Interviews

Although some people believe migrants arrive in countries to “steal” local jobs and take advantage of social services, these perceptions are not based in reality.

That’s the opinion of the UN Special Representative for International Migration, Louise Arbour, citing data showing the economic benefits these workers bring to the countries where they’ve settled and their own homelands.

The international community is in the process of devising a global agreement that fosters safe, regular and orderly migration, to be adopted next year.

Four years of insecurity and upheaval in South Sudan have had a “staggering impact on children,” putting an entire generation at risk.

That’s according to Childhood under Attack, a report launched on Friday by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Volunteering with the United Nations has taught a Kenyan lawyer the value of interacting with people from around the world: something that she says “opens your mind” and allows you to grow both personally and professionally.

Ann Kamunya is currently serving with the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, in Turkey, where she interviews asylum-seekers.

Ann trained as a lawyer and is an advocate for Kenya’s high court, but has had a passion for volunteering since her university days.

The number of discarded laptops, mobile phones, televisions and other electronic items worldwide weighs as much as 1.2 million heavy-duty trucks lined up from New York to Bangkok and back.

And while this e-waste, as it’s known, contains around $55 billion worth of gold, silver, copper and other valuable material, only about 20 per cent was recycled in 2016.

International pledges to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) stand at a “likely” record high, but due to “overwhelming” demand, some crises have seen their funding cut.

That’s according to Chief of CERF, Lisa Doughten, who said after last Friday’s annual pledging conference for 2018 at UN Headquarters that a total of $383 million had been registered for next year.

Scientific advances unforeseen in the 1975 international treaty outlawing biological weapons, have made it more important than ever that the global community remains committed to addressing the potential threat they pose.

That’s according to Dr Tom Inglesby from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who’s been taking part in a meeting on disarmament in Geneva.

The international community needs to do much more to agree on practical solutions that will help the world’s 22.5 million refugees, the UN said on Tuesday.

In its push for a Global Compact on the issue, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is hosting a two-day Dialogue in Geneva.

Human rights are the foundation of peaceful societies, yet they are under attack in many countries globally, according to the deputy UN human rights chief, Andrew Gilmour.

The “danger, intimidation and reprisals faced by courageous human rights defenders” are a visible manifestation of this backlash, he stressed.

Theatre, music, and other creative forms of artistic expression are a big help for persons with disabilities who may struggle to express their inner-most emotions.

That’s one of the ideas that motivated Dario D’Ambrosi to bring a version of the ancient Greek tragedy, Medea, to the United Nations in New York, on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

It can take up to 1,000 years to form a single centimetre of soil, which is why “soil preservation is essential for food security and to ensure our sustainable future.”

That’s the view of Yusuf Yigini, Soil Mapping Specialist with the Global Soil Partnership Secretariat at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).