Global

Brigadier General Zewdu Kiros Gebrekidan, an Ethiopian national, was recently appointed as Deputy Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).
UN Photo/Lulu Gao

INTERVIEW: Female peacekeepers connect better with women and children – UNISFA Deputy Force Commander

31 October 2016
Peace and Security

16 years ago today, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution (S/RES/1325) on women, peace and security, which has since come to be famously associated with the number 1325 within the UN system.

The tramway service between Rabat and Salé in Morocco.
World Bank/Arne Hoel

Achieving Global Goals hinges on 'determined pursuit' of sustainable transport – UN expert report

28 October 2016
Economic Development

Greater investment in greener, more efficient and sustainable transport can save trillions of dollars and help achieve the global sustainability goals, according to a United Nations report launched today that provides 10 recommendations on how resources can be redirected to the transport sector.

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) – also known as sheep and goat plague – has spread to some 70 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, causing annual damage estimated at $1.4 to $2.1 billion.
FAO/Marco Longari

UN agricultural agency launches programme to eradicate deadly goat disease

28 October 2016
Health

The United Nations agricultural agency today launched the first phase of a new, 15-year global programme to eradicate a highly contagious viral animal disease affecting more than 70 countries in Africa, Middle East and Asia, which account for about 80 per cent of the world’s sheep and goats and where millions of families depend heavily on these animals for nutrition and livelihoods.

Special Adviser Karen AbuZayd prior to the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants, addressing large movements of refugees and migrants. Photo/Amanda Voisard

INTERVIEW: New global compact 'should make a difference' in lives of refugees and migrants – outgoing UN Special Adviser

28 October 2016
Migrants and Refugees

The adoption of what has been dubbed the “New York Declaration” should make a difference in the lives of refugees and migrants, an outgoing UN Special Adviser has underscored.

At the Bandeu checkpoint in Nepal, inspectors and a police constable approach a bus to look for potential victims of child trafficking onboard (file photo).
OCHA/Tilak Pokharel

Global treaties provide blueprint to ‘seal cracks’ in legal regime on human trafficking – UN anti-crime chief

27 October 2016
Human Rights

Tackling human trafficking is not a simple or trivial pursuit, the head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said today, urging States to implement all provisions of the so-called ‘Palermo protocol,’ the nearly universal UN treaty that contains a ‘blueprint’ for successfully preventing and supressing the scourge while punishing perpetrators.

Security Council Adopts Resolution on Aviation Security and Safety.Meeting at the level of ministers for foreign affairs, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2309 (2016) on aviation security and safety.
UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

INTERVIEW: To be sustainable, cities should be more connected, inclusive and dynamic – ICAO chief

24 October 2016
Economic Development

A Memorandum of Understanding to enhance cooperation between urban development and aviation was signed in Quito, Ecuador, during the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development.

António Guterres, Secretary-General-designate, speaks to journalists at the General Assembly stakeout following his appointment by acclamation to serve as the next Secretary-General of the United Nations.
UN Photo/Kim Haughton

INTERVIEW: 'A surge in the diplomacy for peace would be my priority' – UN Secretary-General-designate

19 October 2016
UN Affairs

On 13 October 2016, the UN General Assembly appointed, by acclamation, the former Foreign Minister of Portugal, António Guterres, as the next United Nations Secretary-General, to succeed Ban Ki-moon when he steps down on 31 December.

Peter Thomson, President of the seventy-first session of the General Assembly, speaks to journalists, following the opening meeting of the session.
UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

INTERVIEW: 'Implementation of the 17 SDGs is the core of my work’ – UN General Assembly President Peter Thomson

19 October 2016
SDGs

On 13 June 2016, the United Nations General Assembly elected Peter Thomson of Fiji to serve as President of its seventy-first session, which runs from September 2016 to September 2017. Mr. Thomson, who had had been serving as the Permanent Representative of Fiji to the United Nations until his appointment, announced that the theme of the 71st session will be ‘The Sustainable Development Goals: A Universal Push to Transform our World.’

Kayano F. Nwanze president of IFAD visiting Bishambarpur, Sunamganj, Bangladesh.
IFAD

INTERVIEW: 'If we don’t act now, the future will not be in our hands' – UN rural development agency chief

17 October 2016
SDGs

As the world marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, one man who has spent many years working to end poverty among the world’s poorest populations is calling for action now, by investing more in the rural poor.

A view of Busan, the Republic of Korea’s second largest city after Seoul.
UN Photo/Kibae Park

HABITAT III: UN conference to set new urban development agenda creating sustainable, equitable cities for all

14 October 2016
SDGs

A major global conference, aiming to set a ‘New Urban Agenda,’ which, in the words of the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, will “help us to rethink how we plan, manage and live in cities,” begins this weekend, in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito.