Victims of people-trafficking need more countries to respect international law and protect them, but thousands continue to die along land and sea routes every year, a top independent human rights expert said on Thursday.

Take a front seat to how it all began: the birth of the United Nations amid the ashes of the Second World War that devastated continents and communities around the world.

The UN Security Council on Thursday demanded that Houthi rebels in Yemen immediately cease all attacks against merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

Delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza remains a difficult and frustrating task for UN and partner agencies as the conflict there grinds on amid intense civilian suffering.

The risk of widespread famine in Sudan caused by war there was confirmed on Thursday by leading hunger experts who warned that the country faces “the worst levels of acute food insecurity ever recorded”, with no less than 14 areas at the highest l...

Police chiefs and government leaders convened at UN Headquarters on Thursday for the opening session of UNCOPS 2024. 

UN aid teams and partner organizations remain deeply committed to delivering lifesaving supplies to Gazans in need despite the increasing dangers of working there, the Organization’s top aid official said on Wednesday.

The UN Security Council on Wednesday heard powerful and personal testimony from a former child soldier who recounted harrowing experiences of being abducted and forced to join an armed group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Foreign banks are allegedly helping Myanmar’s military junta acquire weapons and military supplies, facilitating a “campaign of violence and brutality” as the civil war there continues, according to an independent UN human rights expert on Wednesday....

The International Criminal Court (ICC) handed down a war crimes conviction on Wednesday against an Al Qaida-linked Malian former self-styled police chief who faced a range of charges, from torture to rape.

The UN agency tackling crime and drug abuse (UNODC) released its annual World Drug Report on Wednesday warning that there are now nearly 300 million users globally, alongside an increase in trafficking.

Banana bread, coconut buns and Spanish-style filled rolls are providing a cooperative of women bakers on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines with the promise of a more secure future, thanks to support from the UN Development Programme, (UNDP).

Gaza remains on famine alert after food security experts warned on Tuesday that more than one in five households “go entire days without eating”.

While the situation in Gaza remains catastrophic, ongoing Israeli settlement expansion and escalating violence in the occupied West Bank is ratcheting up tension across the whole region, the UN’s Middle East envoy said on Tuesday.

Human suffering continues to worsen against a backdrop of conflict and runaway climate change the UN chief said on Tuesday, calling on countries to step up support for those in need and protect the humanitarians who aid them.

A mother in the Philippines has explained how she feels “90 per cent stronger” after participating in a UN-supported programme which aims to build parenting skills and help children communicate more openly about difficult issues such as drugs.

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...

The release of Julian Assange “is a very good outcome” to the long-running case, the UN independent expert on torture said on Tuesday after reports that the WikiLeaks founder had struck a plea deal with the United States.
 

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.

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...

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 ...

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...

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 ...

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. 

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.