Global

A group of young people at the Fifth Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations. (file)
UN Photo/Evan Schneider

Youth leaders ready to ‘roll up their sleeves’ and get to work at annual UN forum

29 January 2018
Women

Not content to follow old-school rules to tackle problems like climate change, poverty and inequality, today’s youth – media savvy ‘Millennials’ and the ‘Born in the 90s’ cohort that can’t remember life without the Internet – are using disruptive, new-school innovations to drive change; and they’re heading to the United Nations to talk about building a better world for all.

A mother, displaced with her family, feeds her 18-month-old daughter at a shelter in a village rural Damascus. (file)
WFP/Abeer Etefa

Hunger continues to intensify in conflict zones, UN agencies report to Security Council

29 January 2018
Humanitarian Aid

Food insecurity – or lack of access to enough food – continues to worsen in places torn by conflict, United Nations agencies reported Monday, listing Yemen, South Sudan and Syria among the countries most affected by acute hunger.

People living in the Melia IDP camp, Lake Chad, receiving WFP food. Most of the displaced come from the Lake Chad islands, that have been abandoned because of insecurity.
WFP/Marco Frattini

Bridging gap between relief and development can meet immediate needs, lessen vulnerability – UN chief

28 January 2018
Humanitarian Aid

A surge in conflict-induced needs in Africa and the Middle East, coupled with an increase in climate shocks that pummel the most vulnerable everywhere, have given fresh urgency to calls for the international community to work in a new way ¬that not only ends humanitarian needs but reduces them over time, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Sunday.

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, speaking during “Free and Equal: Standing Up for Diversity” session at the Annual Meeting 2018 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
World Economic Forum/Jakob Polacsek

Davos: UN rights chief stresses leading role of businesses in ending LGBTI discrimination

26 January 2018
Human Rights

With major companies joining the growing list of early adopters of United Nations standards to promote equality for lesbian, gay, bi, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people, the UN human rights chief on Friday highlighted the private sector's crucial leadership role in ensuring the dignity and equal opportunities of LGBTI employees in the workplace and beyond.

An armored personnel carrier on patrol near Beni, where the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) is supporting the Congolese National Forces (FARDC) in an operation against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel militia. March 2014.
UN Photo/Sylvain Liechti

Spike in attacks on ‘blue helmets’ means UN peace operations must adapt, says peacekeeping chief

25 January 2018
Peace and Security

With United Nations ‘blue helmets’ facing increasingly grave threats, including armed groups with no interest in peace, the UN peacekeeping chief called on Wednesday for greater political engagement and leadership from the Security Council and the world body’s Member countries to ensure UN troops – and the populations they serve – are better protected.

Preparing for the 2018 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Photo; World Economic Forum/Mattias Nutt

Bring human rights to discussion tables and into decisions at Davos, UN experts urge

24 January 2018
Human Rights

With world leaders converging in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual World Economic Forum, a group of United Nations human rights experts has called on government and business leaders to use the occasion to decide on concrete actions to bring about positive change.

Migrants board a bus headed towards the processing center in Amman, Jordan.
IOM/Muse Mohammed (file)

At Davos forum, UN agency launches report spotlighting benefits of investing in better migration data

24 January 2018
Economic Development

Investing in value-based migration data that squarely focuses on impact can benefit the world to the tune of $35 billion dollars, according to a new report launched Wednesday in Davos, Switzerland, by the United Nations migration agency.

A worker sorts a green leaf tea before it reaches the main processing floor at the Kitabi Tea Processing Facility in Rwanda.
A’Melody Lee/World Bank

Unemployment to remain high, quality jobs harder to find in 2018 – UN labour agency

22 January 2018
Economic Development

While the global economy has kept up modest growth, the total number of unemployed people will likely remain high in 2018 – at above 192 million – and it will be harder to find a decent job, the United Nations labour agency reported on Monday.

Secretary-General António Guterres.
UN Photo/Violaine Martin (file)

UN chief urges vigilance against anti-Semitism and discrimination of all kinds

20 January 2018
Human Rights

Warning that hate is on the rise and that Nazi symbols, mindsets and languages are back, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called for vigilance against anti-Semitism and discrimination of all kinds.

An airliner being serviced before takeoff at Frankfurt Airport in Germany.
UN News/Vibhu Mishra

Improved economic conditions boost air-traveller numbers worldwide – UN agency

18 January 2018
Economic Development

A record 4.1 billion passengers took to the skies in 2017 onboard some 37 million scheduled flights globally, the United Nations civil aviation agency reported Thursday, highlighting that the fastest growth was seen among low-cost carriers.