Switzerland

GENEVA, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The safety and protection of hundreds of thousands of civilians affected by the recent escalation of hostilities in northeast Syria remain a grave concern, a senior UN official said here Thursday.

Najat Rochdi, Senior Humanitarian Adviser to the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, said in a statement issued here Thursday evening that while the intensity and scope of violence have declined in recent weeks, localized heavy fighting in that area continues.

GENEVA, Nov 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The ongoing trade war between the United States and China is harming both economies, the UN said, with a sharp drop in exports and higher prices for consumers.

In a fresh report, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) examined the repercussions of bruising tariff hikes imposed by the world’s two largest economies, and found that both were left considerably worse off.

That in turn risks taking a toll on the entire global economy, the agency cautioned.

5 Nov 2019; MEMO: The first meeting on Monday of a 45-member body, tasked with drafting a new constitution for Syria, was “turned out in a positive way”, the co-chair of the opposition group said.

“I could say it turned out in a positive way because we have decided the method of the agenda which will start following tomorrow,” said Hadi Albahra, the co-chair for the opposition group, when questioned by Anadolu Agency after a two-hour meeting.

31 Oct 2019; MEMO: Hosted by the UN, representatives of the Syrian regime and Syrian opposition sat together in Geneva yesterday to discuss the country’s future constitution.

According to UN News, the UN Special Envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen addressed the participants: “The future constitution belongs to Syrians, to the Syrian people and them alone.”

GENEVA, October 30. /TASS/: Syria’s opposition members in the Constitutional Committee hope that political settlement in the country will be achieved by 2020, co-chair from the opposition Hadi al-Bahra told the committee’s first meeting on Wednesday.

"I hope that the 75th anniversary of the United Nations next year will be an opportunity to celebrate another achievement by the universal organization, namely the success of efforts under the auspices of a special envoy for political process, who will bring peace and justice to all Syrians," al-Bahra said.

GENEVA (Reuters) - Syria’s Constitutional Committee, composed of government and opposition members, met for the first time on Wednesday in the first step on what the United Nations says will be a long road to political reconciliation.

But experts seriously question whether the Assad government would be willing to give away much at the negotiating table after consolidating its military control on the ground.

GENEVA, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Foreign ministers of Turkey, Iran and Russia on Tuesday evening welcomed the upcoming launch of the Syrian Constitutional Committee scheduled for Wednesday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a joint press conference that the launch of the Committee showed that there is no military solution for the Syrian conflict.

The three foreign ministers also confirmed their full adherence to the territorial integrity of Syria and expressed their stance to dismantle terrorism in all its manifestations in the country, he said.

GENEVA, October 25. /TASS/: Switzerland has taken note of the Russian-Turkish memorandum on joint actions to settle the situation in northeastern Syria and calls on all concerned parties to take efforts towards further de-escalation, Swiss Foreign Ministry Spokesman Pierre-Alain Eltschinger told TASS on Friday.

GENEVA (Reuters) - An Egyptian Islamist father and his son have been detained unlawfully since 2013 part of the political persecution of ex-aides to deposed president Mohamed Mursi, and should be freed immediately and compensated, U.N. human rights experts said.

The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention posted its findings last week after examining the cases of former Mursi adviser Essam al-Haddad and his son Gihad. The panel said that Egyptian authorities had not responded to its inquiries.

19 Oct 2019; MEMO: The UN human rights office called on Egypt on Friday to free a prominent blogger, lawyer and journalist allegedly mistreated in custody who are among several thousand people detained since street protests began a month ago, Reuters reports.

Officials at Egypt’s interior ministry were not immediately available for comment. The state prosecutor’s office said in late September that it had questioned up to 1,000 suspects who took part in the demonstrations.