Interviews

UNESCO actively promotes the safety of journalists and those who produce journalism.

Unsplash/Engin Akyurt

Attacks on journalists covering elections ‘a very scary trend’: UNESCO

2 November 2023

With more than 80 countries set to hold elections next year, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is urging governments to ensure that journalists are protected throughout the entire period leading up to the vote.

UNESCO data reveals that journalists have been attacked, and some even killed, while providing coverage throughout the electoral cycle. Recent years have seen some 759 attacks, and five deaths.

Al Shifa hospital is being used as shelter for displaced families in Gaza.

Gaza: Children ‘paying the heaviest price for this conflict’

1 November 2023

Interviews

More than 3,500 children have been killed and over 6,800 injured in Gaza during the current Israel-Palestine crisis according to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

UNICEF official Salim Oweis emphasized in an interview with UN News that beyond the numbers, those are lives, dreams and futures lost because of the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip.

He told UN News’s Abdelmonem Makki that it was the children who are “facing the worst of times” in the enclave and called again for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

Mr. Adnan Abu Hasna, Media Advisor at UNRWA in his visit to Food Distribution Center in a Refugee Camp in Gaza.

Ziad Taleb

‘Thank God we’re still alive’: UNRWA staffers keep working under fire

31 October 2023

Interviews

The Spokesperson for the UN Palestine refugee agency (UNRWA) in Gaza has seen his own home partially destroyed and family members injured as Israel continues its assault and bombardment.

Adnan Abu Hasna, told UN News on Tuesday that his son, brother and many other family members have been injured following displacement from the north, driving home the reality that nowhere is safe inside the enclave. The death toll for UNRWA workers since 7 October so far stands at 67.

Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, presenting her report to the Human Rights Council

UNTV CH

‘Political and humanitarian catastrophe’ unfolding in Gaza: Rights expert

29 October 2023

Interviews

“Genocidal calls’ in Israel have become dominant as Israel’s assault on Gaza continues, the UN independent human rights expert for the Occupied Palestinian Territory warned in an interview earlier this week.

Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Resident Coordinator in Ethiopia

UN News

Ethiopians working to make lasting peace a reality

27 October 2023

Interviews

The recent conflict in Ethiopia can often make people forget about the country’s vibrancy, robust economic growth and burgeoning young population, according to the top UN official there.

UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov said citizens across Ethiopia have voiced support for the 2022 peace agreement that ended two years of fighting between Government troops and forces in Tigray.

Award-winning director and producer, McG talks to UN News about the future of AI in the film industry.

Wonderland Sound and Vision/Brianna

There’s no going back with AI, says Hollywood director McG

26 October 2023

Interviews

Artificial Inteligence (AI) has become increasingly present in our daily lives, and as a result, a potential threat to the “human touch” that is so essential to the visual arts.

That’s according to award-winning director and producer Joseph McGinty Nichols (McG), who’s been talking to UN News’s Pauline Batista about the evolution of AI in film.

He says from Scorsese to Taylor Swift, AI will usher in a new era of “hyper personalized entertainment” – for better or worse.

Students at a primary school in eastern Nigeria prepare await the beginning of class.

Draft treaty hopes to enshrine the right to development globally

25 October 2023

Interviews

A draft treaty on the right to development should give extra momentum to global efforts to achieve a more just and equitable and future for all people and the planet.

That’s the opinion of Zamir Akram, a former Ambassador of Pakistan and chair-rapporteur of the Working Group that developed the text. It upholds everyone’s right to decent work, education, healthcare and housing, for example, which are all crucial for peace and progress.

Tarik Jasarevic, WHO spokesperson, during an interview with UN News.

UN New/Abdelmonem Makki

WHO calls for safe humanitarian access and fuel deliveries to Gaza

25 October 2023

Interviews

The first trucks carrying medical supplies provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) arrived in Gaza this weekend, but more aid is still desperately needed, Spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said on Wednesday.

Speaking from Cairo, he said the UN agency continues to call for safe humanitarian access – both for aid deliveries and for the workers distributing these supplies.

Stephen Rodriques, UNDP Afghanistan Resident Representative

UNDP Photo

Afghanistan quake tragedy reflects disempowerment of women: UNDP

24 October 2023

Interviews

The fact women and children accounted for almost 90 per cent of those killed was reflective of the social norms and cultural restrictions in remote villages where men impose restrictions on women.

Alia Zaki, WFP Palestine Head of Communications

UN News

Humanitarian aid ‘nowhere near enough’ in Gaza says WFP

23 October 2023

Interviews

The World Food Programme (WFP) says the situation in Gaza is “catastrophic,” with virtually no access to essential supplies for over two weeks as the Israeli bombardment continues.

Water and food remain in very short supply and unless more fuel is allowed in, the remaining hospitals will be forced to shut down in just a few days.

WFP Palestine Head of Communications, Alia Zaki, spoke with UN News’s Khaled Mohamed about the agency’s priorities and the need for a continuous supply of aid across the Rafah frontier with Egypt.