Diplomacy & Crisis News

The UN migration agency, IOM, is running migrant centres across six provinces in Turkey as part of its refugee response, which provide migrants, refugees, and host community members, with education, social services, law, vocational guidance, and community support. One of those who has benefited from the centres is Leyla Al Darazi, originally from Lebanon, who although born male, has identified as female since a young age. To coincide with the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, marked on 17 May, Leyla told her story to Begum Basaran, a communications assistant with IOM Turkey. 

Risk of monkeypox transmission in the United Kingdom is minimal following a confirmed case of the rare and sometimes fatal animal-bourne disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday expressed concern over the current COVID-19 outbreak in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), where no public vaccination programme has been put in place, reiterating its commitment to support the country response to the pandemic.

Recently, I visited Shusha in the war-torn Karabakh region in order to partake in the International Food Festival that was hosted in Azerbaijan’s cultural capital city. After visiting the area last summer together with Ayoob Kara, who served as Israel’s Communication, Cyber and Satellite Minister under Netanyahu, I was pleasantly surprised to discover how much the area has improved over the past year.

For starters, there are now proper roads where one can travel from Baku to Shusha.  These roads did not exist last summer.  When I visited the area last summer, we had to travel on landmine-infested dirt roads, with multiple potholes in them. As a result, we had to zigzag as we drove and we saw many cars that broke down along the way due to these conditions. We ourselves got into a bus accident and were stranded for several hours in a landmine-infested area, till we were rescued by the Azerbaijani government and military.

But now, thanks to the better roads, what was an eight-hour journey became a five-to-six-hour journey from Baku to Shusha. On top of that, the area along the way has significantly improved.  For starters, the Azerbaijanis have rebuilt the city of Fizouli, which was nothing but a ghost town last year. This means that one can stop and eat in a café or go to get gasoline in Fizouli along the road between Shusha and Baku.  

Thus, instead of having our meal along the way on an Azerbaijani military base, we were able to dine in a nice Azerbaijani tea house. For me, this was a major development, as I keep kosher.  On my last visit, I literally starved on the journey, as the military base and convoy of Russian journalists lacked vegetarian options. So, I barely ate till we reached Shusha. But at the Azerbaijani tea house, I found myself in a more vegetarian friendly atmosphere.      

On top of that, all of the fires that were still raging last summer have been put out. Furthermore, the nature is beginning to recover from the fact that the area was left on fire, with uprooted trees, destroyed homes and burnt agricultural fields.  Now, one can see greenery and flowers along the road to Shusha, even though one can see that many homes still remain in ruins. 

Upon entering the city, we had to pass through a checkpoint manned by Russian peace-keepers. That did not exist last year. But upon entering the city, we were surprised to discover that we would be staying in the five-star Karabakh Hotel, which had a lovely gift shop that sold souvenirs connected with the historic city of Shusha, instead of a run-down leftover Armenian hotel, which lacked electricity in our rooms.

While staying at the Karabakh Hotel, we were able to attend concerts, puppet shows and other performances at the International Food Festival in Azerbaijan’s cultural capital city.  Foods from various regions of Azerbaijan were represented, as were a number of countries including Israel, Turkey, Georgia, China, Japan, France, Italy, Malaysia, etc. I was even able to purchase wine, cookbooks and other trinkets at the festival, in addition to meeting people from various parts of the world.

Last summer, they were putting the final touches on the Shusha Fort, but now it is open to the public and even has a market selling kebabs to Azerbaijani soldiers. That did not exist last summer. They also renovated a number of other buildings.  For example, the local elementary school is now totally renovated and I saw them putting the final touches upon a number of mosques.   With one exception, all of the mosques in Shusha last summer lay in ruins. Thus, after visiting Shusha, I am hopeful that within five years, the area can begin to flourish once again as Azerbaijan’s cultural capital city.     

« A Jérusalem, nous irons, martyrs par millions ! » Ce cri du chef de l'Autorité palestinienne, M. Yasser Arafat, quelques heures après le début de l'offensive israélienne du 29 mars 2002 contre les villes de Cisjordanie, a été repris par les manifestants à travers le monde arabe. Cloués le soir devant (...) / Israël, Palestine, Proche-Orient, Monde arabe, Conflit israélo-arabe, Palestine (Cisjordanie) - 2002/05

Investigators probing allegations of war crimes in the Ukraine conflict must work closely together and in compliance with international standards of forensic best practice, the UN expert on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions said on Monday. 

The UN Special Envoy for Yemen, on Monday welcomed the resumption of commercial flights from the capital city’s main airport after six years, as a potential game changer for citizens needing lifesaving medical treatment.

Countries taking part in the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour this week in South Africa, are being urged to do more to end child labour by 2025.

En novembre 1997, M. Ariel Sharon se rendit à la Maison Blanche pour rencontrer M. Sandy Berger, conseiller à la sécurité nationale du président William Clinton. Arrivé cartes en main, comme toujours, M. Sharon avait alors reconnu le caractère inévitable de l'Etat palestinien, tout en cherchant à (...) / États-Unis (affaires extérieures), Israël, Palestine, Proche-Orient, Conflit israélo-arabe, Conflit israélo-palestinien, Crime de guerre - 2002/05

The United Nations in Somalia welcomed the conclusion of the country’s presidential election held on Sunday, praising the “positive” nature of the electoral process and peaceful transfer of power.

Almost one billion people with disabilities and older persons are being denied access to assistive technology, according to a UN report published on Monday, calling on governments and industry to fund and prioritize access.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday appealed for greater commitment to harmony and diversity one day after 10 people were killed, and three wounded, in a racist attack at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.

Du 24 au 29 mars 2002, une délégation du Parlement international des écrivains — Russel Banks (Etats-Unis), Bei Dao (Chine), Breyten Breytenbach (Afrique du Sud), Vincenzo Consolo (Italie), Juan Goytisolo (Espagne), José Saramago (Portugal), Wole Soyinka (Nigeria) et Christian Salmon (France) — (...) / Israël, Palestine, Violence, Colonisation, Conflit israélo-palestinien - 2002/05

A group of former combatants with the FARC rebel group in Colombia have been reflecting on five years of peace and community building in a locality called Tierra Grata, which translates as “pleasant land”

Investigations must be held into the actions of the Israeli security forces, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said on Saturday, calling for accountability and an end to impunity.

Au-dessous, dans le crépuscule violet, le vieux Sarajevo plonge de plus en plus avec ses édifices de toutes les époques, de tous les styles, avec ses églises, les vieilles et les récentes, avec ses synagogues et de nombreuses mosquées à côté desquelles poussent les peupliers, élancés et hauts comme des (...) / Bosnie-Herzégovine, Yougoslavie 1946-1992, Guerre de Bosnie-Herzégovine 1992-1995 - 1992/02

A human trafficking expert at the United Nations has told UN News how she was instrumental in saving over 1,000 trafficking victims. Reda Sirgediene works for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as the Regional Adviser on Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling for Central Asia after serving for more than 20 years in the Lithuanian police force.

Governments, cities, companies, and communities around the world are taking action to address a significant and growing threat to wildlife, including many species of migratory birds - light pollution.

Humanitarians continue to call for scaling up assistance in the Horn of Africa, where the worst drought in 40 years is affecting some 15 million people across Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia. 

Amid new claims by Moscow of a covert biological weapons programme in Ukraine, the Director of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) affirmed on Friday that the UN is not aware of any such programme and has neither the mandate nor the technical operational capacity to investigate it - a message first delivered to the Security Council on 11 and 18 March, by High Representative Izumi Nakamitsu.