The start of the war in Gaza following the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October was “like an avalanche” that caught the international community by surprise, including the UN, the senior official leading peace efforts between Israelis and Palestinians recalled this week. Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, sat down for an exclusive interview with UN News’s Reem Abaza as he prepares to leave the post after four years and following decades of service with Norway’s...

Members of the international community must unite and take stronger, coordinated action against the military junta in Myanmar, which overthrew the elected government in February 2021. This is the view of the Tom Andrews, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, who was appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to monitor and report on the situation in the country. While individual countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the European Union (EU) bloc...

Antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, is centre stage in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah this week, where top health officials have been attending the Fourth Global High-Level Ministerial Meeting on these so-called superbugs which have become increasingly resistant to existing strains of antibiotics. Threatening to make the medicines on which we depend less effective, AMR is already responsible for killing 1.3 million people every year. Attending the conference, Hanan Balkhy – a physician who is...

Explosive remnants of war, including artillery shells, rockets, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), pose a grave threat to civilians everywhere – but especially children in Gaza, now and in the years ahead, according to the Chief of Programme Management with the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS). Taku Kubo spoke with UN News about the challenges these hazards present for long-term recovery and reconstruction in the region. Despite ongoing conflict and resource constraints, UNMAS has...

As the war in Lebanon grinds on, some 1.3 million people have now fled intense Israeli bombardment up and down the country, according to the authorities. This includes a significant number of Syrian refugees, who’ve already had to flee over a decade of civil war in their own country. Reaching Syria is by no means easy, because of the very real risk of bombing at border crossing points; and then there’s the question of how safe it is to return to Syria’s towns and cities. With more on this –...

The number of prisoners in Iran being executed is rising while civic space shrinks, according to the independent human rights expert who monitors the country. Special Rapporteur Mai Sato was at UN Headquarters last week briefing the General Assembly, where she highlighted lack of transparency by authorities in Tehran and the failure to uphold the right to life, while also raising the alarm over the worsening situation facing women in the country. In an interview with UN News’s Julia Foxen,...

As the Democratic Republic of the Congo enters its third decade of armed conflict, a huge number of unexploded land mines and other ordinance remain, constituting a deadly threat to civilians. That’s according to Jean-Denis Larsen, the chief of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in the central African nation, who told UN News’s Julia Foxen in an interview at UN Headquarters in New York, that the danger leaves less land available for housing and crucial civilian infrastructure. The key measure...

Countries around the world are being encouraged to develop more ambitious plans to fight climate change as they meet at the global COP29 climate conference; That’s according to the Secretary-General of the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Celeste Saulo spoke with UN News as the conference got underway in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday. Some 198 States are coming together to assess global efforts in advancing the nearly ten-year-old Paris Agreement and limit global warming to 1.5°C...

The armed conflict in Myanmar is escalating. Ethnic armed groups have captured key towns and regions, and the country’s military – known as the Tatmadaw – are employing increasingly brutal tactics, including heavy weapons and airstrikes. Caught in the middle, civilians are bearing the brunt. Against this background, UN News’ Vibhu Mishra spoke with Nicholas Koumjian, head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), which monitors and collects evidence of crimes in the...

Despite the setback of a further two-year delay in holding elections that were promised for next month, the “silver lining” is that the UN can help South Sudan build capacity and become the “democratic, stable society” that its people deserve. That’s the view of UN Special Representative and Head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Nicholas Haysom, who told UN News on Thursday that he is “confident” the country can progress in spite of a slew of major challenges including climate...

Although the use of mercenaries in conflict has increased in recent years, little is known about how they are funded and paid. The issue is the focus of the latest report by the Working Group on the use of mercenaries, which was presented to the UN General Assembly this week. Jovana Jezdimirovic Ranito is the Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group, which receives its mandate from the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. She spoke to UN News’s Dianne Penn about the difficulties in tracking...

In Afghanistan under Taliban rule, it is now even more important to ensure that women have access to public spaces and adequate housing, creating places that are “accepted culturally in the current environment, but also provide a space where women can meet”. That’s the view of Stephanie Loose, Program Manager at the UN-Habitat Afghanistan Country Office, who is in Cairo to discuss the opportunities and challenges women are facing in urban areas. She spoke to UN News’s Khaled Mohammed who’s at...

On August 1, the United States and Russia conducted a landmark prisoner exchange involving 16 people – the first of its kind since 1986 – which resulted in the release of several leading Russian dissidents.  Among those freed was opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, who recently visited UN Headquarters in New York with Mariana Katzarova, the UN Human Rights Council-appointed independent expert – or Special Rapporteur – who monitors the Russian Federation, to introduce her new report to...

Stressing that housing is a human right which gives meaning and dignity to people’s lives, the independent UN rights expert – or Special Rapporteur – who monitors the issue has issued an alert over the impact of war, with many civilians simply “losing their houses” as battlefields shift and expand. Balakrishnan Rajagopal is at the World Urban Forum (WUF12) in Cairo, where he spoke to UN News’s Khaled Mohamed on the challenges of ensuring affordable and safe housing for all.

Close to 70 per cent of the world population lives in cities, which brings opportunities but also major challenges, many of which have featured high on the agenda at this week’s World Urban Forum (WUF12) in Cairo. Successful urban development must include the perspectives of women and young people, according to the World Bank’s Global Director for urban resilience, who said it was vital to include their voice in decision making and how public space is used. Ming Zhang spoke to Khaled Mohamed,...

Youth-led initiatives have the potential to significantly impact local urban development, according to the deputy chief of the UN Development Programme (UNDP). Haoliang Xu spoke to UN News ahead of the World Urban Forum which begins in Cairo, Egypt, on 4 November and which brings together people from across the world to discuss the challenges faced by cities. It’s estimated that by 2050, some 70 percent of the world’s population will be living in urban areas, which will put pressure on health...

The resumption of the mass polio campaign in northern Gaza this weekend is crucially important to protect children from disease, but they are “absolutely not safe” from daily bombardment. That’s the message from UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees; along with the UN health agency (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund. Humanitarians must now reach 119,000 children under 10 in northern communities in the coming days to keep them safe from polio, which is highly infectious. With more, here’s...

Pregnant women and girls in Lebanon’s shelters face trauma, harassment and disease, UN humanitarians have warned. With war still raging in Lebanon, 1.2 million people have been forced to seek safety in hundreds of shelters across the country. And although 60 per cent of the country’s public schools have been converted into places of refuge for those who’ve fled displacement orders and bombing, there just aren’t enough shelters for everyone. This problem affects women and girls the most as...

In a time of global crisis, it’s essential not to forget the steady erosion of rights across Afghanistan. That’s the view of Richard Bennett, the UN’s independent human rights expert – or Special Rapporteur – who monitors the country. He was in New York to present his report to the General Assembly. Mr. Bennet told UN News’s Vibhu Mishra that members of the international community who’ve pledged support must stay the course “because nowhere else in the world are women treated as appallingly...

The “big conclusion” of the latest report from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, is that through the systematic use of torture, Russia is guilty of crimes against humanity. That is the view of Commissioner Pablo de Greiff, who was in New York this week to present the report to the UN General Assembly. In an interview with UN News’s Evgeniya Kleshcheva, Mr. de Greiff started by describing the challenges they faced collecting evidence as the war in Ukraine rages on. 

The Chairperson of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, on Wednesday presented the commission's latest investigative report to the UN General Assembly. Navi Pillay and her UN Human Rights Council-appointed team found that Israel has carried out a policy to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system as part of a broader assault; committed war crimes, and deliberately attacked medical personnel and...

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...

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...

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...