Syria continues in a state of “grave crisis” with civilian suffering on the rise, the UN Security Council heard during a briefing on Tuesday.

Over three million deaths per year were attributable to alcohol consumption and drug use, a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) found. Of these deaths, 2.6 million were attributable to alcohol consumption, accounting for nearly five per...

People who use drugs in the Philippines are being treated less as criminals and more as patients who need medical help and other interventions, as authorities there look to update the country’s former controversial policies.

Restoring the Iran nuclear deal to its full and effective implementation “remains elusive”, the UN’s top political affairs official said on Monday, adding that participating countries remain at odds with each other.

The systemic oppression against Afghan women and girls is “so severe and extensive that they appear to form a widespread and systematic attack” which could amount to crimes against humanity said Richard Bennett, the independent rights expert ...

As the war drags on in Gaza, UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Tuesday condemned Israel’s “relentless” attacks across the war-shattered enclave, while repeating longstanding calls for the release of all remaining hostages.

The UN Security Council in New York on Tuesday focused on the worsening crisis in Sudan as civilians continue to suffer amidst the brutal fighting between rival militaries, while the Geneva-based Human Rights Council heard independent investigators des...

On World Refugee Day, marked annually on 20 June, meet some of the multi-talented teachers and principals of migrant learning centres in Thailand along the border with Myanmar, who, with UN support, are doing all they can to keep up with the ...

A conference focused on small arms and light weapons is taking place at a “difficult and dangerous moment for humanity,” according to the UN Chief António Guterres. 

The World Food Programme (WFP) will increase its food and nutrition assistance programme this month in West and Central Africa in hopes of reaching 7.3 million people as the June-August lean season is under way at a time when hunger levels are high and...

The UN’s top political affairs official on Tuesday reiterated that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited by international law. More than 170 civilians lost their lives and a further 690 were injured in continued Russian strike...

Sustainable sources of energy, including solar and wind power, can help communities across the world to reverse desertification and land loss, according to Ibrahim Thiaw, the Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. 

As nearly 40 per cent of land across the planet is degraded with more acres lost every second, governments, businesses and communities must galvanize action to reverse the damage and protect Earth, the UN chief said in a strong message for the World Da...

The UN’s top genocide prevention official warned on Friday that hate speech remains a significant threat to global peace and security, often targeting society’s most vulnerable.

The head of the UN human rights office (OHCHR) Volker Türk on Friday called for serious measures to be taken to end human rights violations that are jeopardizing reconciliation and peace efforts in Ethiopia. 

Despite its huge potential, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, continues to grapple with a host of challenges which are impacting people’s lives and triggering conflict over key resources, a senior UN official in the country said on Friday.

The global fight to tackle female genital mutilation (FGM) is being undermined by the movement of some girls across national borders and beyond to undergo the procedure, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) warned in a new report published on Friday. 

Escalating fighting in the south and centre of Gaza makes it near-impossible for humanitarians to deliver desperately needed food aid, the Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Carl Skau, said on Friday at the end of a two-day mi...

A cautious welcome was given by civilians in Gaza to this week’s Security Council resolution endorsing a ceasefire for hostages deal - mixed with frustration that the fighting continues with both Hamas and the Israeli Government signalling that the thr...

A surge of attacks by Russian forces on the Kharkiv area of Ukraine is causing significant civilian casualties, as well as the destruction of homes and crucial infrastructure, the top UN official in Ukraine said today, in a plea not to “normalize” the ...

While the world celebrates the Day for Countering Hate Speech, we are looking back at how Nobel Laureate for Literature,  Wole Soyinka, wielded powerful words to clobber online hate speech, call out religious extremism and refute the notion t...

Violence against children caught in armed conflict reached “extreme levels” last year, with a “shocking” 21 per cent increase in extreme violations, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a report published on Thursday. 

Heavy shelling reported in the so-called safe zone of Al-Mawasi in southern Gaza on Thursday came despite the ongoing international push for a ceasefire and as the UN health agency reported 32 deaths from malnutrition “including 28 among children under...

It has been almost three years since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan and women’s rights continue to be under attack.  

After months of relative stability in Yemen between Government and Houthi forces, a return to all-out war is looking inevitable unless the current escalation in violence is halted, the top UN envoy for the country said on Thursday.

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on Thursday that calls for the paramilitary Rapid Security Forces (RSF) in Sudan to halt their siege on El Fasher, capital of North Darfur state. 

The UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine Denise Brown on Thursday said she was ‘appalled’ by the scale of Russia’s overnight attack on Kryviy Rih City in the Dnipro Region. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday welcomed the swearing in of Haiti’s new Government, urging stakeholders to continue making progress towards restoring democratic institutions through elections.

Khadija Jallouli, a young Tunisian entrepreneur with a disability, has called for redoubling international efforts aimed at integrating people with disabilities and involving them in decisions related to finding solutions to the challenges they face.

This year and last have seen historically high levels of forced displacement worldwide according to the UN refugee agency’s (UNHCR) 2024 flagship Global Trends Report published on Thursday in Geneva.

Palestinian armed groups and Israeli authorities have both committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during the attack on 7 October and the subsequent military operations, according to a new report by a UN independent human rights body.

The UN is becoming increasingly concerned over falling levels of humanitarian funding for civilians across war-torn Ukraine, the head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) told delegates to the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin on Wednesday.

The international community must continue to pay close attention to the troubling human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and find ways to revive dialogue with the Government, the UN Security Council heard on Wednesda...

UN Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated his solidarity with the people of Gaza and the global body’s deep commitment to the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) on Wednesday, while also issuing a stark message to the world’s richest nation...

Millions of people are teetering on the brink of starvation as conflict rages across many corners of the world. Nowhere is this more evident than in Sudan and Gaza, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said on Wednesday. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on Tuesday for the immediate release of all United Nations staff held in Yemen by the de facto Houthi authorities, following the detention of 13 of the Organization’s personnel. 

Welcome to this first ever guest-edited UN News live page. We’re reporting from the opening day of the 17th session of the Conference of States Parties (COSP17) to the game-changing Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Our blogger-in-...

A comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza linked to the release of all remaining hostages cannot come too soon, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday, as he welcomed the Security Council resolution adopted a day earlier seeking an end to the wa...