Women and girls of African descent face a “systemic and historical pattern” of racial abuse in the health sector in countries across the world, leaving them at increased risk of death during childbirth, the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency said on Wednesday.

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 12 (IPS) - When President Ferdinand Marcos was running an authoritarian regime in the Philippines (1965-1986), he was once asked about rumors of rigged elections in his country.

“I promised I will give you the right to vote,” he said, according to a joke circulating at that time, “But I did not say anything about counting those votes”

NAIROBI, Jul 11 (IPS) - East African international students could soon easily study in neighbouring countries after the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) proposed a new qualification framework to mitigate the difficulties faced when seeking education across borders.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Jul 11 (IPS) - The role of water in conflicts is changing, with more attacks against environmental and civilian infrastructure. Dr Martina Klimes of the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) recently held a lecture describing the shifting security landscape and how water can be both a weapon and a victim of war – and sometimes a tool for peace.

The UN Secretary-General has strongly condemned an attack on a UN peacekeeping patrol in the northeast Central African Republic (CAR) on Monday which left one Rwandan ‘blue helmet’ dead.

Despite some progress, billions worldwide still lack access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene; a situation exacerbated by water scarcity caused by conflicts and climate change. On Tuesday, the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) discussed the key role of water in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Twenty five countries, including some of the world’s biggest economies, have halved their poverty indices, but lack of post-COVID-19 pandemic data obscures the situation facing almost a billion people globally, a new United Nations-University of Oxford study has found.

UN-appointed independent human rights experts on Tuesday called for the Government of Bangladesh to end all harassment against representatives of the human rights organisation, Odhikar, and to ensure respect for due process in legal proceedings.

The UN’s top human rights official urged respect for religious tolerance on Tuesday as Member States gathered in Geneva in response to the recent burning of the holy Quran in the Swedish capital.

Life-saving assistance to millions in northwest Syria is at risk after the UN Security Council on Tuesday failed to adopt either of two competing resolutions to extend cross-border aid delivery from Türkiye.