This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. In the wake of an Iranian ballistic missile attack on air bases which house US forces in Iraq, the UN Secretary-General said on Wednesday that he would “continue his active engagement” to de-escalate tensions and avert full-scale war. In a statement released by his […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. Countries are being asked to step up assistance to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which is facing the world’s worst measles epidemic, with more than 6,000 deaths since the start of last year. The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said some 310,000 suspected cases of […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. The spread of polio internationally remains a global public health concern, experts meeting in Geneva have concluded. The opinion comes in a statement released on Tuesday following the latest meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) that provides technical advice on international public health emergencies. “The Committee unanimously agreed […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. An economic crisis in Sudan which has driven up food prices in the African country has contributed to an increase in the number of people needing aid; that’s according to the UN’s humanitarian affairs agency, OCHA. Some 9.3 million people, nearly a quarter of […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. At the start of the new year and new decade, the head of the United Nations health agency thanked “the brave health workers” around the globe and asked that the world do better in supporting them. “They are doing life-saving work every day, including […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. Only an end to the war in Syria can bring safety to children there, the head of the UN child rights agency said on Thursday. The statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore came in a New Year’s appeal on behalf of millions of children trapped in a […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. The head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) has underlined the Organization’s support for Guinea-Bissau following the conclusion of its presidential election. Former Prime Minister Umaro Sissoco Embaló was on Wednesday declared the winner of a run-off vote held on 29 December, beating rival Domingos Simões Pereira, another ex-Prime Minister. UN Special Representative Mohamed […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. The United Nations on Wednesday launched the biggest global conversation on the world’s future: the UN75 dialogues.  Views and ideas gathered throughout the year will be shared at a high-level event in September to mark the Organization’s 75th anniversary. The UN75 initiative is  described as a “global reality check” to spark […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. An average of nine children have been killed or maimed every day in Afghanistan so far this year, according to a new report from the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, which describes the country as “the world’s most lethal warzone”. The report, entitled “Preserving Hope […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. The search for peace will remain of “paramount importance” to Afghanistan as the country awaits the outcome of the recent presidential election, the top UN official in the country told the Security Council on Monday. Tadamichi Yamamoto, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), updated ambassadors on developments since voting took place in late […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. The UN envoy for West Africa and the vast Sahel region, told the Security Council on Monday that in recent months, the region has been “shaken by unprecedented violence”. An “horrific attack against the Inates military camp, in Niger, still haunts the region”, he […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. As we enter the Decade of Action to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world must “unite against corruption” to stop precious resources from being drained by illicit financial flows, an international conference on the issue heard on Monday in Abu Dhabi. “You […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. As refugee numbers approach 26 million, heads of state, top UN diplomats, powerful figures from the private sector and civil society are heading to Geneva to agree on “bold, new” ways to help, at the first ever Global Refugee Forum, which got underway on […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. With one in three low and middle-income countries facing the two extremes of malnutrition – undernutrition and obesity – the UN’s health agency WHO is calling for a new approach to deal with rapidly changing food systems. A new report, published in the British […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. Negotiations at the COP25 UN climate conference in Madrid finally ended on Sunday, wrapping up an event which saw much progress made by the private sector, and by national, regional and local governments. However, there was widespread disappointment that no overall consensus was reached […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. With national delegations thrashing out an outcome agreement at the UN COP25 climate change conference in Madrid, the UN chief has called on countries to be more ambitious, side strongly with science, and commit to stronger action. “Today is the last day of the […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. A new law in India which expedites citizenship for certain religious minorities has been criticized by the UN human rights office for being “fundamentally discriminatory in nature.” The amendment to the Citizenship Act gives priority to Hindus, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians resident in India […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. During the recent mass protests which led Chile to declare a state of emergency, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a report published on Friday that international human rights norms had been violated by both police and […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has seen an increase in the number of reported cases of the deadly haemorrhagic virus Ebola linked to ongoing violence by armed groups targeting remote communities, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. According to the […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. When warring parties in Yemen met in a renovated castle outside the Swedish capital last December for UN-brokered talks, they showed that perhaps there could be a way out of brutal conflict and the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, the UN Special Envoy for the […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. Escalating violence and insecurity in Mali have sparked an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, rendering 3.9 million people in need of assistance and protection – an increase of 700,000 since the beginning of the year, the UN said on Thursday. Citing a recent report from the […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. With millions of workers increasingly affected by the climate crisis the route to securing livelihoods in the future lies in a wholesale transformation of how we power the planet and manage our resources, the UN chief said on Thursday, at a COP25 climate action […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. The World Food Programme (WFP) is warning against potential famine in South Sudan as hunger deepens due to drought, floods and an uncertain political future. WFP fears more than 5.5 million people could be going hungry in early 2020, and the UN agency on Thursday reported that it is in “a race against time” to […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. Last September world leaders at the United Nations endorsed an ambitious political declaration on universal health coverage, “reaffirming that health is a human right”, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday in his message for International Universal Health Coverage Day. He called the agreement “a significant […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. Recent developments concerning North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes are “deeply troubling”, the UN’s Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific said on Wednesday, briefed the Security Council. The first element of concern outlined by Khaled Khiari, was the resumption […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. A commitment by Italy and Mexico to ramp up climate and environmental education has been welcomed by the UN office which supports global efforts to respond to climate change. Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change (UNFCCC), expressed hope that more nations will follow their initiative, announced this […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. The UN Secretary-General has called on business and civil society leaders to press Governments into articulating policies that support private sector efforts to address climate change. António Guterres issued the charge on Wednesday in a speech to the annual Caring for Climate Meeting, held during the on-going UN COP25 climate conference in Madrid. “I’m meeting more […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. Myanmar will have “no tolerance” for human rights abuses committed in Rakhine state and will prosecute the military, if war crimes have been committed there, Aung San Suu Kyi told the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s main judicial body, on Wednesday. Ms. […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. While the number of registered births has significantly increased over the past decade, one quarter of children globally remain unaccounted for, leaving them vulnerable and “invisible”,  the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday. UNICEF reports that the births of one in four children under-five, or some 166 million children globally, have […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. Covering around 27 per cent of the earth’s land surface, mountains play a critical role in moving the world’s towards sustainable economic growth. With the future in mind, the theme for this year’s international day celebrating the world’s peaks and summits on Wednesday, is […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. It is “imperative” that the COP25 climate conference underway in Spain delivers “significant results now”, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, President of the UN General Assembly (PGA), said on Tuesday. “Science is unequivocal on the urgency to act, both at global and national levels”, he told the […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. Seventy people have now died from Samoa’s measles outbreak, UN humanitarians confirmed on Tuesday, as the organization released emergency funding to help the authorities step up efforts to eradicate the preventable disease. The development – announced by UN emergency relief chief Mark Lowcock – […]

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. Making the appeal is the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, who reports that online hostility against activists has increased since the announcement last month of international legal proceedings over the atrocities. “I call on each and every organ of the Myanmar State […]