UN Interviews

Intense heatwaves like the one that blasted the US Midwest and northeast recently are likely to be increasingly common because of human-induced climate change, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.

As if that warning wasn’t bad enough, climate scientist Alvaro Silva at the WMO told me that dangerous pollutants like ozone are also common features of extended periods of heat.

Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths told UN News in an exclusive interview on Wednesday that UN humanitarians remain deeply committed to delivering aid across war-torn Gaza, despite speculation that operations could be suspended due to safety concerns.

The UN relief chief denied that any “ultimatum” had been given by the Israeli military, telling Daniel Johnson the UN would continue negotiating with all combatants to get aid to those in need, safely and securely.

The Colombian peace process ended decades of conflict with the FARC, but one unintended consequence may have been an increase in cocaine production.

According to the 2024 World Drug Report, a major annual study from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, prices dropped as more groups became involved in the cocaine trade, and the post-war environment helped make it possible to industrialize production.

The UN independent expert on torture said on Monday that the reported plea deal with the United States that has led to the release of Julian Assange “is a very good outcome” to the long running case.

The WikiLeaks founder and whistleblower has been fighting extradition from the United Kingdom to the US for the past five years and has reportedly agreed to plead guilty to one count of violating the US Espionage Act, without serving additional prison time.

Around four in 10 countries where conflicts have ended return to a state of war within a decade, which is why investing in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration is crucial to sustaining peace.

When the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), released its annual report on global trends in June, it showed, for the twelfth year in a row, record numbers of displacement, around 120 million people.

Conflict remains the key factor behind the figures, and the report noted that the climate crisis is often a driver of that conflict.

On the ground, in the countries particularly affected, the UN is working closely with governments and civil society to support development, in the face of these problems, so that people can lead peaceful lives and no longer need to leave home.

War-torn Sudan is facing a looming famine and the world’s largest displacement crisis as the conflict between rival militaries that started last April grinds on and the situation deteriorates on the ground. UN News’s Khaled Mohamed spoke with Justin Brady, who leads the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the country.

More than 60 elections are taking place in 2024 and, whilst 90 per cent of people say they want to live in a democracy, many are voting for people and systems that are restricting their rights.

The UN has expressed concern about this “democracy paradox”, and that fact that some governments and governance systems are becoming increasingly repressive. 

Conor Lennon from UN News discusses the issue with Sarah Lister, the Head of Governance at the UN Development Programme, and Iain Walker, the CEO of newDemocracy.

Each year on 20 June, the world celebrates World Refugee Day with forced displacement surging to historic new levels across the globe, according to the 2024 flagship Global Trends Report from refugee agency UNHCR.

UN News’s Pauline Batista sat down with UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Mary Maker from South Sudan, at UN Headquarters in New York, who discussed the importance of education and inclusion for refugees to ensure the mantra “leave no one behind” becomes a reality – especially in refugee camps around the world.

The resilience of women-led organizations to continue working across Gaza to benefit their communities is “an inspiration”, the Special Representative for UN Women in the region said on Wednesday in an interview with UN News.

Maryse Guimond from the Palestine Office of the UN agency advocating for gender equality described her first mission to the war-stricken enclave since before hostilities began and outlined how they are collaborating with other agencies, providing resources suck as food, dignity kits and psychosocial support.