Head of the IPU, Martin Chungong, told a UN conference in New York on Wednesday that “if the phenomenon goes uncontrolled, there will be major implications for democracies, parliaments and human rights worldwide”. In an interview with UN News, Valentina Grippo, an Italian MP with the European Delegation to the IPU – which partners with […]
In a statement issued this week, UNESCO said governments are increasingly cutting internet access during protests, elections and times of crisis, despite the central role online connectivity plays in democratic participation and the exercise of basic rights. The agency noted that 2024 was the worst year on record for internet shutdowns since 2016, citing data […]
One in 10 children aged 5 to 19 – 188 million worldwide – are now living with obesity, placing them at heightened risk of chronic diseases such as type-2 diabetes, heart conditions, and certain cancers. “When we talk about malnutrition, we are no longer just talking about underweight children,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. […]
“The world is spending far more on waging war than in building peace,” the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at a press briefing for his new report on the threat posed by the steady rise in military expenditure. Spending on security needs increased across all five global regions during 2024, marking the steepest year-on-year rise for […]
Disorders such as anxiety and depression are exacting a heavy toll on individuals, families and economies, yet most countries are failing to provide adequate support. Mental health problems are widespread across every society and age group and remain the second leading cause of long-term disability. They drive up healthcare costs for families and governments while […]
The new joint report, Climate change and workplace heat stress, underscores the mounting risks as climate change fuels longer, more extreme, and more frequent heatwaves. Stressing that workers in agriculture, construction, and fisheries are already suffering the impacts of dangerous temperatures, the report points out that vulnerable groups in developing countries – including children, older adults, […]
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 […]
This is according to a new report from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) and the International Drought Resilience Alliance on the global impacts of droughts from 2023 to 2025. “Drought is a silent killer. It creeps in, drains resources, and devastates lives in slow motion. Its […]
António Guterres announced the move in a statement issued on Monday, in response to plans by several UN Member States to withdraw from the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. The 1997 treaty, also known as the Ottawa Convention, prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of these weapons. Landmark global agreeement Since then, it “has led […]
This will entail cutting just under half of all senior positions at the agency’s Geneva headquarters and regional bureaux. Around 3,500 permanent staff posts have been discontinued, hundreds of temporary staff positions have been terminated, and some offices have been downsized or closed worldwide. According to the report, decisions on where to cut costs were […]
These are the exact sort of urban initiatives which the UN Global Road Safety Week – kicking off on Monday – aims to celebrate and promote. First established in 2007, this year’s week is dedicated to the theme “Make walking and cycling safe.” “Walking and cycling should be the most ordinary, and therefore, the safest […]
According to the World Social Report 2025 launched on Thursday, the sobering sentiment indicates a widespread lack of confidence in the future. Despite people living longer, being better educated and more connected than ever before, many believe that life today is worse than it was 50 years ago. Close to 60 per cent of people […]