Last year was the worst on record for children trapped in regions where armed conflict rages, and it saw the highest numbers of children killed or maimed since the United Nations began keeping records on them, the UN said in a new report. The Annual Report of the Secretary-General on…
The juxtaposition of the headlines was jarring, in a way that seemed newly unbearable despite all we’ve learned in recent years about African migrants seeking a pathway to Europe, the horrific realities they encounter in transit and in Libya – and the complicity of European governments in their suffering. The…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Investigative journalists whose work focused on what really happened to United Nations experts Zaida Catalán of Sweden and American Michael Sharp in the Democratic Republic of Congo have won top honors from the Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE) organization for their work. The “Deceptive Diplomacy” reporting, which won in the…
As the United Nations marks World Environment Day, this year’s theme focuses on air pollution – and that’s a significant challenge on the African continent. A recent study from NASA in the United States found some 780,000 premature African deaths per year were linked to air pollution from different causes….
Opposition leaders in Sudan, outraged by Monday’s attacks on protesters they say left more than 30 dead, have called for an “all-out political strike and civil disobedience” as they cut off negotiations with the country’s Transitional Military Council (TMC). The Forces of the Declaration of Freedom and Change issued a…
A two-day conference on the legacy of Kofi Annan of Ghana, the former United Nations secretary general who died last year, promises to place African affairs at the center of the conversation. The sessions begin Monday at Chatham House in the UK, with prominent leaders including Kenyan Raila Odinga, representing…
The UN human rights agency said Friday it was dismayed by the Kenyan High Court decision to uphold the nation’s ban on same-sex relations. “Criminalizing acts targeting certain individuals based on who they are and whom they love is inherently discriminatory,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet….
The United Nations General Assembly has voted in support of a motion to censure the decades-long UK occupation of the Chagos Islands, and it called Wednesday for a reunification of the Indian Ocean archipelago with the island nation of Mauritius within six months. There were 116 votes for the motion, with…
Libya is on the edge of a long and bloody civil war that could permanently divide the nation, the United Nations special representative to Libya said during a briefing to the United Nations Security Council Tuesday. Ghassan Salamé, who also serves as head of UNSMIL, the UN mission in Libya,…
Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth of Mauritius drew on his own nation’s experience with absorbing refugees and forced displacement, in remarks that opened a three-day discussion on solutions for African nations dealing with the internally displaced. Jugnauth told participants at the Africa Dialogue Series at the United Nations in New York…
Both sides in Libya’s battle over Tripoli are getting military equipment from foreign countries, with widely shared social media images raising new questions over violations of a 2011 United Nations ban on sending weapons and equipment to Libya. Forces aligned with Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) posted one set…
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres says the African continent needs a “quantum leap” in climate change and development funding – especially so because we are not, Guterres said, winning the battle against climate change impacts. “The African continent practically does not contribute to climate change, but the African continent…
Libyan military leader Khalifa Haftar has defied calls for a ceasefire and instead appealed to his Libyan National Army fighters to take inspiration from the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began Monday, to defeat “terrorists” and take back Tripoli. Maj. Gen. Ahmed Almesmari of the Libyan National Army (LNA)…
Just over a month since areas of the country were laid waste by Cyclone Idai—the deadliest cyclone to hit southern Africa in more than a century— a new natural disaster has struck Mozambique. Cyclone Kenneth made landfall with wind speeds of 220km per hour, killing hundreds and devastating infrastructure, buildings…
Monica is a freelance journalist based in Kenya
Adama Dieng of Senegal, the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, called on world leaders across the political spectrum to avoid cultivating a culture that tolerates hate speech and violent extremism. “Big massacres start always with small actions and language,” said Dieng, who has served in his…