Haruki Ume spoke to UN News at the UN Pavilion at Expo 2025 currently being held in the Japanese city of Osaka. One section of the pavilion features a rotating presentation focusing on a specific UN agency or entity and recently, attention turned to the UN Volunteers programme. “As a 17-year-old, I travelled to the […]
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, António Guterres expressed alarm over the dangerous escalation and the rising toll on civilians. He reiterated that attacks against civilians and critical infrastructure are prohibited under international law and called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. “These strikes disrupted the power supply to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, […]
“Cooperatives are a system that enables the South Sudanese to improve their livelihoods, but at the same time also contributes to the economy… this is the only way for South Sudan to move out of poverty,” said Louis Bagare project manager of cooperatives at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in South Sudan. He was speaking […]
Since September 2023, more than 2.43 million undocumented Afghan migrants have returned from Iran and Pakistan. Women and girls account for about half of the returnees from Pakistan, while their share among those returning from Iran has been steadily rising, reaching around 30 per cent in June. The escalating pace of returns is straining Afghanistan’s […]
Escalating conflict in Ukraine In an oral update, Ilze Brands Kehris, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, reported a sharp escalation in hostilities in Ukraine. Civilian casualties have surged, with April to June seeing nearly 50 per cent more deaths and injuries compared to the same period in 2024. “More than 90 per cent of […]
However, this creates challenges by limiting land access for the next generation and diminishing their voice in agricultural policymaking. Without land assets, young people struggle to secure the resources needed to become agricultural producers themselves. Between 2005 and 2021, the number of youth employed in agrifood jobs declined by 10 per cent, prompting concerns for […]
Multiple attacks in recent days have killed and injured scores of Palestinians at sites hosting displaced people and others attempting to access essential supplies, according to a statement from UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric on Thursday. “The Secretary-General strongly condemns the loss of civilian life,” Mr. Dujarric said. On just one day this week, nearly 30,000 […]
“The human consequences of rising debt burdens, escalating trade tensions and steep cuts to official development assistance have been brought into sharp relief this week,” she told the closing session of the pivotal gathering, amid sizzling temperatures across southern Spain. Multilateralism at work But against that backdrop, the conference has delivered a strong response – […]
On 30 June, both Chile and Argentina ranked among the coldest places on Earth, outside the polar regions. Governments in both countries issued early warnings and cold-weather alerts in response to the “polar-origin anticyclone” behind the extreme conditions, WMO said. The cold snap in South America contrasts blistering heat in the northern hemisphere, especially in […]
Activists, many from the Global South, attending the talks in Spain, are calling for greater leadership and commitment from wealthier nations to help address long-standing structural inequalities. The 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) carries strong symbolic weight, reflected in the agreed priorities of the Sevilla Commitment. Courtesy of Paula Sevilla Paula Sevilla, […]
Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine have taken or are considering steps to withdraw from the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction – known also as the Ottawa Convention, after the Canadian city where the process was launched. “These weapons risk causing […]
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israeli authorities issued displacement orders overnight for two neighbourhoods in Khan Younis, where up to 80,000 people had been living. The Al Satar reservoir – a critical hub for distributing piped water from Israel – has become inaccessible as a result. Grave warnings […]
Addressing delegates at a UN forum on peaceful uses of outer space, Amina Mohammed urged greater international cooperation as the world becomes increasingly reliant on satellites for everything from disaster response to climate monitoring. “Space is not the final frontier. It is the foundation of our present,” she said. “Without satellites orbiting overhead right now, […]
Since January, the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), recorded over 4,000 individuals deliberately killed – a 24 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024. “The capital city was for all intents and purposes paralysed by gangs and isolated due to the ongoing suspension of international commercial flights into the international […]
Development benefits all countries because it is linked to other areas of activity and society, including basic security itself. Without it, there is no hope – and no stability. That is the key message from the Director of the UN Development Programme’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (UNDP), Marcos Neto, to all other nations […]
The promises were made at the opening of the Financing for Development Conference (FFD4), currently underway in the Spanish city of Sevilla, when delegates agreed on the Sevilla Commitment. During the conference UN News spoke to Li Junhua, the UN Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General of the international summit. Li Junhua: The […]
The Borrowers’ Forum is being hailed as a milestone in efforts to reform the international debt architecture, supported by the UN and emerging as a key part of the Sevilla Agreement outcome document. “This is not just talk – this is execution,” said Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr Rania Al-Mashat. “The Borrowers’ […]
Acting on the recommendation of its Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), the Assembly endorsed the budgets for 12 missions, the logistics centres in Entebbe (Uganda) and Brindisi (Italy), and the support account for peacekeeping. The budgets were adopted without a vote, except for the resolution on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which was […]
At Tuesday’s regular briefing at the UN Headquarters, in New York, Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric relayed warnings from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs (OCHA), citing urgent concerns across the country. “Across Sudan, we continue to be deeply concerned about the humanitarian impact of the ongoing fighting, which is escalating displacement and driving […]
“The money simply is not reaching the women and girls who need it most,” UN Women said in a news release issued on Monday. This estimate comes in the midst of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development underway in Sevilla, Spain. There, world leaders are working to revitalize the international financing structure […]