Interviews

Amin Awad, UN Assistant Secretary-General Crisis Coordinator for Ukraine.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Cause for ‘optimism’ that Ukraine war can end, as UN humanitarians prepare for harsh winter

2 June 2022
Interviews

There is room for optimism that the war in Ukraine will end, but meanwhile, the UN is planning how best to protect millions of civilians through the harsh winter that begins in just a few months’ time.

That’s according to Crisis Coordinator for Ukraine, Amin Awad, speaking exclusively to UN News, marking the 100 days since the 24 February Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Abdelmonem Makki, began by asking Mr. Awad if he thought the fighting could end anytime soon.

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10'14"
Daria Yelisieienko from Kharkiv, Ukraine, attends the ceremony to mark the International Day of UN Peacekeepers at The UN Geneva.
UN Geneva

Blue helmets offer us hope, says budding Ukrainian peacekeeper

31 May 2022
Interviews

When your country is at war, chances are you might have other priorities than attending an event at the UN that promotes peace. 

But that’s not the case for Ukrainian teenager Daria Yelisieienko, who travelled all the way from her war-torn country this week, to show her support for United Nations peacekeepers everywhere.  She spoke to UN News's Daniel Johnson in Geneva.

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3'6"
The shallow waters of Mayotte Island in the Indian Ocean.
© Ocean Image Bank/Gaby Barathieu

Civil society calls for ambition at UN Ocean Conference

30 May 2022
Interviews

Ocean and global climate are intrinsically linked – and if the “right decisions are made at the UN Ocean Conference, the Ocean will be a big part of Portugal’s future”. 

That’s the view of Samuel Collins, a project manager at the Oceano Azul Foundation in Lisbon. 

The organization plays a big role in ocean literacy, aiming to educate a “blue generation”, works on ocean conservation, and also supports the development of startups creating products and services with positive environmental impact. 

UN News’s Ana Carmo talked to Sam Collins, and started by asking him about the expectations for the upcoming UN Ocean Conference that will take place in the Portuguese capital at the end of June. 

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14'43"
Island of Porto Santo Biosphere Reserve, Madeira, Portugal.
© UNESCO/Pedro Menezes

Recover the ocean and beat plastic pollution

27 May 2022
Interviews

From conserving marine biodiversity to awareness raising and seafood consumption, Associação Natureza Portugal, or ANP, runs several projects that are contributing to a healthier ocean. 

Ahead of the UN Ocean Conference, which is taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, at the end of June, UN News’ Ana Carmo spoke on the phone with ANP’s Director of Conservation and Policy, Catarina Grilo, and Nuno Barros, a specialist in Ocean and Fisheries.

She starts by asking them how co-managing small-scale fisheries can contribute to ocean health.

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14'1"
A woman UN peacekeeper attends a training exercise in Malakal, South Sudan.
UNMISS\Janet Adongo

Zimbabwean peacekeeper honoured for gender advocacy in South Sudan

26 May 2022
Interviews

Governments should recruit more women into their national forces so that they can serve at UN field operations, the recipient of the 2021 Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award has said. 

Major Winnet Zharare, who's from Zimbabwe, served at the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) where she championed  gender parity within her own ranks, but also among local military counterparts and in host communities. 

She spoke to UN News's Ben Malor. 

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8'52"
In Kharkiv, Ukraine, a man places his hand to the window of a train car as he says goodbye to his wife and children before they depart on a special evacuation train.
© UNICEF/Ashley Gilbertson VII Photo

Why cash is the best way to help Ukrainians in need

18 May 2022
Interviews

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, the consequences of the war have been devastating for many millions of people in then country.

Many of those forced to flee left behind friends and communities, their homes, belongings, and jobs.

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5'9"
World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Professor Petteri Taalas speaking at the launch of the UN agency’s flagship State of the Global Climate 2021 report in Geneva.
UN Geneva/Nathalie Minard

We have the tools to curb global warming: UN weather agency chief

18 May 2022
Interviews

The head of the UN weather agency, WMO, has told UN News that with the cost of renewable energy falling, and new investment from the private sector, we have the tools to limit global warming to the globally-agreed limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

WMO chief Petteri Taalas, was speaking on Wednesday, as the State of the Climate 2021 report showed that new records were set last year for four out of seven key climate change indicators, despite some progress in recent years.

Daniel Johnson in Geneva asked Mr. Taalas to outline the report’s main findings.

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6'28"
A man washing his hands, one of the preventive measures to be protected from COVID-19 infection.
Unsplash/Fran Jacquier

Impact of COVID-19 is likely to be with us for a decade, experts warn

17 May 2022
Interviews

Two and a half years into the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be tempting to think that for many of us, the worst is over - the reality is that the fallout from the coronavirus could last a decade, and not only in the health sector, scientists have said in a new UN-backed report.

To ensure that we’re better prepared for the next global shock, governments everywhere need to take stock of the vulnerabilities that have been exposed nationally, and internationally, as UN News’ Daniel Johnson's been hearing from a group of experts in the field, including the head of the UN's disaster risk reduction office.

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10'33"
Hellmut Lagos is chairing the first open-ended working group on reducing space threats at the UN in Geneva.
UNODA/Michael Spies

Space talks seek to bring global security into their orbit

11 May 2022
Interviews

As if there weren’t enough problems to worry about down here on earth, there is a growing number of threats to global peace in outer space too, which is why UN-led talks are underway all this week in Geneva to find common ground on cosmic security.

Chairing the first open-ended working group on reducing space threats, veteran Chilean diplomat Hellmut Lagos explained to UN News’s Daniel Johnson why space matters to us all, and what Member States are most concerned about.

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8'26"
Matilda Bogner, Head of the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, at UN Geneva.
UN Geneva/Siyao Yang

Ukrainian victims share harrowing testimonies of war

10 May 2022
Interviews

As the war in Ukraine grinds on, the work of UN investigators has continued, with the harrowing task of gathering testimonies and evidence of potential war crimes.

To date, the deaths of more than 3,300 civilians have been painstakingly confirmed by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, which readily admits that the actual number will likely be many thousands more.

In an interview with UN News, the Head of the mission, Matilda Bogner, gives an overview of the investigation’s progress since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. 

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8'17"