UNITED NATIONS, Dec 15 2023 (IPS)* – Going back to the 1970s, thousands of UN staffers were given legal status opting for permanent residency in the US– after their retirement.
The UN Secretariat building in New York City, where staff of the UN Secretariat carry out the day-to-day work. Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elías
But that longstanding privilege now seems to be in jeopardy forcing retirees to return to their home countries uprooting their lives in the US.
The United States Immigration and Nationality Act has for long allowed long-serving UN staff members, who held the traditional G-4 visa status, and who met certain criteria, to apply for Legal Permanent Residency, also known as a “Green Card,” under the “Special Immigrant” category (EB-4), upon separation on retirement.
4 Dec 2023 – Yesterday, a large number of registered voters in Venezuela voted in a referendum over the Essequibo region that is disputed with neighboring Guyana. Nearly all those who voted answered yes to the five questions.
Vijay Prashad
These questions asked the Venezuelan people to affirm the sovereignty of their country over Essequibo.
“Today,” said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, “there are no winners or losers.” The only winner, he said, is Venezuela’s sovereignty. The principal loser, Maduro said, is ExxonMobil.
In 2022, ExxonMobil [read Rockefeller] made a profit of $55.7 billion, making it one of the world’s richest and most powerful oil companies.
(UN News)* — A record 114 million forcibly displaced around the world represents a “crisis of humanity”, UN refugee agency (UNHCR) chief Filippo Grandi said on Wednesday [] as the Global Refugee Forum got underway in Geneva.
The world’s largest gathering dedicated to refugee issues, the Forum is co-hosted by UNHCR and Switzerland and convened by Colombia, France, Japan, Jordan and Uganda.
Rome, 11 December 2023 (FAO)* — In 2024, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is seeking a total of $1.8 billion within the Humanitarian Response Plans to assist 43 million people to produce their own food, as acute hunger continues to escalate worldwide.
The announcement by FAO was made as part of the United Nations’ large-scale humanitarian appeal, which was launched today on behalf of more than 1,900 humanitarian partners and covers 72 countries impacted by crises, both directly and indirectly.
DUBAI, Dec 12 2023 (IPS)* – The United State’s contribution to the Loss and Damage Fund equals nine minutes of Pentagon spending, says Jeffrey D. Sachs, a world-renowned economist, bestselling author, innovative educator, and global leader in sustainable development.
Jeffrey D. Sachs speaks at the ReWired Summit at COP28. Credit: X
(UN News)* —In his message on Saturday [9 December 2023] marking the international day for victims of genocide, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that a new global push is needed to ensure that “never again” should anybody have to live through the horror.
UNICEF/UNI55086/Press | A 14-year-old Rwandan boy from the town of Nyamata, photographed in June 1994, survived the genocidal massacre by hiding under corpses for two days.
“Sadly, we are in danger of forgetting the dark lessons of the past. In today’s world of deep division, mistrust and conflict, we remain confronted by the enduring menace of this atrocious crime”, he said.
He said it was essential that the Genocide Convention, which codified the crime for the first time this day, 75 years ago, when the General Assembly adopted it, “must remain a living force in our world, calling us to uphold its solemn promise.”
He said keeping the promise made by the 153 parties to the convention, which became effective in 1951, requires all governments ratifying and fully implementing the Convention and ensuring that perpetrators are held to account.
(UN News)* — The UN World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday [] released its first-ever guidelines on managing chronic low back pain – the leading cause of disability worldwide, that effects an astonishing one in 13 of us.
Notably, the guidance includes both recommendations and warnings for long-term sufferers, arguing against the use of opioid painkillers; physical therapies, such as traction; and lumbar braces and belts.
Instead, healthcare professionals are advised to develop exercise programmes; help patients educate themselves on the options and self-care strategies; and provide psychological support, such as cognitive behavioural therapy.
Taiz, YEMEN, 6 December 2023 (UNFPA)* –“One day, when I was returning from fetching water, I collapsed on the road. I was bleeding so badly that I knew I was going to lose my baby.”
Umm Mahra was 31 years old and five months pregnant when she was forced to seek refuge with her family in a remote displacement camp in Taiz, in Yemen’s southwestern highlands.
Conflict had erupted across the country and a crippling drought took hold, exacerbating the situation for millions of people already fleeing for their lives.
(UNCCD)* —Recent drought-related data based on research in the past two years and compiled by the UN point to “an unprecedented emergency on a planetary scale, where the massive impacts of human-induced droughts are only starting to unfold.”
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 