News

World leaders adopted a bold, forward-looking declaration on Tuesday at a global forum to advance peace as war rages on, from Gaza and Lebanon to Sudan and Ukraine.

A beloved cartoon character from Argentina who has delighted people across the planet for six decades, was at UN Headquarters on Monday to bring her message of peace, education, freedom and sanity to “a rather senseless world”.

Heavy rainfall has caused severe flooding across displacement sites in Gaza, further compounding the humanitarian crisis, the UN has reported.

With all eyes on a possible ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, UN humanitarians condemned unrelenting violence there, in Gaza and in Israel. Stay tuned for live updates from UN headquarters and the field. UN News app users can follow here.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk lent his weight to growing ceasefire calls in Lebanon on Tuesday, as senior Israeli cabinet members were reportedly due to meet on a deal to end more than a year of conflict with Hezbollah militants, sparked by the war in Gaza.

Youth took centre stage on opening day at the UN Alliance of Civilizations 10th Global Forum on Monday, with young directors recognised for their films at an international festival and a forum showcasing the next generation of movers and doers, from empowering women in violence-ravaged northwestern Nigeria to deradicalising youth in Jammu and Kashmir.

On the 25th anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, world leaders and advocates gathered at the UN Headquarters to confront a stark reality: violence against women and girls remains a pervasive global crisis.

The United Nations remains concerned by the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon between Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Force (IDF), as well as the widespread destruction and death across the Blue Line, the Secretary-General’s Spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said on Monday. 

Independent UN human rights experts have warned of an escalating risk of nuclear disaster in Ukraine following Russia’s continued attacks on the country’s electrical infrastructure, with the most recent strike occurring on 17 November.  

As Gaza teeters on the brink of collapse, a senior UN official on Monday renewed urgent calls for an immediate ceasefire and action to address the humanitarian crisis.

Talks began in Busan, South Korea, on Monday aiming to clinch a legally binding deal on plastics pollution, led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

A sobering report released by UN Women and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on Monday reveals that in 2023, 140 women and girls died every day at the hands of their partner or a close relative, which means one woman killed every 10 minutes.