News

Our news page provides you with a round up of UN news related to economic development, humanitarian aid, climate change, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). You will find the summary of news articles together with a link to the news source.

News
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‘Make or break moment’ for forests

26 Apr 2021

Forests are at the core of our efforts to restore our relationship with the natural world, the deputy UN chief said on Monday at the UN Forum on Forests. 

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‘Disasters know no borders’ says Guterres, 35 years on from Chernobyl nuclear accident

26 Apr 2021

In his message for Chernobyl International Remembrance Day on Monday, the UN chief reminded that “disasters know no borders”. 

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Prioritize people and planet, UN chief urges Asian and Pacific nations

26 Apr 2021

The UN Secretary-General on Monday called on Asian and Pacific countries not to base their pandemic recovery strategies on “outdated and unsustainable economic models”, and to ensure that the world’s most populous region protects its environment and provides opportunities for all.

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First Person: Rohingya refugees traumatized again, after devastating camp fire

25 Apr 2021

A Rohingya refugee and volunteer for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), has been telling UN News how his community has been “once again traumatized” as a result of a massive fire which swept through the Cox’s Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh in March, killing at least 11 people and making more than 45,000 homeless.

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ECOSOC chief calls for financial support for small island developing states

23 Apr 2021

Small island developing states (SIDS) must receive financial and international support if they are to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters, the President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Munir Akram, said on Friday. 

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UN-led aid convoy brings 23 tonnes of humanitarian goods across contact line in east Ukraine

23 Apr 2021

Twenty-three tonnes of urgently needed aid items have reached the eastern Ukrainian province around Donetsk, after a humanitarian convoy crossed the contact line into non-Government-controlled territory, the UN said on Friday. 

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Climate change link to displacement of most vulnerable is clear: UNHCR

22 Apr 2021

Weather-related crises have triggered more than twice as much displacement as conflict and violence in the last decade, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Thursday.

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Syria receives first COVID-19 vaccines, for most vulnerable

22 Apr 2021

More than 250,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Syria on Thursday from the UN-backed COVAX initiative, to inoculate the country’s frontline health workers.   

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The planet’s on ‘red alert’ UN chief warns leaders at President Biden’s climate summit

22 Apr 2021

World leaders must act now and put the planet on a green path because “we are at the verge of the abyss”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday in his address to the virtual climate summit convened by United States President Joseph Biden. 

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First Person: ‘Youth won’t stay silent’ says Madagascar climate activist

22 Apr 2021

Young people around the world “won’t stay silent” about the global climate crisis according to a youth activist from Madagascar. 

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Commit to restoring the planet, UN chief says in message for International Mother Earth Day

21 Apr 2021

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for commitment to restoring the planet, and to making peace with nature, in his message to mark International Mother Earth Day, celebrated annually on 22 April. 

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ILO kicks off Green Week to ‘jump-start’ a sustainable future 

21 Apr 2021

As the world grapples with the devastating economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 crisis, the UN’s labour agency launched ILO Green Week to explore what a green future of work could look like, and how we can get there. 

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Ocean benefits increasingly undermined by human activity, UN assessment reveals

21 Apr 2021

Greater understanding of the ocean is essential if the world is to recover better from the COVID-19 pandemic and achieve agreed targets on sustainable development and climate action, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday in launching a major study on what he called “the life support system of our planet.” 

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La Soufrière volcano: UN launches $29 million appeal to support stricken island of Saint Vincent 

20 Apr 2021

The UN launched a $29.2 million global funding appeal on Monday to aid citizens of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines affected by the major eruptions spewing from La Soufrière volcano, pledging to remain a “steadfast partner”. 

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World Food Programme reaches deal to supply food to 185,000 children in Venezuela

20 Apr 2021

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has signed an agreement with the Government of Venezuela to begin operations to provide the most vulnerable children in the South American country with nutritious school meals, it announced on Tuesday.

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‘No end’ to conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, warns UNICEF

20 Apr 2021

Disturbing reports have continued to emerge of widespread abuse of civilians in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, nearly six months since conflict erupted, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.

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UN stands in deep solidarity with Saint Vincent after devastating volcanic eruptions  

19 Apr 2021

Following a series of powerful eruptions from La Soufrière volcano on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent, the UN chief on Monday expressed deep solidarity with the country’s people and Government.     large uncropped version option  

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World on the verge of climate ‘abyss’, as temperature rise continues: UN chief

19 Apr 2021

The Earth’s temperature continues to rise unabated, with 2020 being one of the three warmest years on record, as extreme weather events combine with the COVID-19 pandemic, impacting millions. 

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Green transformation will rival industrial revolution: US climate envoy

18 Apr 2021

The transition to a global economic model which will slow down climate change and create jobs will be the “biggest economic transformation since the industrial revolution” according to John Kerry, the US climate envoy.

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Soaring food prices, conflicts driving hunger, rise across West and Central Africa: WFP

16 Apr 2021

More than 31 million people across West and Central Africa may not have enough to eat in the coming months as hunger rises due to an “explosive mix” of skyrocketing food prices, conflict and fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday. 

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Guterres urges cities to embrace ‘generational opportunity’ for climate action, sustainable development

16 Apr 2021

The United Nations Secretary-General, on Friday, called for a “revolution” in urban planning and urban transport to beat back impacts of climate change and build a green and sustainable future for all. 

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Northeast Nigeria violence forces 65,000 to flee, humanitarians targeted by armed groups

16 Apr 2021

A spate of clashes involving Government security forces and insurgent groups in northeast Nigeria has caused mass displacement and threatened humanitarian assistance, as armed groups go “house-to-house” hunting for aid workers, the UN said on Friday.

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‘Inequality virus’ threatens ‘catastrophe for all’ unless crisis can be overcome together

15 Apr 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic is leading to “an even more unequal world”, the Deputy UN chief said on Thursday, speaking at the closing session of the Financing for Development (FfD) Forum, with many lower-income countries now seeing development gains reversed.  

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UN envoy highlights diplomatic unity, as key to help end Yemen war

15 Apr 2021

The UN Special Envoy for Yemen appealed on Thursday for warring parties to implement a nationwide ceasefire and agree a date for peace talks, in line with a plan to end their conflict. 

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New UN-backed framework to boost agricultural trade between African nations

15 Apr 2021

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), together with the African Union (AU) Commission, launched a new continent-wide framework on Thursday, to boost trade and improve food security. 

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UN to launch funding appeal for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines following volcano eruption

14 Apr 2021

The UN is set to launch a funding appeal to support Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, where ongoing volcanic “explosions” continue to disrupt life in the Caribbean island nation and nearby countries, a top official in the region said on Wednesday. 

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‘Large, likely long-lasting’ crisis looms over Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado, UNICEF warns

14 Apr 2021

The Cabo Delgado region in northern Mozambique is staring at a “large and likely long-lasting” humanitarian crisis, with nearly a third of its population displaced, worsening hunger and rising risk of deadly diseases, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.

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UN atomic energy agency to work with Japan on Fukushima water disposal

13 Apr 2021

The International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA, said on Tuesday that it will work closely with Japan which is preparing to release a million tonnes of contaminated seawater used to cool the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant.

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Volcanic eruption leaves ‘entire population’ of Saint Vincent without clean water 

12 Apr 2021

Last week’s eruption of La Soufrière volcano in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, has left the entire population of the main island without clean water and electricity, the UN Spokesperson said on Monday. 

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Guterres calls for ‘paradigm shift’ to recover from COVID setbacks

12 Apr 2021

A “paradigm shift” aligning the private sector with the global goals is needed to address the challenges of the future, including those triggered by COVID-19, the UN chief said on Monday, addressing the Financing for Development (FfD) Forum.