Interviews

It’s not every day you see a giant inflatable toilet installed in downtown Geneva outside the UN, but that’s what was on view today, in a bid to raise awareness about the fact that more than 890 million people still defecate in the open.

The many problems associated with not having your own place to go are highlighted by the Water Supply and Collaborative Council (WSSCC), which is responsible for bringing this super-size replica to Geneva on World Toilet Day.

Ending intolerance means eliminating one of humanity’s “dark spots,” Sukhdeep Singh Bhogal, better known as YouTube hip-hop artist and musician, L-FRESH THE LION, told UN News on Friday, marking the International Day for Tolerance.

L-FRESH and four other Youtubers from India, Germany, Canada and Sudan are part of the Youtube Creators for Change initiative, which spotlights inspirational creators who use the video platform to foster productive conversations around tough global issues.

From the blast of a gun to a quiet ticking, illicit small arms are being transformed from something deadly into something timely: A wristwatch, made of what’s being dubbed “Humanium” – metal derived from seized illegal firearms.

Humanium is the brainchild of Peter Brune, of the IM Swedish Development Partner organization, who produced the watch in conjunction with TRIWA watch company, short for transforming industry watches.

Farmers in Zimbabwe have already struggled with erratic rainfall and a fragile economy this year, but now they look set to suffer the effects of an El Niño-related drought, UN aid agencies said on Tuesday.

In a bid to help an estimated 3.9 million people who face severe food insecurity between now and April, the World Food Programme (WFP) and partners are stepping up relief to those most in need – particularly those in the southern districts and other smallholders in the west and north of the country.

People in every region of the world who do not have a nationality face a “day-to-day struggle” in accessing basic human rights such as education, healthcare and work, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday.

It’s thought that there are an estimated 12 million stateless people globally, and the UN agency is calling for countries to speed up their efforts to eradicate the problem by 2024, as spokesperson Andrej Mahecic tells UN News’s Daniel Johnson.

The overuse of antibiotics not just for human and animal health but also in food production is leading to an increased resistance of bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites to antimicrobial treatments, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The UN agency says that one person dies every minute from an infection which antibiotics have failed to treat.

Low and middle-income countries have been affected most by what experts have called “superbugs.”

For 19 years, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra has brought together young musicians from Israel and the Arab world, with the aim of promoting peace through dialogue and mutual understanding.

The Orchestra was founded in 1999 by renowned conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim, whose work is recognised by the UN, through his role as a Messenger of Peace.

Following a concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall, Maestro Barenboim visited Secretary-General António Guterres at UN HQ on Friday.

Transnational crime is a growing risk that is posing a major challenge to police forces, including UN Police, and conflict zones provide the opportunity for organized crime to make profits estimated at over $30 billion every year.

During UN Police Week, Conor Lennon from UN News met with Tuesday Reitano, Deputy Director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Crime, which was set up in 2013 to help the UN, and other multilateral organizations, to improve their strategies for combatting this emerging and dangerous phenomenon.

Disarmament affairs are more of a marathon than a sprint, and each year towards the end of October, the UN General Assembly’s First Committee meets to discuss the issue of ridding the world of weapons. 

This year, in an interview with UN News, in-house disarmament guru Michael Spies (UNODA) spelled out the dangerous effect in play of rising “international tensions between the United States and Russia”. 

An authoritative UN rights body has issued potentially far-reaching legal opinions on one of the world’s most important human rights documents: the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).