The world should not have been “too surprised” by this year’s migrant and refugee crisis.
That’s according to the Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), William Lacy Swing.
Mr Swing said that all the warning signs were there that a crisis involving the mass movement of people could soon be at hand in Europe and elsewhere.
The terrorist organization ISIL has used the internet and social media to recruit at least 30,000 foreign fighters from more than 100 countries to fight in Syria and Iraq.
That’s according to a top UN official, speaking Thursday at an unprecedented event, exploring the exploitation of new technologies by terrorist groups.
Veronica Reeves brings us the story.
Duration: 2'28"
The level of suffering is outpacing funding for the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund, or CERF.
Donors from around the world met on Thursday, the 10th anniversary of the fund, for a High-Level Pledging Conference.
UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, said that the CERF remained a “vital tool” for helping the world’s most vulnerable people cope with unforeseen disasters.
The CERF can deploy funds in a matter of hours to deal with events such as earthquakes, or worsening conflicts.
Conflict and natural disasters are pushing an unprecedented number of people from their homes, according to the High Commissioner of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
Speaking at the agency’s annual high level dialogue on protection challenges, António Guterres said from the Middle East to Africa, wars and conflict had resulted in a record number of displaced people.
Meanwhile, in parts of Asia, floods, storms, cyclones and droughts were destroying more and more peoples’ homes and livelihoods.
Every family in Tunisia will have access to the internet in their home “within five years.”
That’s according to Noomane Fehri, the north African country’s Minister of Communication Technologies and Digital Economy.
He was at UN headquarters on Wednesday, attending the World Summit on the Information Society.
Isabelle Dupuis asked him why Tunisia was investing so heavily in technology.
Duration: 4’34”
The security situation in Afghanistan has worsened over the last year, although humanitarian access has improved in the country.
The UN’s top humanitarian official in Afghanistan has said that 2015 saw a marked increase in violence, which has forced an estimated 200,000 Afghans from their homes.
Veronica Reeves spoke with Mark Bowden, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan and asked him how things have changed over the last year in the country.
Duration: 2’23”
The people of South Sudan “are suffering”; that’s according to Ellen Løj, the head of the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
Ms Løj was speaking ahead of Tuesday’s Security Council meeting, during which the mandate of UNMISS was extended through next July.
The country, which only gained its independence in 2011, has been plagued by conflict for nearly two years now; during which time thousands have been killed, and millions displaced from their homes.
Syrian refugees are continuing to arrive in the United States, despite public fears and political opposition.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says that around 1,200 of them have been resettled from Jordan to the US this year.
Matthew Wells reports on the hopes of one Syrian restaurant owner who’s bound for the state of Tennessee this month, together with his family, as fears fuelled by some US politicians, grow.
Duration: 3’27”
The UN remains “hopeful” the political process can still move ahead in Western Sahara, nearly 25 years after the peacekeeping mission was authorized there.
Western Sahara was administered by Spain until 1976, but then claimed by neighbouring countries; Morocco and Mauritania.
The UN Mission in Western Sahara (MINURSO) was established in 1991 to keep the peace in the region.
May Yaacoub spoke to Kim Bolduc, head of MINURSO, following her recent briefing to the Security Council.
Countries in the Pacific are looking at how to get more women into legislative positions, a process that the UN is supporting.
Just five per cent of parliamentarians in the region are women.
They face a number of barriers in getting into politics.
