Migration in Africa is good for the continent and “good for the world” as a catalyst for job and wealth creation, a UN expert economist said on Thursday.

Reforming how the UN approaches making sustainable development a reality, will allow the world body to transform a “cacophony” into a “symphony”.  That’s the pledge from Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Thursday, as the General Assembly adopts a landmark resolution the UN chief says will place sustainable development “at the heart” of everything the Organization does.

Matt Wells spoke to UN deputy chief, Ms. Mohammed, ahead of the adoption of the resolution.

Seven out of 10 people in some countries are still unaware that smoking causes fatal diseases, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

For this edition of our podcast series UN & Africa, we’re in Mali, joining UN chief António Guterres and other top officials to mark the 70th year of peacekeeping, and honour the dedication and sacrifice of those who put their lives on the line to make the world a more secure place. 

Energy, dedication and stamina are the hallmarks of effective peacekeeping in world hotspots that are “afflicted by conflict.”

That’s the view of Abu Jeing, a Human rights Officer from The Gambia, working with the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

Since 1948, UN peacekeepers have supported countries emerging from conflict.

Major General Tim Ford of Australia, a former UN military adviser, spoke to Julia Dean about the blue helmets’ 70 years of service and sacrifice.

How good is the United Nations at promoting peace? That’s the subject of a book that’s just been published by the UN cultural agency,  UNESCO, in collaboration with Abat Oliba University in Barcelona. Nada Al-Nashif, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, speaks to Daniel Johnson of UN News in Geneva.

For this latest UN and Africa podcast, as the UN chief António Guterres unveils a new disarmament agenda, we’ll hear from a former UN staff member who watched the West African country rid itself of the menace of deadly battlefield weapons.

It’s time for the United Nations to play a bigger role in disarmament, according to UN chief António Guterres, calling for concrete, practical actions to promote peaceful conflict resolution. Among those actions is to maximize the benefits of “frontier technology”. Daniel Johnson discusses the various ways that the UN is looking to incorporate such technology in its disarmament agenda.

The hydraulic extraction of natural gas — or "fracking" — produces cleaner energy than oil and coal, but it’s not necessarily in the best interests of the world’s poorest countries, says a new UNCTAD report, which describes natural gas as a “bridge fuel” for States aiming to move to renewable energy sources. Janvier Nkurunziza, UNCTAD’s Chief of Commodity Research and Analysis, talked to Daniel Johnson about the report’s findings.