Some 70 million hectares of forest are affected by fires each year, causing huge environmental and economic damage. On the International Day of Forests, marked on 21 March, we look at how an innovative UN-led initiative in Indonesia is dramatically red...

Humanitarians continue to deliver aid in Haiti, where the situation in the capital, Port-au-Prince, remains tense and volatile in the face of escalating gang violence and political instability. 

The UN independent human rights expert on Myanmar called on the international community on Tuesday to take strong, coordinated action to protect civilians from ongoing atrocities committed by the military junta’s forces.

Clusters of tents are cobbled together with any available fabric, plastic and wood, as Ramadan decorations, lamps and lanterns illuminate a crowded camp of displaced people in central Gaza, spreading a ray of hope amid the rubble of war.

Forced labour is happening all over the world and it’s earning criminal gangs an astonishing $236 billion a year – $64 billion more than a decade ago, UN researchers said on Tuesday.

Fresh evidence of “horrific…widespread and systematic” abuse and likely war crimes committed by Russian forces against civilians and military detainees in Ukraine emerged on Friday, in a new report by UN-appointed independent rights investigators.

The war in Gaza has left a staggering almost 23 millions tonnes of rubble and unexploded weapons scattered across the enclave, UN humanitarians said on Friday.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Friday expressed outrage at the recent abductions by gunmen of hundreds of people in Nigeria.

Amid a rising tide of anti-Muslim hate, top UN officials condemned the scourge on Friday as the General Assembly adopted a resolution to push back against it during commemorations marking the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.

The UN’s top political affairs official on Friday briefed the Security Council and slammed ongoing Russian elections in illegally occupied areas of Ukraine.

Out-of-control gang violence has created a humanitarian crisis in Haiti that the UN aims to help alleviate with the creation of an airbridge with the neighbouring Dominican Republic.

The UN Special Envoy for Yemen on Thursday emphasized the urgent need for a nationwide ceasefire and measures to improve living conditions in the war-ravaged country.

The UN Secretary-General on Thursday called for “putting people first” by ending the stigma and discrimination around those who use drugs and the expansion of prevention and treatment programmes.

Desperately needed aid operations in Gaza must be protected from attack, the UN’s top aid official has warned, amid reports on Thursday that Palestinians were killed and injured while waiting for supplies in Gaza City.

To address the ongoing Rohingya humanitarian crisis affecting 1.3 million people in Bangladesh, UN humanitarian agencies on Wednesday launched a $852.4 million appeal supporting refugees and the communities hosting them.

Women’s rights are under attack, and governments must act to reverse that dangerous trend, the UN chief told a his annual town hall event with civil society activists on Wednesday, as the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) session continued its ...

Amid reports of fresh Israeli airstrikes in Gaza overnight into Wednesday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said that more children have been killed there in recent months than in four years of conflict worldwide.

Despite record high global human development scores in 2023, disparities between the haves and the have-nots are widening, a new UN report revealed on Wednesday.

“Women’s rights are human rights” has echoed throughout the UN Commission on the Status of Women for decades, including at its current session that runs from 11 to 22 March at UN Headquarters.

A Russian missile strike on a multi-storey apartment block in central Ukraine that left three dead and around 40 injured on Tuesday has been strongly condemned by the UN’s top aid official in Kyiv, Denise Brown.

In an exclusive interview, Natalie Boucly, the Deputy Commissioner-General of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), describes the desperate scenes she witnessed in Gaza, during a recent mission to the occupied Palestinian territory.

The number of internally displaced people around the world is at a record high – well over 70 million – it’s a global crisis that needs collaborative solutions from the humanitarian community, the UN’s emergency relief chief said on Wednesday.

The UN’s top political affairs official on Wednesday stressed the urgent need for better prevention measures to save lives and boost development, amid a surge in armed conflicts worldwide and the unprecedented humanitarian crises they bring.

Enough aid for 25,000 people has reached Gaza City for the first time in weeks, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Tuesday, in a call for daily aid missions and better access.

A top European Union (EU) official on Tuesday emphasized the crucial role of the United Nations in addressing global challenges, describing it as an “unsinkable compass” for humanity.

UN humanitarians are working around the clock to pre-position aid in Chad for Sudanese refugees fleeing the violence at home before the rains come.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday that Haiti is on the brink of a devastating hunger crisis, with aid operations at risk of “grinding to a halt” amid rampant violence as Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned on Monday and armed gangs ti...

The fight against child mortality has reached an historic milestone the UN announced on Wednesday with latest estimates revealing the number of children dying prematurely before their fifth birthday fell to 4.9 million in 2022.

A Ramadan ceasefire for Gaza must be implemented immediately, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday, the first day of the Muslim holy month.

Syria is experiencing a wave of violence not seen in years that likely amounts to war crimes, top UN-appointed rights investigators said on Monday.

Waves of violence have displaced more than 15,000 Haitians in just a week amid ongoing looting at the country’s main port, according to the latest report from the UN agency for migration, as the Security Council on Monday strongly condemned “destabiliz...

The UN Secretary-General on Monday highlighted the urgent need to defend women's rights which are under threat, citing a reversal in hard-won progress, increasing violence against women and a growing digital gender divide.

Amid worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, briefed the Security Council in New York on Monday on her recent report relating to the 7 October attacks ...

The UN Secretary-General on Saturday highlighted the urgent need for a negotiated political solution in Syria, emphasizing the protection of civilians and the dire humanitarian situation.

Violent repression of peaceful protests and pervasive institutional discrimination against women and girls has led to serious human rights violations by Iran – many amounting to crimes against humanity – the Independent International Fact-Finding Missi...

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Friday outlined a comprehensive set of measures to counter religious hatred, emphasizing the urgent need for concerted action to address the rising levels of discrimination and violence.

A recent sharp rise in deadly attacks against civilians in Ukraine and Russia, including by armed drones, run counter to international law and must end now, top UN officials told the Security Council on Friday afternoon.

Any assault by Israeli forces on the densely populated city of Rafah where 1.5 million have sought shelter following mass displacement, will hugely increase the risk of atrocity crimes, the UN High Commissioner for Human rights warned on Friday.