News

Prices for opium in Afghanistan have increased tenfold since the de facto authorities imposed a drug ban in 2022 following their takeover in Kabul, latest UN data shows.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) has stepped up efforts to improve vaccination coverage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by providing vital logistical support, including boats and motorcycles to reach remote communities along the Congo River.

Haiti is in freefall. Gangs are tightening their grip on the capital, violence is spreading, and “suffering permeates all social strata” in a nation teetering on the brink, according to the UN human rights office’s designated expert on the country, William O’Neill. 

Women rights advocates gathered at UN Headquarters for the world’s biggest meeting on gender equality have been sharing their concerns about the growing backlash against feminism, and how major funding cuts from donor countries could threaten programmes aimed at improving the lives of women and girls.

Days of violence against Syria’s mainly ethnic Alawite communities have included the summary execution of entire families, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, confirmed on Tuesday. 

At a time of growing backlash against women’s rights, UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a stark call to action on Tuesday to civil society representatives gathered for a town hall meeting – part of the ongoing Commission on the Status of Women.

The European Union remains committed to upholding international law and defending the United Nations Charter amid growing security threats, the bloc’s top diplomat told the Security Council on Tuesday.

In Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar refugee settlements, child malnutrition has surged and cuts to aid funding risk creating a humanitarian “catastrophe”, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday.

States must do more to prevent cyberbullying and overcome unequal access to assistive technology which hampers the rights of persons with disabilities – particularly women and girls – the Human Rights Council has heard. 

Severe water shortages in Gaza have reached critical levels, with only one in 10 people currently able to access safe drinking water, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Monday. 

A “new black market” for synthetics and drug trafficking through war zones are fuelling instability around the world, the chief of the UN drugs and crime office said on Monday.

The top UN envoy for Afghanistan on Monday underscored the need for realistic engagement with the country as humanitarian and human rights crises deepen amid growing international isolation.