An estimated 476 million Indigenous Peoples live across 90 countries, representing 5,000 different cultures. Without proper safeguards, AI risks harming Indigenous rights through inequitable distribution of the groundbreaking technology, environmental damage and the reinforcement of damaging colonial legacies. The growing amount of electricity generation needed for AI data centres and other infrastructure is also intensifying […]
“The real challenge is still ahead of us,” Stephanie Loose, Programme Manager in Afghanistan, told journalists in Geneva on Friday. “We’re speaking about the reintegration of people who’ve lost their homes, who’ve lost their assets and also their hope.” Millions on the move Afghanistan is currently facing an unprecedented returnee crisis. Since September 2023, some […]
The announcement following an Israeli cabinet meeting “marks a dangerous escalation and risks deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians, and could further endanger more lives, including of the remaining hostages,” it said. The statement noted that Palestinians in Gaza continue to endure a humanitarian catastrophe of horrific proportions. More displacement, death and destruction The UN chief warned that this further escalation will […]
Held under the theme Driving Progress Through Partnerships, the four-day forum known as LLDC3, brought together Heads of State, senior UN officials, development partners, and private sector leaders to tackle persistent challenges faced by LLDCs, including high trade costs, inadequate infrastructure, and vulnerability to climate change. Anchored by the Awaza Programme of Action for 2024–2034, […]
“People told me multiple times that when they were fleeing from Zamzam [displacement camp], armed people would threaten them while they were in flight, saying sure, ‘Flee, go to that place, run here, run there, we will follow you, we will find you’,” said Jocelyn Elizabeth Knight, a Protection Officer for the UN refugee agency, […]
“A complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza Strip must be immediately halted,” insisted Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, after the Israeli security cabinet approved a plan for a full-scale Israeli military takeover in the battered enclave. The development runs contrary to international law, Mr. Türk continued, referring to a ruling of […]
In July alone, nearly 12,000 children under five were identified as acutely malnourished out of 136,000 screened, according to aid partners. Of these, more than 2,500 were found to suffer from severe acute malnutrition, the most life-threatening form, and 40 had to be hospitalized in stabilisation centres. More children affected The proportion of children with […]
Over the past decade, a growing body of evidence has highlighted the widespread impact of mistreatment and the necessity of placing respectful care at the centre of all maternal and newborn health strategies. WHO’s Human Reproduction Programme (HRP), and partners released a new compendium on Wednesday aimed at ending mistreatment and promoting respectful maternal […]
Particularly hard hit is El Fasher, where hunger is growing, with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warning of a deteriorating situation that is putting even more civilians’ lives at risk. OCHA’s Director of Operations and Advocacy, Edem Wosornu, who is currently in the country, said the suffering is immense, with people […]
UN Women – which champions gender empowerment and equality – alongside the international humanitarian agency CARE International and partners, issued the call in a report published on Thursday that also highlights the key challenges and needs of women aid workers assisting the returnees. The Gender Alert comes amid a surge in returnees to Afghanistan, where […]
Risks to women and girls across this vast region are severe and systemic, as political instability, environmental collapse and a declining international presence take their toll. From abductions and child marriage to exclusion from schools and public life, their lives and opportunities are being steadily stripped away, Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, told […]
Extreme temperatures caused approximately 489,000 heat-related deaths annually between 2000 and 2019, with 36 per cent occurring in Europe and 45 per cent in Asia. The health impacts of heat are especially severe in cities due to the so-called ‘urban heat island effect’ – the over-heating of dense city areas compared with their rural surroundings […]
Meanwhile, UN agencies confirmed the deaths of three Palestinians from Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a rare auto-immune disease that can cause sudden muscle weakness and even paralysis. Before war erupted in Gaza in October 2023, only a handful of cases surfaced every year. Mass casualties now the norm “Hospitals are overwhelmed by mass casualty incidents, with […]
At a major UN conference underway this week in Awaza, Turkmenistan, calls are growing to tackle the high trade costs, investment gaps and growing digital divide that continue to hold these countries back. Despite progress in some areas, landlocked developing nations – from Bolivia to Bhutan and Burkina Faso – account for just 1.2 per […]
The agency plans to procure over 1,200 metric tons of fortified biscuits, which will provide 200,000 primary school-aged girls and boys with sustenance for around three months. “For many children, the daily snack they receive in the first break of the day is often their only nutritious meal, giving them the energy to stay […]
The 19 July truce followed weeks of sectarian clashes, Israeli airstrikes and grave human rights violations in the southern governorate, also known as As-Sweida. As a result, more than 190,000 people have been displaced there and in neighbouring Dar’a and Rural Damascus governorates. The fighting also caused severe damage to infrastructure and to livelihoods. Electricity […]
A new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) reveals that just 8.6 percent of cropland in Gaza is still accessible, while only 1.5 per cent of cropland is both accessible and undamaged, as of 28 July. More than 86 per cent of cropland is damaged, while 12.4 […]
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) said it had received first-hand accounts indicating that at least 319 civilians were killed by M23 fighters, aided by members of the Rwanda Defence Force, between 9 and 21 July in North Kivu province. Most of the victims, including at least 48 women and 19 children, were local farmers […]
And increasingly, climate change is compounding the problem – damaging roads, disrupting supply chains, and threatening already fragile infrastructure with floods, droughts, and extreme weather. But as global discussions intensify, a UN conference underway in Turkmenistan is aiming to flip the script – to help transform LLDCs from landlocked to landlinked through smarter more climate […]
While the city has been rebuilt, nuclear conflict remains a global threat, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu said in remarks at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. It was the only structure left standing near the hypocentre of the bomb, which marked the first use of an atomic weapon in war. Survivors, family members […]