An environmental lawyer has told UN News how children and teenagers from some of the most vulnerable neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, have been moved to tears after encountering nature for the first time.

LUSAKA, Zambia, Dec 06 (IPS) - Over the past few years, new “tools of control” affecting the work of civil society organisations have multiplied, often imposing forms of “bureaucratic criminalisation” and “administrative harassment”. In particular, more and more restrictive and demanding laws are hurting civil society organisations’s capacity to operate across the globe.

THE HAGUE & NAIROBI, Dec 06 (IPS) - Kenya agrees with many UN member states testifying before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that the law of international responsibility should hold countries legally responsible for major damage to the global climate system.

LONDON, Dec 06 (IPS) - On 26 December 2004 a powerful Asian tsunami swept over many of Sri Lanka’s coastal provinces, killing thousands of people and wildlife, devastating habitats and even washing away a trainload of passengers far from the rail tracks.

RIYADH & HYDERABAD, Dec 06 (IPS) - While many delegates at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16) hope that this could be the convention’s own Paris moment—referring to the historic Paris agreement inked by UNFCCC signatories—however, this hedges heavily on the UN parties’ seriousness to combat drought, desertification and land degradation.

Migrants and refugees across Latin America and the Caribbean face profound challenges in accessing basic needs, formal employment and safe living conditions, UN agencies reported on Friday, launching a $1.4 billion regional plan to address their urgent needs.

The UN General Assembly-mandated team investigating serious crimes in Syria released a new report on Friday, documenting systematic torture and abuse across over 100 Government detention facilities.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has renewed his call for the immediate and unconditional release of humanitarian personnel who have been detained in Yemen for six months, his Spokesperson said on Friday.

The UN General Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution helping strengthen the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property and facilitating the restitution of stolen artifacts to their countries of origin.

Intore dance in Rwanda, equestrian art in Portugal, Tomyum soup in Thailand, and the artisanal knowledge surrounding the making of sake in Japan, are among the latest practices and cultural expressions to be recognized by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).