“I started feeling very idealistic about the UN, and I’ve never lost that feeling,” Mr. Stewart told UN News in an exclusive interview. In early August, he steps down as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). His departure comes at a moment of cautious optimism […]
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), said that is what one of its workers told him on Thursday morning. This sobering comment comes amidst increasingly severe malnutrition for children and adults throughout the Gaza Strip. “When child malnutrition surges, coping mechanisms fail, access to food […]
At the end of the conference, Member States adopted a Ministerial Declaration by a vote of 154-2-2, with the United States and Israel voting against the document and Paraguay and Iran abstaining. “We strongly reaffirm our commitment to effectively implement the 2030 Agenda [which]… remains our overarching roadmap for achieving sustainable development and overcoming […]
Briefing the Security Council on Thursday, Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, said the OIC remains an “indispensable” partner in efforts to promote peace, uphold international law and deliver durable political solutions in a range of crisis contexts. Headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the OIC has 57 member states and five observers, representing […]
These abuses include threats, cases of torture, mistreatment and arbitrary arrest and detention, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The report said these violations were committed against Afghans “based on their profile” and targeted women, media workers and civil society […]
Marking its 30th anniversary, ISA is the world’s authority on the deep-sea beyond national jurisdiction. Washington may have passed an order on deep-sea licensing in international waters earlier this year, but the authority’s chief Leticia Carvalho said the United States, which is not an ISA member, “is going at it alone”. “The rest of the […]
Deadly sectarian violence has displaced more than 145,000 people in the southern city, some of whom have fled to neighbouring Dar’a and Rural Damascus governorates. The convoy carried a range of critical support, including food, wheat flour, fuel, medicines and health supplies. OCHA coordinated with the SARC to prepare the convoy, which included supplies from UN […]
Nearly 1.3 million people in the Caribbean country have fled their homes, with an additional 15,000 uprooted last week after armed attacks in the communes of Dessalines and Verrettes in the Artibonite department. Further, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners have screened more than 217,000 children for acute malnutrition in 2025. Some 21,500 […]
While WFP has been able to hold hunger at bay across northern Nigeria in the first half of 2025, funding shortfalls are jeopardising such efforts, with life-saving programmes set to grind to a halt by the end of July. Without immediate funding, millions of vulnerable people will be left without food assistance as WFP’s […]
Mathare, one of the country’s largest slums, houses upwards of 500,000 people in five square kilometres, cramming them together and storing the human waste they produce in uncovered rivulets. But when he recounted the visit later to UN News, this was not the image that stuck with him the most. Without formal sewage systems, […]
The UN’s principal judicial body ruled that States have an obligation to protect the environment from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and act with due diligence and cooperation to fulfill this obligation. This includes the obligation under the Paris Agreement on climate change to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The court […]
Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, told ministers and ambassadors that ongoing talks must lead to a permanent end to hostilities, the release of all hostages, unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid, and for recovery and reconstruction to begin. He painted a grim picture of conditions on the ground, citing expanded Israeli military operations, […]
In the first half of 2025, only 17,000 births were recorded, according to Gazan health authorities, representing a 41 per cent decline in Gaza’s birth rate over the past three years, the agency said. Additionally, 220 mothers died – more than 20 times the total number of maternal deaths in 2022 – while at […]
The Security Council meets today for its quarterly open debate on the situation in the Middle East, with a focus on the worsening crisis in Gaza. UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari is expected to brief on the situation in the war-ravaged enclave where food entry and distribution remain severely restricted, malnutrition is rising, and fuel […]
The report, to be released later this month, reveals how between 2020 and 2024, the world experienced a dramatic increase in food prices driven by a combination of COVID-19 inflation, the war in Ukraine restricting movements on food and commodities, and increasing climate shocks. “The episodes described in this publication bring up what we […]
The text, sponsored by Pakistan and adopted unanimously, reiterated that all States “shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means through dialogue, diplomatic engagement and cooperation in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.” It also reiterated that nations must “refrain in their international relations from the threat or […]
Over 380,000 people are currently displaced there, and the plan aims at increasing assistance for communities over the next three months. It focuses on food, healthcare, water, sanitation, shelter and protection, and requires $120 million for implementation, according to the UN Office for Humanitarian Coordination (OCHA). Spread of diseases The health situation in North Darfur […]
“I deeply regret President Donald Trump’s decision to once again withdraw the United States of America from UNESCO,” Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of the Paris-based agency, said in a statement. In New York, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that the Secretary-General joins Ms. Azoulay “in deeply regretting the decision by the United States.” The US first […]
In 2024, only 34 per cent of women and 45 per cent of men on the continent used the internet, compared to global averages of 65 and 70 per cent. Meanwhile, 98 per cent of Africans under the age of 18 do not complete school with even basic STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills, […]
This is the only sustainable path to global security, he told ministers at a high-level open debate of the Security Council on Tuesday. The Secretary-General emphasised that the UN Charter’s tools – negotiation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration and more – remain a lifeline when tensions escalate, grievances fester and states lose trust in each other. These […]