Global

Actnow.bot is the United Nations' innovative campaign aimed at mitigating climate change through dialogue on Facebook Messenger.
United Nations

UN launches Facebook Messenger-powered bot to take on climate change

3 December 2018
Climate and Environment

As world leaders and decision-makers get to work on mitigating climate change at the COP24 conference in Katowice, Poland, renowned broadcaster and natural historian Sir David Attenborough launched a new UN campaign to give individuals their say on the key global issue, via social media.

Buying food at the market.
World Bank/Curt Carnemark

UN agriculture chief urges ‘transformative changes’ to how we eat

3 December 2018
Health

Obesity affects millions of people, and several billion suffer from diseases caused by vitamin- or mineral-deficient diets, known as micronutrient deficiencies, according to the UN agriculture chief, who called on Monday for “transformative changes” to our food systems.

15-year old Agnes from Tanzania says an operation to correct a cleft lip has changed her life.
CCBRT/Dieter Telemans

First-ever UN report on disability and development, illustrates inclusion gaps

3 December 2018
Human Rights

The United Nations launched its first-ever flagship report on disability and development on Monday; published by, for, and with, persons with disabilities, in the hopes of fostering more accessible, and disability-inclusive societies.

From left: actor and activist Danai Gurira Resse; Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women; and actor and activist Reese Witherspoon taking part in International Women's Day at UN Headquarters.
UN Women Twitter

Black Panther’s ‘General Okoye’ joins the fight against gender-based violence

2 December 2018
Women

Danai Gurira, one of the stars of hit movies “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Infinity War,” in her role as General Okoye, has been named a Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women, lending her name and dedicating her support to gender equality and women’s rights.

Street art exhibition to end child slavery
UN News/Daniela Gross

Over 40 million people still victims of slavery

2 December 2018
Human Rights

Slavery is still a very real and widespread phenomenon, affecting more than 40 million people worldwide, says the International Labour Organization (ILO), with children making up a quarter of the victims , despite the entry into force of the landmark Forced Labour protocol in 2016.

COP24 opening plenary
UNFCCC Secretariat

COP24: green, gender focus, as UN's crucial climate change conference gets underway

2 December 2018
Climate and Environment

COP24,  the two-week 24th conference of the parties of the United Nations Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC), started on Sunday in Katowice, Poland, with a special focus on carbon neutrality and gender equality. 

The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, addresses the media at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 29 November, 2018.
UN News/Natalia Montagna

UN chief welcomes G20 commitment to fight climate change

2 December 2018
Economic Development

UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has welcomed the declaration released on Saturday at the conclusion of the 2018 G20 meeting of the world’s leading economies, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which reaffirms a commitment to raise ambition in the fight against climate change.

Genocide survivors at the Mwurire Genocide Site, in Rwanda. (1998)
UN Photo/Milton Grant

In a time of rising xenophobia, more important than ever to ratify Genocide Convention

30 November 2018
Human Rights

Speaking ahead of the UN Day commemorating victims of genocide, the UN chief has called for every country to ratify the Genocide Convention, which still has not been ratified by 45 UN Member States, despite being adopted at the General Assembly 70 years ago.

Delegates to the G20 summit have gathered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (30 November 2018)
UN News/Natalia Montagna

G20 told crucial COP24 climate change conference 'must succeed': Guterres

30 November 2018
Climate and Environment

During press briefings at the beginning of the G20 meeting of industrialized nations in Buenos Aires, UN Secretary António Guterres described the event as an essential forum, citing a lack of confidence and high level of confrontation within the international community.

In November 2018, 1.5 million children require humanitarian assistance n the Central African Republic.
UNICEF/Gilbertson V

Armed groups threaten every child in Central African Republic, UNICEF warns

29 November 2018
Humanitarian Aid

A new study released by the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, shows that the deteriorating crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR), five years into the latest civil conflict to hit the country, has left practically every child needing protection from armed groups, which now control four-fifths of the country’s territory.