Over half of all UN staff work in field duty stations, some of which have “extraordinary stressors” that need to be faced every day.
That’s from Fabrizio Hochschild, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination, who spent 30 years working around the world as a humanitarian with the Organization, and has battled with mental health issues himself.
In an era when a single cybercriminal can sow chaos, taking whole countries offline, everybody in the world with a smartphone in their pocket, has “a role to play” in the fight against the growing scourge.
That’s the view of Neil Walsh, chief of the cybercrime team which is part of the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime.
He says it’s vital for all countries around the world to keep talking to each other about cybersecurity, whether they are overtly or covertly engaged in their own national security operations online.
Millions are trafficked around the world each year, and more than 70 per cent of them are women, according to UN figures.
In an interview with UN News, Hilary Gbedemah, chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) says that poverty, male impunity and forced migration are just a few of the factors boosting the numbers.
What does it mean to be stateless?
It’s a question that’s being discussed all this week in Geneva, at an event organized by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) to help millions of people without official papers, often through no fault of their own.
After her story was highlighted by UNCHR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett during Monday’s session, UN News’s Daniel Johnson caught up with Maha Mamo, who grew up in Lebanon before being given Brazilian nationality.
She started by describing the everyday problems she encountered, living in limbo.
During a three-day mission to Djibouti, Ursula Mueller, the UN’s Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, saw for herself the huge impact that extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts, are having on the country.
On Friday, the last day of the visit, Ms. Mueller spoke with Saviano Abreu, from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) about the many humanitarian challenges facing the people of Djibouti.
It’s comfortable to endorse ideas similar to our own, but what’s the value of communicating between, rather than simply within communities?
Editor of the BBC’s Crossing Divides multiplatform season, Emily Kasriel, was at UN Headquarters during high level week, and says that during times of charged conversation, the media can play a pivotal role in healing divisions.
Two teenagers from opposite sides of the world made a special trip to the UN in Geneva recently to help mark 30 years of the Convention of the Rights of the Child – an international treaty that protects children from discrimination, violence and neglect.
More important, perhaps, Maria, from Mexico, and Zycrel, from the Philippines, have also been advising UN rights experts on a “child-friendly” version of the Convention, too.
They’ve been telling UN News’s Daniel Johnson why it’s important that young activists from all over the world, make sure their voices are heard.
The UN Industrial Development Organization, UNIDO, works towards poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability, and that mandate is crucial to the battle against global warming.
That’s the view of Director General Li Yong, who spoke to UN News’s Maoqi Li, to discuss a range of issues from tackling climate change, managing the private sector’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and UNIDO’s efforts to foster “digital infrastructure” across Africa.
As estimated 260 million children are not receiving an education, and the crisis is hampering their access to vital life skills and the jobs market. Leaders at the non-profit, TheirWorld, have committed to closing the education gap.
The organization is bringing visibility to the scale of the global education crisis through an immersive installation, the Infinity Classroom – a mirrored room which highlights the huge number of unfilled seats in schools across the world.
When it comes to finding out about the latest science on global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – with its 195 Members – is a leading international authority.
According to the IPCC’s latest report, sea levels are rising faster than expected, while many of the world’s smaller glaciers could largely disappear by the end of this century.
