Protecting against double taxation on cross-border income, helping developing countries to encourage foreign investment, and combating the “scourges” of tax avoidance and tax evasion were the main priorities of the newest United Nations economic guidance document, said top officials at a Headquarters press conference today.
In progress at UNHQ
Press Conference
Just hours after the International Criminal Court delivered its first ever verdict — convicting former warlord Thomas Lubanga of conscripting child soldiers in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo — civil society actors at United Nations Headquarters hailed the decision as sending a powerful message that the Court “is a strong, credible institution delivering justice for victims”.
The United Nations humanitarian aid chief today expressed extreme alarm over the destruction she witnessed in Syria last week and called on the Syrian Government to allow aid agencies to deliver desperately needed relief supplies to civilians in the worst-hit parts of the strife-torn Arab country.
The United Nations stepped up its efforts to combat conflict-related sexual violence today, as the Department of Political Affairs unveiled new guidelines to help mediators confront that widespread scourge by placing the issue high on the agenda early on when brokering peace agreements and ceasefires, three top United Nations officials said today at a Headquarters press conference.
The head of the United Nations Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees today praised Brazil and India for recently increasing their financial aid to the Agency’s operations and called on other emerging economic powerhouses to follow suit. “We hope that other countries will step up to the plate and share the burden of this effort, which is important for the stability of the region and beyond, and more than anything else for the almost 5 million people that deserve attention,” said Filippo Grandi.
While broad progress had been made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, the statistics hid “massive” disparities within countries and regions, which underlined the urgent need to remove the barriers impeding key interventions, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today at a Headquarters press conference.
Millions of poor women around the world who could never get a loan or other forms of financing to build more secure, prosperous lives would soon have access to credit, thanks to a microfinance initiative launched today at Headquarters to coincide with International Women’s Day.
It pays to be well prepared, particularly where natural hazards and disaster risk reduction were concerned, the top United Nations official responsible for mitigating disaster risks worldwide said today.
An arrest warrant had been issued against Sudan’s Defence Minister Abdel Raheem Mohamed Hussein for his alleged commission of atrocities in the country’s Darfur region, Louis Moreno Ocampo, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, told reporters today at a Headquarters press briefing.
Challenges and opportunities in North Africa and the Middle East and the situations in Somalia, Haiti and Afghanistan would be highlighted at the Security Council in March, the permanent representative of the United Kingdom, which holds the body’s rotating presidency for the month, told correspondents this afternoon.