News

Now is the time to explore whether a political process in Syria can meaningfully move forward in 2022, UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen told the Security Council on Monday. 

The UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan has strongly condemned the killing of a UN-contracted aid worker on Sunday, that also left another injured, after the convoy they were travelling in came under attack.

Roughly 7.7 million people in Somalia will need assistance and protection in 2022, a 30 per cent rise in just one year, the UN and partners said on Monday, launching a nearly $1.5 billion Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for the country. 

Edward Kallon, the outgoing UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, is moving on after five years in the past. In this blog, Mr. Kallon reflects on the many challenges facing Africa’s most populous nation, the impact the UN has made on his watch, and the prospects for a prosperous, sustainable future.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Lebanese leaders on Sunday to work together to solve multiple crises plaguing the nation.

Afghanistan’s economy is in “free fall”, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator told a special meeting on Sunday, warning that if decisive and compassionate action is not taken immediately, it may “pull the entire population with it”.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) is working with local communities in Indonesia’s Kalimantan forests to protect biodiversity and generate sustainable livelihoods.

The unsafe migration of people from Haiti could be reduced by a recycling initiative which is aimed at tackling environmental degradation. 

The Malalai Maternity Hospital is one of the busiest in the Afghan capital, Kabul, welcoming around 85 babies into the world every day, including 20 by Caesarean section. But the ongoing crisis in the country is drastically undermining the staff’s capacity to care for their patients.

Whether at home, at work, in the streets or even online, women and girls across the world remain highly vulnerable to gender-based violence, something which the COVID-19 pandemic has only magnified, six senior UN women leaders said on Thursday. 

COVID-19 led to rising food insecurity for around 54 million people living in the vast Asia-Pacific region during 2020, according to a joint UN agency report published on Wednesday.

The UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), held last month in Glasgow, was defined by a “reinvigorated multilateralism”, a top UN official said on Tuesday during an online discussion on how the summit’s outcomes will impact climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Yemen is teetering on a new “fragmented and bloody” chapter of war as military escalation and conflict escalates, Special Envoy Hans Grundberg told the Security Council on Tuesday, calling for “restraint, de-escalation and dialogue”.

A new and disturbing high temperature record for the Arctic of 38 degrees Celsius, or just over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, was confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Tuesday.

Serge Brammertz, Prosecutor of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals – the judicial body that assumed the remaining work of the two UN war crimes tribunals in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia - updated the Security Council on Monday, highlighting the progress of trials and appeals.

Life-saving sexual and reproductive health services are more vital than ever, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said on Monday, launching an $835 million appeal to support people in crisis settings during 2022.

Farmers in south-west of Haiti are cultivating a future for the country as they continue to work their land despite the challenges caused by the 14 August earthquake. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) has been supporting their development over many years as FAO’s Jérémie-based staff member Mykerlange Balmir explains.

Around two months into a six-month residency at Dubai Expo, the UN Hub has already attracted a large number of visitors, including several delegations from UN Member States. Dena Assaf, the UN Resident Coordinator for the UAE, and Deputy Commissioner-General of the UN at Expo, says that the event is a unique opportunity to highlight the aims and messages of the Organization.

“The mountain for me is like the ocean, a space of liberty where you go where you want. We must respect these beautiful and magical places.”  

UN SecretaryGeneral António Guterres announced on Friday, that Catherine M. Russell of the United States will become the next Executive Director of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). 

A flare-up in intercommunal fighting in northern Cameroon has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes and brought a halt to aid operations there, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. 

Environmental degradation enables armed groups to extend their influence and manipulate resources to their advantage, the UN chief told the Security Council on Thursday, highlighting that conflict-prevention initiatives need to factor in climate risks.

Land and water resources are “stressed to a critical point”, following significant deterioration over the past decade, according to a major new report released on Thursday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 

The COVID-19 pandemic is rolling back progress on key childhood challenges such as poverty, health and access to education, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a new report on Thursday, representing the biggest global crisis for children since the agency was founded 75 years ago. 

With productivity-boosting measures, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement could reduce poverty and inequality while spurring sustainable and inclusive growth, according to a report launched on Wednesday by the UN trade and development body, UNCTAD.

Women, children and other vulnerable groups are more likely to have their human rights impacted by unilateral sanctions, an independent UN human rights expert alerted on Wednesday.

Fast and flexible, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) was set up to promote swift, coordinated action in humanitarian crises, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator told a High-level Pledging Event on Wednesday, adding: “It has more than fulfilled its mission”. 

Conflict, climate change and COVID-19, have created a perfect storm of challenges facing refugees, displaced people and their hosts, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, told the Security Council on Tuesday.

Plastic pollution has become pervasive in agricultural soils, according to a new report released on Tuesday by the UN agriculture agency, posing a threat to food security, people’s health, and the environment.

Leveraging the power of the Internet while tackling the risks of cyberspace is the focus of a UN meeting underway in Katowice, Poland, this week.