Episodes
The final phase of the polio vaccination campaign in war-ravaged northern Gaza has been postponed due to ongoing hostilities and lack of humanitarian access.
Explaining that two doses are needed for children to reach full immunity, UNICEF Communication Specialist, Rosalia Bollen, told UN News’s Khaled Mohamed on Monday that 120,000 children would be “at great risk” if they do not receive the second dose before mid-November.
Ms. Bollen described the many risks children are facing on a daily...
Published 10/28/24
With more than 120 armed conflicts in the world right now, there is a high prevalence and intensity of sexual forms of torture being committed.
That’s according to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, who was in New York on Friday, to present her report to the General Assembly.
Expressing alarm over the situation, Alice Edwards told UN News’s Nargiz Shekinskaya that with torture, “the likelihood of peace becomes more and more...
Published 10/25/24
Access to high-quality education is a human right that not only greatly benefits individuals but also uplifts entire communities.
Millions of children, however, remain out of school due to a variety of factors including gender, location, social background or conflict.
With the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, Farida Shaheed, has prepared a report to the General Assembly exploring the challenges and benefits of incorporating AI in school...
Published 10/25/24
The International Court of Justice, or ICJ, is currently dealing with an unprecedented number of cases from around the world, particularly as the Middle East continues to be mired in conflict.
That’s according to Belgian jurist Philippe Gautier who has held the post of Registrar of the ICJ since August 2019, giving him the title of the senior-most official who heads the Secretariat of the Court.
In an interview at the UN Headquarters in NY on Friday, he told UN News’s Julia Foxen that today’s...
Published 10/23/24
Around 890 children have been injured in the past year in Lebanon, according to the country’s Ministry of Public Health, with 75 per cent of those injuries occurring in the last month. As the conflict escalates, the number of child casualties has risen rapidly.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is working to assist children across various affected areas, including Tyre, Rmaich, Marjaaoun, Beirut, and the Bekaa Valley. Their efforts include providing shelter, medical supplies, mental...
Published 10/23/24
From women activists feeding thousands of vulnerable families amid the brutal war in Sudan, to young Bangladeshis working to stamp out child marriage, human rights defenders worldwide are helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In fact, they are integral to ensuring that the 17 Goals – which include ending poverty, reducing inequality and protecting the environment – become reality, said Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.
She...
Published 10/22/24
With just days to go until world leaders, scientists, and climate action advocates convene for the UN Climate Change Conference in Baku, COP29, the host country Azerbaijan is fully prepared to welcome the key annual summit - despite having only ten months to prepare.
That’s according to UN Resident Coordinator Vladanka Andreeva who has been speaking to UN News’s Liudmila Blagonravova about the preparations and objectives for the COP, including the role played by the UN’s country team in...
Published 10/21/24
There are now 1.2 million internally displaced people in Lebanon because of the Hezbollah-Israel conflict which has created a new humanitarian crisis that UN aid agencies are responding to as best they can.
One immediate problem is that there’s not enough room for everyone in collective shelters, so many people are sleeping out in the open.
Keeping sickness at bay is another challenge, after a first case of cholera was confirmed in northern Lebanon this week. Other diseases are also...
Published 10/18/24
As crises mount, Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has told UN News there needs to be greater openness and accountability, warning that the world faces a critical turning point in the fight for human rights.
While human rights mechanisms have played a crucial role in preventing conflicts and atrocities, he expressed deep concern over the speed of escalation, emphasising that it is not rights themselves that are in crisis, but a lack of political leadership to enforce...
Published 10/17/24
The recent series of incidents targeting the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, alongside daily bombing in the region, is a major threat to the safety and security of the peacekeepers deployed there.
Despite the difficulties the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, is committed to remaining along the “Blue Line” of separation with Israel, in keeping with its UN Security Council mandate, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said, speaking to UN News’s Vibhu Mishra.
From Beirut, he...
Published 10/16/24
Augustina Tufuor is a healthy snacks entrepreneur from Ghana who’s on a mission to help rural food producers make a better living and it’s working a treat.
Her business is thriving now, but it wasn’t like that at all when she was starting out, a) because she’s a woman and b) because farming is seen as a big risk by lenders, she says.
Thankfully, the Food and Agriculture Organization has tailor-made projects and training programmes to help businesses like Augustina’s overcome these systemic...
Published 10/16/24
Across Southern Africa, one of the worst droughts in living memory has left millions facing hunger.
According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), nearly six and a half million people are starving there. A staggering 21 million children are malnourished, after crops failed and livestock perished, amid last year’s El Niño climate phenomenon.
A record five countries have declared a national disaster because of the drought and requested international assistance – Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia,...
Published 10/16/24
UN agencies and partners have launched the second phase of a mass campaign to vaccinate some 540,000 young children in Gaza against polio.
Teams have all the necessary supplies to carry out the campaign, including cold chain storage for the vaccine doses and finger markers to indicate a child has been inoculated, said Hamish Young, Senior Emergency Coordinator for Gaza with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
However, what they need most is access, he said, particularly when the campaign heads...
Published 10/14/24
Despite deadly new devastating strikes on public shelters in Gaza, UN aid teams confirmed that the second and final round of a mass polio vaccination campaign got off to a successful start on Monday.
Just hours into the operation, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said that thousands of children under 10 in the centre of the enclave had already been given another dose of the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2); the first oral shot was administered last month.
The success of the...
Published 10/14/24
Five UN “Blue Helmets” serving with the interim force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have been injured as Israeli forces continued to inflict damage on UN positions close to the “Blue Line” of separation between south Lebanon and Israel through the weekend.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday denounced the attacks and said they "may constitute a war crime, " calling on all warring parties to respect international humanitarian law.
UNIFIL Spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told UN News’s Nancy...
Published 10/14/24
The recently adopted Pact for the Future has been hailed as a significant milestone in global efforts to promote a disaster risk-informed approach to sustainable development worldwide.
As the world marks International Day for Disaster Reduction on Sunday, Kamal Kishore, the UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction is emphasising the crucial need for ongoing disaster-risk assessments with up-to-the-minute data, particularly in regions vulnerable to rising sea levels.
In an...
Published 10/11/24
A ceasefire is chief among the most compelling needs now in Lebanon, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the country, Imran Riza, said on Thursday.
It is estimated that more than a million people have been affected by ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, which have escalated in recent weeks.
While most are Lebanese citizens, Palestinian and Syrian refugees who have found shelter there, as well as migrants, have also been impacted.
UN News’s Khaled Mohammed asked Mr. Riza...
Published 10/10/24
300 million children have been affected by online sexual exploitation and abuse over the past 12 months.
That’s one shocking revelation from a new report being launched by the UN’s Special Representative working to end violence against children, marking the beginning of the mandate 15 years ago.
More and more young children are getting online but that’s also true for predators and sexual offenders, said Najat Maalla M’Jid, adding that the lack of child safety online needs to be urgently...
Published 10/10/24
The brutal war in Sudan continues to affect children across the country, including in North Darfur where there has been a sharp escalation in fighting.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that at least 150 boys and girls have been killed in Darfur since April, and many more injured, in ferocious fighting between the Sudanese Army and rival paramilitary Rapid Security Forces (RSF) who have been locked in conflict for nearly 18 months.
The war has put Sudan’s children at risk of diseases...
Published 10/08/24
While finalising its departure from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN Mission in the country, MONUSCO, remains fully engaged in assisting the country on its path to peace and stability.
It’s essential to ensure “women’s voices are heard in the political processes that are taking place,” says Special Representative Bintou Keita, Head of MONUSCO, who was in New York for High-Level Week at the end of last month.
In an interview with UN News’s Jérôme Bernard she speaks about the...
Published 10/04/24
As artificial intelligence rapidly becomes a potentially transformative part of our lives, a crucial question arises: how can we ensure that generative AI serves humanity rather than harming it?
AI has the potential to help humanity reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but it must be guided by appropriate safeguards to ensure it is useful, safe, and inclusive.
During High-Level Week, two panels convened to discuss the future of AI, both moderated by Deputy Director of the UN’s News...
Published 10/03/24
With increasing violence contributing to global crises, the UN has repeatedly raised concerns about diminishing access to education at all levels.
To address this growing emergency, the UN culture and education agency, UNESCO, has implemented measures to create pathways to education and employment for refugees, according to Sara Osman, an Associate Programme Specialist at UNESCO.
She explained to UN News’s Cecily Kariuki how the organization is working to boost educational opportunities,...
Published 10/01/24
More than 215 people, including 35 children, have lost their lives, with dozens still missing after heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides across Nepal.
The capital Kathmandu has been hardest hit, experiencing its heaviest rains in over 50 years. Hundreds of homes, schools and hospitals have been damaged, and parts of the city remain underwater.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Nepal has dispatched emergency teams to the affected regions, providing vital humanitarian aid, as UN...
Published 10/01/24
With multiple conflicts ravaging the world, staff of various UN agencies are stepping beyond their traditional roles, acting as frontline humanitarian workers dedicated to saving lives. UNFPA, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, is no exception.
Natalia Kanem, UNFPA Executive Director, highlights the harsh realities faced by women and girls caught in crises, particularly in Sudan, where the agency has been deeply embedded even before the current conflict.
In this interview with UN...
Published 09/27/24