The official who led the international effort to rid Syria of its chemical weapons has been named the new United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Sigrid Kaag’s appointment in a statement Monday. Kaag, of the Netherlands, served as special coordinator of the joint mission of the United Nations and the […]
Arab FMs set to call for U.N. Security Council vote on Palestinian state
Arab foreign ministers met on Saturday to agree a draft resolution setting a deadline for the creation of a Palestinian state and to agree on a date to present it to the United Nations Security Council for a vote. In October, the Palestinians informally shared a draft resolution with Arab states and some council members, […]
Iraq’s anti-ISIS strategy ‘bearing fruit’, says UN envoy
The new Iraqi government’s strategy of enlisting Kurds and local tribes in the fight against Islamists is yielding results, the U.N. envoy for Iraq told the Security Council on Tuesday. Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has made it a priority to pay salaries, arm and train fighters from local tribes and communities and provide legal […]
U.N. Urges Arab World to Denounce Islamic State
The United Nations’ top human rights official called on the Muslim world to denounce the “monstrous” crimes of the extremist group that seeks to establish an Islamic state in Iraq and Syria, calling its actions both a violation of international law and Islamic tenets. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, a member of the Jordanian royal family […]
Syria refugees threaten Lebanon’s stability: Charbel
Lebanon’s interior minister said on Thursday that refugees who have fled from the war in neighboring Syria have become a threat to Lebanon’s security because of the suspicion that many are in fact rebel fighters.
Russia accuses U.S. of double standards over Syria
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the United States on Friday of having double standards on Syria, saying it had blocked a U.N. Security Council statement condemning a car bomb attack in Damascus.
UN’s Brahimi backs Syrian opposition’s call for talks
A Syrian opposition leader’s call for dialogue is a test for the intentions of President Bashar Assad, the international envoy to Syria said Sunday, as fighting raged between rebels and government forces in at least three Syrian provinces.
Death toll in Syria about 70,000, UN says
The death toll in Syria is likely approaching 70,000 – up almost 10,000 from the start of the year – and civilians are paying the price for the U.N. Security Council’s lack of action to end the conflict, the U.N. human rights chief said on Tuesday. Navi Pillay, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, […]
UN denies Brahimi had a stroke, report
The United Nations Monday denied a media report that claimed Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, had suffered a stroke. “There has been a report today which has falsely claimed that Joint Special Representative for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi had suffered a stroke,”
Syrian refugees hit by aid funding crisis
Beirut , Lebanon- Syrians left homeless or hungry by the country’s civil war face a massive shortfall in humanitarian aid as the United Nations struggles to raise money and the flight of refugees to neighbouring countries intensifies.