The informal meeting on the UN80 Initiative also provided a chance for ambassadors to share their views on the reform agenda, launched by Secretary-General António Guterres in March. UN80 is centred around three workstreams focused on efficiencies and improvements, a mandate implementation review, and structural changes and programme realignments across the entire UN system. Improving […]
Amid this relative calm, the United Nations has renewed its call for a diplomatic solution to the Iran nuclear issue, warning that the objectives of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – and the resolution that endorsed it – remain unmet. Addressing a planned Security Council meeting on Tuesday to try and revive the […]
Nearly 15 years after Gaddafi’s fall, Libya remains split between the internationally recognised Government of National Unity in Tripoli, and the rival Government of National Stability in Benghazi. Although a truce was reached on 14 May, the outbreak of fighting last month in the capital “temporarily disrupted UN development and humanitarian operations,” said top UN […]
The Security Council is meeting over the future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action put in place in 2015 to prevent Iran from weaponising its ambitious nuclear programme, which has been in effective limbo since the US withdrawal in 2018 and Iran’s rejection of parts of the deal. UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo […]
In the heart of Galmudug State, Somalia, the dream of two young women, Iftin and Aminaa, to attend university in Abudwaq was fraught with challenges. Frequent power cuts and a long, dark and possibly dangerous road between the campus and town made it nearly impossible for them and other girls to attend evening classes. Determined […]
Currently, she’s a qualified refugee and human rights lawyer in New Zealand – but on Tuesday she recalled becoming displaced aged 14 and described the harrowing limbo that followed. Invisible and alone “I grew up invisible to the world,” she said. “Without rights, opportunities, or safety.” That all changed in 2018, when her family was […]
“I welcome announcements on Iran situation. Resuming cooperation with [the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)] is key to a successful agreement,” said Rafael Grossi, Director General of the (IAEA). In a short online post on X, Mr. Grossi added that he had offered to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on working together, “stressing this […]
The alert comes nearly a month since the Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) started operating on 27 May in select hubs, bypassing the UN and other established NGOs. Its food distribution points have been associated frequently with confusion and shooting as desperate and hungry Gazans rush to fetch supplies, said UN human rights office spokesperson […]
Surely, you might think, we can just agree that one Earth time zone can be used for “Moon time”? Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), for example. How hard can it be? Unfortunately, this doesn’t work, for several reasons. Here on Earth, timekeeping is easy to take for granted: we divide our world into 24 time zones, […]
“This is a good time to take a look at ourselves and see how fit for purpose we are in a set of circumstances which, let’s be honest, are quite challenging for multilateralism and for the UN,” says Guy Ryder, Under-Secretary-General for Policy and chair of the UN80 Task Force. Known as the UN80 Initiative, […]
The UN Charter “is more than parchment and ink; it is a promise – of peace, dignity and cooperation among nations,” the Secretary-General said. Almost 80 years after it was signed, Mr. Guterres underlined that the Charter was just the beginning, enshrining ideas and principles which the world works to implement on a daily basis. […]
It comes in the wake of reports that Iran launched missiles at an American military base in Qatar in retaliation for the US bombing three of its nuclear facilities this past weekend. Iran reportedly fired seven missiles at Al Udeid Air Base, where some 10,000 troops reportedly are stationed. All but one were intercepted by […]
In neighbouring Chad, children make up 61 per cent of the 860,000 Sudanese refugees and a staggering 68 per cent of the 274,000 Chadian returnees – that’s over 700,000 young lives uprooted by violence. Chad, already one of the world’s poorest countries, has the fourth-highest child mortality rate in the world, despite significant progress in […]
Of the record 83 million people internally displaced worldwide, at least 1.2 million were displaced by crime-related violence in 2024 – more than double the 2023 figure – amid a global decline in support for international norms, human rights and the rule of law. The growing reach of organised crime in driving displacement and rights […]
Roza Otunbayeva, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said the ongoing missile attacks between Iran and Israel are already having a tangible impact. “This conflict is already having an effect in Afghanistan, disrupting trade and increasing the prices of basic goods and fuel, and prompting the return […]
More than 60 churchgoers were also wounded in the attack, which is reported to be the first in the Syrian capital since rebel groups ousted former president Bashar al-Assad in December, ending more than a decade of civil war. A gunman opened fire inside the Greek Orthodox St. Elias Church in the Dweila neighbourhood before […]
While there are records which exist to be broken – Olympic ones, for example -these monthly temperature extremes are not medal worthy. And yet, China was not the only Asian country to set a flurry of new highs in 2024. The continent is warming twice as fast as the global average, according to a report […]
Yemen remains trapped in a prolonged political, humanitarian and development crisis, after enduring years of conflict between government forces and Houthi rebels, with populations in the south of the country now facing a growing food insecurity crisis. A partial update released Monday by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system – which ranks food […]
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was addressing the agency’s Board of Governors, amid fresh reports of new Israeli missile strikes on Iranian military sites in Tehran and elsewhere earlier on Monday. Iranian weapons fire has also been reported across Israel. Mr. Grossi – who also addressed an emergency meeting of […]
Visitors can explore the UN’s 80-year history of advancing peace, human rights, sustainable development and climate action and see how the work of the UN system impacts the lives of all people across the world. Naomi Ichikawa (left) welcomes the 10,000th visitor to the UN Pavilion in April, just five days after Expo 2025 opened. […]