UN News

Refugees deserve support and solidarity, not closed borders and pushbacks. That’s a reminder from UN chief António Guterres on Tuesday’s World Refugee Day, regarding the international community’s duty to assist and protect refugees. With forced displacement at a record high of 110 million people around the world, Mr. Guterres called for more solutions to resettle refugees and help […]

Around the world, some 160 million children work to earn a living, instead of going to school. That’s almost one in every 10 children. On Monday’s World Day against Child Labour, the International Labour Organization (ILO) shared these staggering numbers as a reminder of the urgent need to end this practice. ILO’s Director-General Gilbert Houngbo […]

The humanitarian situation following the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine is still a “moving target”, immediate needs are “huge”, and concerns are rising for what the future holds, according to the UN’s top official in the country, Denise Brown. Speaking to journalists from Bilozerka, a town on the Dnipro River about 20 kilometres […]

Racism is a global problem, and every country must take a stance against it, General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi said on Monday, addressing the latest meeting of a UN platform to improve the safety and quality of life of people of African descent worldwide.  “Racism and xenophobia continue to spoil our communities, like scars that […]

The UN chief has pledged that the Organization “will never be silent” when women and girls’ rights are under attack, as they are today in Afghanistan, and declared that the Taliban ban on Afghan women doing lifesaving humanitarian work is putting millions of lives in jeopardy there. Secretary-General António Guterres was speaking to reporters in Doha, Qatar, […]

The draconian restrictions on women’s ability to study and work have contributed to the calamitous socio-economic situation in Afghanistan, with devastating consequences for the population, according to a UN report released on Tuesday. The Afghanistan Socio-Economic Outlook 2023, released by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), provides an overview of the fallout resulting from the takeover of […]

Regional and international partners must collectively work with greater urgency and determination to help Palestinians and Israelis break chronic cycles of violence and restore a credible political horizon, the UN chief said on Wednesday. “Our immediate priority must be to prevent further escalation, reduce tensions, and restore calm,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at a meeting of the Committee on […]

The UN human rights chief on Tuesday called for taking a measured approach to a package of new laws the Government of Israel is currently considering. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk raised a range of concerns that several sets of proposed legislative changes that Israel’s parliament is considering would pose serious risks to the effectiveness of the judiciary […]

That’s the message from UN Secretary-General António Guterres for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, observed this Saturday, who appealed for concrete action to increase their ranks.  Diversity and fresh perspectives  “On this International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we highlight a simple equation: More women and girls in science equals better science,” said Mr. Guterres.  […]

At a UN ceremony to mark the Holocaust on Friday, Secretary-General António Guterres warned that antisemitism, hate speech, and misinformation are ever-present, 90 years on from the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany. In his speech, delivered at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Guterres recalled that, within months, the Nazis had dismantled fundamental constitutional […]

The size of the appeal – 25 per cent higher than this year’s – reflects the fact that the total number in need is 65 million more than in 2022, the UN and partner organizations noted. In a video message, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that during a “year of extremes”, it was essential to fund lifesaving operations next […]

Researchers now know that, around 175 million years ago, a 12-metre long sauropod, roamed around an area of northern Colombia. The scientific world is attributing the discovery of this new species of herbivorous dinosaur to the improved security situation that exists in Colombia since the signing of a 2016 peace deal, which put an end […]

Nearly 5,800 people have been killed in the conflict in Ukraine and the situation of prisoners of war in Russian-held areas is “worrying”, the head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country said on Friday.  Matilda Bogner was presenting some of the findings of its latest report to journalists in Geneva, Switzerland.  The conflict is now […]

Achieving full gender equality, one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), could take close to 300 years if the current rate of progress continues, according to a report published on Wednesday by UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). The study reveals how gender disparities are worsening in the face […]

Hazards such as earthquakes, floods, heatwaves, and wildfires, can be prevented from becoming life-threatening disasters, according to the authors of a UN report launched on Wednesday. From record-breaking heatwaves in British Columbia, to wildfires in the Mediterranean, floods in Nigeria, and droughts in Taiwan; the period between 2021 and 2022 saw record-breaking catastrophic disasters in […]

Nearly 1,000 boys and girls have been killed or injured in the war in Ukraine, the head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on Monday, underscoring the urgent need for peace.  “Once again, as in all wars, the reckless decisions of adults are putting children at extreme risk. There are no armed operations of this […]

July 11, 2022 – The global population is projected to reach 8 billion on 15 November 2022, and India is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populous country in 2023, according to World Population Prospects 2022, released today on World Population Day. “This year’s World Population Day falls during a milestone year, when we […]

The values that we ascribe to nature are vital parts of our cultures, identities, economies, and ways of life, all of which should be reflected in policy decisions surrounding our natural world, according to a new UN-backed report released on Monday. However, the new Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’ (IPBES) assessment report […]

Donors on Wednesday pledged $33 million towards a UN-coordinated plan to prevent an ageing oil tanker moored off the west Coast of Yemen from sparking a potential ecological and humanitarian disaster.  The FSO Safer, which is holding more than a million barrels of oil, has been described as a “time bomb” because it is at […]

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has again called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine to allow delivery of life-saving aid as well as evacuations, his spokesperson said on Monday. The appeal followed attacks on cities across the country– most recently Lviv, Dnipro, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv – which resulted in numerous civilian casualties and destruction. Mr. […]