Interviews

Journalists have been covering key moments in the history of the United Nations for as long as it has existed.

On Monday, a new photography exhibition was officially opened in Geneva that celebrates their work over the last 70 years or so.

In an interview with UN News’s Daniel Johnson, Nina Larson, President of the Association of UN Correspondents in Geneva (ACANU), describes what it’s like writing the “first draft of history” day in, and day out.

Bees, soil, trees – even tiny organisms we can’t even see – all play a vital role in producing the world’s food. Yet, this biodiversity, which supports our food and agriculture systems, is under stress.

That’s according to a new report by the United Nations Food Organization (FAO), which finds that 33 per cent of fish stocks are estimated to be overfished and bee colony losses are on the rise – all factors that endanger the world’s future security.

Thousands of languages are under threat amid a lack of linguistic diversity on the internet, but technology can keep them alive, the chairperson of a leading body of humanitarian translators said on Thursday - International Mother Language Day. 

Thursday, 21 February is International Mother Language Day – a day set aside to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

It is estimated that every two weeks a language goes extinct. But why try to protect these languages?  What is the real significance of this Day?

UN News’s Paulina Greer posed these questions to the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN Ambassador Masud Bin Momen.

The nuclear arms race “is back on”, the head of the Conference on Disarmament has warned. UN News’s Daniel Johnson spoke to Michael Møller who is the Secretary-General of the Conference, the only multilateral venue for disarmament discussions.

­In the interview, Mr. Møller explains why the forum has been deadlocked for more than two decades and what this could mean for the future of the world. 

The UN’s position on climate action is clear: investing in a sustainable, low carbon future and dropping the “business-as-usual approach”, is a good bet for business and government alike, leading to trillions of dollars in economic gains, and millions of new jobs.

Rapid action is needed in every region of the world to get countries back on track in the global fight against measles, amid a projected near-doubling in the number of cases, since 2017.

That’s according to Dr Katherine O’Brien from the World Health Organization (WHO), who stressed that the existing double-dose vaccination has proved to be extremely effective – and safe - since it was introduced 50 years ago.

Preventing irreversible hearing loss from listening to loud music is possible, the World Health Organization (WHO) says, in an appeal for new measures to help people protect themselves when they use their mp3 device.

In an interview with UN News’s Daniel Johnson, Dr Shelly Chadha from WHO’s Prevention of Deafness and Hearing Loss department, outlined the agency’s latest recommendations.

From its base in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, Radio Miraya – the station run by the UN Mission in the country, UNMISS – is tasked with promoting dialogue, tolerance and peace – the three interlinked themes of World Radio Day 2019, marked on 13 February.

Basic rules such as “keeping your hands clean and cooking food thoroughly” contribute to food safety, but when someone is living in a place with poor sanitation or where food insecurity is a reality, “it’s hard to make good choices”.

That’s according to David Massey, Communications Specialist at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Every year worldwide 420,000 people die, and 600 million people fall ill as a result of food contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxins or chemicals.