Guterres renews call for Israel-Iran ceasefire
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday he remains “profoundly alarmed” by the ongoing military escalation between Israel and Iran, as the sides continued to trade airstrikes.
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Make midwives universally accessible and save millions of lives, WHO urges
Almost 4.5 million maternal, stillborn and newborn deaths were recorded in 2023. What if there was a clear path to saving 83 percent of these people? To saving 3.7 million mothers, unborn children and babies annually?
Power of football industry inspires team effort towards development goals
The power of football to inspire fans to take positive action for a healthier planet and a fairer society is taking centre stage at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan – a world fair focused on building a sustainable global future.
Civilian deaths in conflict are surging, warns UN human rights office
Civilian deaths in conflict surged by 40 per cent last year, according to new data released by the UN human rights office (OHCHR) with already marginalised groups facing disproportionate levels of discrimination.
UN relief chief calls for solidarity, with humanitarians ‘literally under attack’
With the humanitarian sector “under-funded, overstretched, and literally under attack” as crises continue in Gaza, Sudan and beyond, international support is needed more than ever, the UN’s top aid official said on Wednesday in Geneva.
UN rights office ‘horrified’ by deadly violence at Gaza food distribution sites
As the pall of starvation hangs over Gaza, UN agencies have sounded the alarm over deadly violence at food distribution points, where over 400 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in recent weeks while trying to access desperately needed humanitarian aid.
Iran-Israel crisis: UN rights office appeals for urgent de-escalation
As the Iran-Israel crisis continued into a sixth day on Wednesday, the UN deputy human rights chief Nada Al-Nashif called for urgent talks to end the ongoing exchanges of missile attacks between Tehran and Tel-Aviv.
Israeli actions in Palestinian territories constitute war crimes, Human Rights Council hears
The ongoing crises in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Sudan are in the spotlight this week at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva.
‘Hate speech is poison in the well of society,’ says Guterres
Hate speech is a warning sign and a driver of violence, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said ahead of Wednesday’s International Day for Countering Hate Speech.
Afghan women face near total social, economic and political exclusion
In the past decade, the UN has bemoaned the chronically low level of participation by Afghan women and girls in decision-making bodies and in secondary and higher education.
‘Syria simply cannot withstand another wave of instability,’ Security Council hears
A senior UN official has warned against the impact of regional escalation on Syria as the country continues on the path to political transition following the overthrow of the Assad regime last December and nearly 14 years of devastating civil war.
UN condemns deadly Russian strikes on Ukrainian capital as civilian toll mounts
At least 14 civilians were reportedly killed and more than 100 injured in Kyiv overnight into Tuesday, as Russian drone and missile strikes struck multiple Ukrainian cities in one of the heaviest nights of bombing in months.