Interviews

Syrian civilians still have a strong need for support from the international community, including protection from gender-based violence and other safety challenges, Panos Moumtzis, UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, said on Wednesday.

He was speaking on the eve of a UN-backed conference on supporting the future of Syria and the region, at which existing and potential donors will be asked to fund an $8.8 billion plan to cover the needs of Syrians affected by the conflict, as well as communities hosting them.

Joyce Msuya, acting Executive Director of UN Environment (UNEP), has expressed her sorrow at the death of UN staff travelling to the UN Environment Assembly on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302, which crashed on Sunday, killing everyone on board.

International Women’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women worldwide and to shine a light on persistent gender inequality.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), women represent 45 per cent of the total agricultural labor force, but they are denied equal access to economic and social opportunities.

The two main reasons for a significant drop in food production in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) are climate change and international sanctions, Tapan Mishra UN Resident Coordination in DPRK, told UN News on Thursday.

Mr. Mishra was at UN Headquarters in New York to meet with representatives of donor, and potential donor, countries, to appeal for an increase in funding for food aid and health assistance.

Concerned about legislative developments over the non-medical use of cannabis around the world, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) warned on Tuesday that “poorly regulated medical cannabis programmes” could allow supplies to be diverted illegally for purely recreational use, harming not helping users.

That’s one of the warnings contained in the INCB’s annual report, which is calling on governments to do more to ensure pain relief and other medicine is available to all those in need.

As well as starring in several high-profile films and TV shows, in particular as Vincent Chase in the long-running show Entourage, Adrian Grenier has spent many years advocating for environmental and social causes.

In recognition of his work, which includes founding the Lonely Whale foundation to protect the ocean environment, Mr. Grenier was named a UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador in 2018.

Education is recognized the world over as a core driver of development and improved jobs prospects, but for migrants, even those who have the legal right to reside in a new country, getting access to a classroom can be an uphill struggle.

For many young migrants in the UK, the idea of going to university is almost an impossible dream, because they are charged “overseas student” fees, which can be around double those of “home” students.

A UN-appointed probe into violence in Gaza last year in which more than 180 Palestinian protesters were killed – including 35 children - said on Thursday that there was “no justification” for Israel to shoot protesters with live ammunition.

In an interview with UN News’s Daniel Johnson, Sara Hossain, Member of the Commission of Inquiry, discusses the report’s main findings.

The slow progress of achieving gender equality in the workplace is “almost a joke,” Lise Kingo, head of the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, said in an interview with UN News.

Ms. Kingo pointed to many positive moves and best practices now followed by some large corporations, but spoke frankly about the many difficulties still encountered by working women, including recent signs of a growing backlash and resistance to gender equality.

Anna Falth, who manages the Women’s Empowerment Principles, thinks 2019 be a tipping point for improving gender equality in the workplace.

The Principles are an initiative from UN Women and the UN Global Compact, to help companies stamp out sexual harassment and abuse, and improve career prospects for women.