Switzerland

GENEVA, July 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN Human Rights Council called for transparency on the risks of artificial intelligence and for the data harvested by AI to be used responsibly.

An explosion in generative AI content since ChatGPT launched late last year has left authorities scrambling to figure out how to regulate such chatbots and ensure the technology does not endanger humanity.

GENEVA, July  15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Some 289 children are known to have died in the first half of 2023 while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, the United Nations said.

 The figure is double that recorded in the first six months of 2022, the UN children’s agency UNICEF said, as it called for expanded safe, legal and accessible pathways for children to seek protection in Europe.

GENEVA, July 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UN Human Rights Council voted Wednesday to condemn recent Koran burning incidents, but many countries declined to back the measure, fearing it encroached too much on free speech.

Despite overwhelming condemnation of the Muslim holy book being desecrated, the vote brought more division than unity as Western nations said that more negotiation could have resulted in a unanimous consensus.

GENEVA, July 13 (NNN-XINHUA) — Ongoing outbreaks of bird flu have caused devastation to animal populations, and may now infect humans more easily, according to a joint release by three United Nations (UN) organizations.

Poultry, wild birds and some mammals have been affected by the outbreaks, and farmers’ livelihoods and the food trade damaged, the organizations said.

13 July 2023; MEMO: The UN Human Rights Council condemned recent attacks on the Muslim holy book, the Quran, despite Western countries' votes against the resolution, Anadolu Agency reports.

The draft resolution was presented by Pakistan on behalf of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The resolution, which calls for condemnation of attacks targeting the Quran and described them as "acts of religious hatred", was put to vote by the 47-member council.

11 July 2023; MEMO: Israel has turned Palestine into an "open-air prison" where Palestinians, including tens of thousands of children, are "constantly confined, surveilled and disciplined," according to Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territories.

GENEVA, July 10 (Reuters) - Antarctic sea ice levels reached record lows last month, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Monday, a development climate change experts described as worrisome.

WMO said that Antarctic sea ice levels last month - the hottest June ever recorded -- were at their lowest since satellite observations began, at 17% below average.

GENEVA, Jul 07 (APP):Pakistan, on behalf of the OIC, has said that the reason for seeking an urgent debate in the UN Human Rights Council on the burning of a Holy Quran outside a mosque in Sweden was to underscore the need for adoption of effective national legal measures to put an end to such provocative acts.

The desecration of the holy book, which took place outside the Swedish capital Stockholm’s main mosque last week, was carried out by a man during a protest authorized by the police, sparking off a global outrage and diplomatic backlash.

GENEVA, Jul 06 (APP):Pakistan, on behalf of the OIC, has said that the reason for seeking an urgent debate in the UN Human Rights Council on the burning of a Holy Quran outside a mosque in Sweden was to underscore the need for adoption of effective national legal measures to put an end to such provocative acts.

The desecration of the holy book, which took place outside the Swedish capital Stockholm’s main mosque last week, was carried out by a man during a protest authorized by the police, sparking off a global outrage and diplomatic backlash.

05 July 2023; MEMO: The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold an emergency session later this week to discuss the burning of the Quran in Sweden, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Last Wednesday, a man – identified as Salwan Momika – burned a copy of the Quran under police protection in front of Stockholm Mosque, causing outrage.