the north at stricken Kamal Adwan Hospital. Stay tuned for live updates from UN headquarters and the field. UN News app users can […]
• Lebanon: Increased violence is the ‘horrific new normal’ for children, warns UNICEF November 19, 2024
  Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), told reporters in Geneva that ground clashes inside Lebanon – some of them very close to UNIFIL positions – have become “more violent”.
• UN underlines solidarity with Ukraine 1,000 days into Russian invasion November 19, 2024
  The international community must continue to show solidarity with Ukraine, a senior UN aid official said on Tuesday, marking 1,000 days since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country. 
• ICC Prosecutor appeals for global support to bring Libyan war criminals to justice November 19, 2024
  The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday called on the UN Security Council to help execute arrest warrants against suspects allegedly linked to a brutal Libyan militia blamed for committing atrocity crimes in the town of Tarhuna, where mass graves were discovered in 2020.
• SECURITY COUNCIL LIVE: Updates on Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine November 18, 2024
  The Security Council held three high-stakes high-level meetings on Monday in New York, with the United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary David Lammy presiding. Russia vetoed a draft resolution to protect civilians in Sudan, with ambassadors meeting next on Gaza and Lebanon, followed by another forthright debate on Ukraine. UN News app users can follow here.
• New UN relief chief takes office November 18, 2024
  Tom Fletcher, UN’s new chief of humanitarian affairs, took office on Monday, pledging to defend humanitarian values while navigating operations amid growing global crises.
• Haiti: Over 20,000 flee as gang violence spurs mass displacement November 18, 2024
  Over 20,000 people have fled their homes across Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince in just four days amid escalating gang violence, with more than 17,000 seeking shelter in 15 displacement sites as critical supply chains collapse. 
• ‘Cut the theatrics’: UN climate chief tells COP29 negotiators to focus on solutions as talks enter final week November 18, 2024
  As COP29 climate talks in Baku enter their final week, the UN climate chief told negotiators on Monday to “cut the theatrics,” get down to business and hammer out a new finance deal to compensate countries for climate-driven damages and pay for a clean-energy transition.