State of the Planet: Pandemic slows efforts to adapt to climate crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to hamper the efforts of developing countries to adapt to…
Author: UnitedNations
FROM THE FIELD: The Myanmar child workers risking their lives for stones
Thirteen-year-old Min Min scavenges day and night for precious stones in a quarry in Hpakant,…
Migration will continue to rise, despite pandemic, says UN official
Migration is part of the modern world, and it is not going away despite a…
Podcast: UN Catch-Up Dateline Geneva – episode 5
This week’s show features the week’s news headlines, an interview with the World Food Programme…
News in Brief 15 January 2021
Indonesia quake: eight confirmed dead, hundreds injured in Sulawesi emergency Child labour scourge still affects one…
COVID-19 committee stresses need for equitable vaccine access, more data sharing
As COVID-19 cases spike in parts of Europe, Africa and the Americas, and new variants…
Child labour ‘robs children of their future’, scourge must end urges UN
Although child labour has decreased significantly over the last decade, one-in-ten children are still caught…
As COVID deaths pass two million worlwide, Guterres warns against self-defeating ‘vaccinationalism’
With more than two million lives now lost worlwide to COVID-19, the UN Secretary-General appealed…
News in Brief 14 January 2021
UN emergency relief chief warns over fallout of U.S. Yemen Houthi terror label Four UN…
World in ‘much better place’ to fight desert locust scourge – UN’s FAO
Compared to last year, everything is in place to successfully fight the devastating desert locust…
State of the Planet: Natural ways to cope with climate change
What progress is the world making in adapting to the changing climate? And can nature…
Health experts arrive in Wuhan to investigate COVID-19 origins
Members of an international team studying the origins of the virus that causes COVID-19 arrived…
Israel: Ensure equal COVID-19 vaccine access to Palestinians – UN Independent experts
Israel’s “impressive” vaccination programme against the COVID-19 pandemic must include Palestinians under occupation, UN independent…
News in Brief 13 January 2021
Health agency calls for greater cooperation to identify COVID mutations Lower wages and higher health…
After drought and failed harvests, people of Madagascar reduced to eating mud
After years of drought, and with what little the people of Madagascar have managed to grow, destroyed by flashflooding, more than 1.3 million are in…
‘Not one country has the homeworking policies we would like to see’: ILO official
Homeworking has necessarily exploded since the COVID-19 pandemic took a grip on the world, from…
Step up vigilance for emerging coronavirus variants, WHO urges
Efforts should be stepped up to quickly identify and study emerging variants of the COVID-19-causing…
News in Brief 12 January 2021
Health agency chief urges COVID-19 vaccinations for ‘high-risk’ populations UN rights chief: Peru law enforcement used excessive…
Peru: UN rights office decries excessive use of force in November protests
Police in Peru used unnecessary and excessive force during protests in the capital last November…
UNICEF chief: Closing schools should be ‘measure of last resort’
The head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) underscored on Tuesday that “no effort should…
UN agencies, partners establish global Ebola vaccine stockpile
In a major milestone in the fight against deadly diseases, United Nations agencies and humanitarian…
News in Brief 11 January 2021
WHO’s Tedros welcomes China announcement on COVID-19 team visit UNAIDS unveils new targets on HIV prevention amid rise in…
Get COVID-19 vaccinations for ‘high-risk’ populations underway within 100 days worldwide, Tedros urges
There needs to be a “collective commitment” to get vaccinations underway worldwide for health workers…
Close ‘disgraceful’ Guantánamo camp – UN experts urge incoming US administration
Exactly 19 years after the Guantánamo Bay detention centre first opened, UN independent human rights…
Podcast: UN Catch-Up Dateline Geneva – Episode 4
This week’s show features the week’s news headlines, an interview on the first post-COVID global…
News in Brief 8 January 2021
Rights chief Bachelet echoes condemnation of incitement in US Capitol chaos Mass displacement amid Central African Republic election…
UN post-COVID poll: 1.5 million outline their needs, hopes and fears
The world’s first global poll conducted during the COVID-19 crisis to ask people what their…
Vaccinating equitably ‘saves lives, stabilizes health systems’ – WHO chief
Two billion doses of “safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines” have been secured by the international…
Uganda: ‘Deteriorating’ human rights situation in run-up to elections next week
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, is urging authorities in Uganda to ensure elections next week are free and…
Viet Nam: UN rights office denounces ‘increasing clampdown’ on freedom of expression
The UN human rights office (OHCHR), on Friday, voiced concerns over the use of “vaguely…
News in Brief 7 January 2021
Top UN officials saddened by violent mob protests inside US Capitol Hong Kong: UN human rights office urges…
WHO warns of COVID-19 ‘tipping point’ as cases rise across Europe
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of a “tipping point” in the fight against…
Saudi Arabia: UN rights expert welcomes ‘positive first step’ toward détente in Gulf
Saudi Arabia’s action in lifting sanctions against Qatar is a “positive first step” towards normalized…
Callamard calls for ‘clear, explicit and unambiguous standards’ to protect civilian planes during conflicts
Urgent measures are needed to protect civilian aircraft flying over conflict zones or other areas…
Hong Kong: UN human rights office urges immediate release of arrested activists
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) has voiced deep concerns over the arrests of over…
On EU’s doorstep, UN raises alarm for thousands of young migrants sleeping rough
Well over 2,500 migrants and refugees have been forced to sleep rough in Bosnia-Herzegovina for several…
‘An unwanted prison sentence’ for seafarers stuck at home and stranded at sea
Hundreds of thousands of seafarers have been on board for many months longer than planned,…
UN human rights expert ‘cautiously welcomes’ UK court’s refusal to extradite Julian Assange
An independent UN human rights expert has welcomed a British court’s refusal to extradite Wikileaks…
News in Brief 5 January 2021
UNHCR relocates first Ethiopian refugees to new site in Sudan UN appeals to spoilers in…
WHO chief begins 2021 with plea for ‘less politicking’ over health
In a race to “save lives, livelihoods and end this pandemic”, the head of the…
FROM THE FIELD: Weathering a tourist downturn in Kyrgyzstan
The residents of a small traditional village high in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan in Central…
FAO Podcast – The UN’s FAO at 75: A world of plenty?
In this second podcast from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) marking…
News in Brief 4 January 2021
Attack on Niger villagers leaves 100 dead, UN chief urges justice for victims Killing of…
World Braille Day highlights importance of accessible information
The United Nations is commemorating World Braille Day, on Monday, highlighting the importance of the…
Make 2021 ‘safer, healthier world for children’, UNICEF chief urges
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday that more than 371,500 children would be…
UN health agency clears COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use
To speed up access to COVID-19 vaccinations in the developing world, on the eve of…
Iran execution of child offender breaks international law: UN rights office
The execution of an Iranian man for a crime allegedly committed when he was 16…
Argentina: ‘Ground-breaking’ new abortion law crucial to ending gender discrimination – UN experts
The year drew to a close in Argentina with “a ground-breaking law” that legalizes abortions…
The virus that shut down the world: the path to a vaccine
Vaccines that protect against COVID-19 have been developed in record time over the year but,…
First Person: Vietnamese man finds ‘true voice’ in gay community
A Vietnamese man has told the UN he has found his ‘true voice’ in the…