As the world observes the International Day for People of African Descent on 31 August, progress on eradicating racism is mixed and the road to equality and justice remains long.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued legal guidance on Monday outlining measures governments must take to protect children from climate change.
It cements the connection between children’s rights and the environmental crisis, marking a major step forward in ensuring they live in a clean, healthy and sustainable world.
UN News’s Bessie Du spoke to Āniva Clarke, a 17-year-old climate activist from Samoa and member of the Children’s Advisory Team supporting the consultation process.
The UN Mission in Mali, MINUSMA, has begun its gradual withdrawal from the country at the request of Mali’s transitional authorities which is mandated by the Security Council to be complete by the last day of the year.
Shortly before the Council met to discuss the latest situation in Mali on Monday, the head of MINUSMA, El-Ghassim Wane, spoke exclusively to UN News.
In his interview with Jerome Bernard, he had a powerful message for the Malian people: “MINUSMA is leaving, but the UN is staying”.
Millions of people in Niger could fall further into severe food insecurity due to the impact of sanctions in the wake of the 26 July power grab, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
Some 4.3 million people in the country need assistance, including 3.3 million facing severe food insecurity. Another 7.3 million were already facing moderate food insecurity prior to the crisis and are at risk of falling deeper into hunger.
The UN is standing by the people of Niger as border closures increasingly impact the movement of lifesaving supplies into the country which has been wracked by the fallout from last month’s military takeover.
That’s according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in the country, Stefano Savi, who issued a plea for restrictions to end, allowing aid stranded at logistics hubs such as polio and measles vaccines, into the landlocked West African nation.
The parents of an American teenager killed in one of the nation’s worst school shootings are hoping the international community will do more to end gun violence.
Manuel and Patricia Oliver visited the UN this week for a tour and briefing, part of their cross-country road trip visiting communities affected by mass shootings.
Their son Joaquin, 17, was murdered in Florida’s Parkland high school shooting in February 2018 but lives on through their non-profit Change the Ref, which uses art and non-violent creative confrontation to raise awareness about mass shootings.
Since the beginning of the brutal military showdown in Sudan, 18 aid workers have been killed, while the impact of the war on civilians has been exacerbated by the climate crisis, and major food insecurity.
Humanitarians are having to work under extreme conditions to support refugees and Sudanese civilians, providing often life-saving support.
Young climate advocates are preparing to tell leaders at a UN summit next month that they are out of options: they must deliver now on ambitious climate action that pushes the world faster towards sustainability and empowers younger generations with the ‘green skills’ that will secure our future.
More than one million barrels of oil have been transferred from a decaying supertanker off war-torn Yemen, averting a major spill in the Red Sea.
The emptying of the FSO Safer marked the culmination of nearly two years of political negotiations, technical planning and fund-raising, against a backdrop of ongoing conflict between Yemeni Government forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and Houthi rebels.
David Gressly, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, has been in the lead on this “very hard process”.
