Global

In Rome, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres addresses a special session of the Italian parliament.
UN Photo/Rein Skullerud

‘New and dangerous’ global risks require multilateral solutions, Guterres tells Italian Senate 

18 December 2019
Peace and Security

Shifting balances of power are triggering “new and dangerous risks”, the UN chief told the Italian Senate in Rome on Wednesday, pointing to the need for more coordinated international responses, focused on solutions.

A family is trying to build a new life in Chile after migrating from Vargas State, Venezuela.
©UNHCR/Santiago Escobar-Jarami

Bring global migration compact ‘to life’, urges UN chief

18 December 2019
Migrants and Refugees

As “policies shaped more by fear than fact” have caused untold suffering to migrants, the UN Secretary-General is urging countries to realize the goals of a global agreement that promotes enhanced international cooperation on migration.  

A Syrian child peeks out of a temporary shelter in an informal settlement in Killi, near the border with Turkey. (2019)
© UNICEF/Saad

Tuesday’s Daily Brief: Refugees, indigenous languages, Niger, Syria and Kyrgyzstan

17 December 2019
Migrants and Refugees

Our top stories for Tuesday include: UN chief at refugee forum; eyes of the world need to be on Niger; International Year of Indigenous Languages closes; Strengthening minority rights in Kyrgyzstan; hostilities in Syria’s Idlib.

A group of women in traditional clothing, Kenya.
World Bank/Curt Carnemark

Two indigenous languages are dying every month: UN Assembly President  

17 December 2019
Culture and Education

Despite UN efforts throughout this International Year of Indigenous Languages to highlight the daily disappearance of mother tongues across the world, the President of the General Assembly (PGA) warned on Tuesday that “challenges persist nonetheless”.

A gamma ray scanner station of the Sihanoukville Port in Cambodia is being used to detect illegal items in container vans.
World Bank/Chhor Sokunthea

At this ‘critical moment’, UN chief urges anti-corruption conference to adopt united front

16 December 2019
Law and Crime Prevention

As we enter the Decade of Action to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world must “unite against corruption” to stop precious resources from being drained by illicit financial flows, an international conference on the issue heard on Monday in Abu Dhabi.

Fries with cheese: an example of unhealthy food
Public Domain

One third of poorer countries face both undernutrition and obesity: WHO report

16 December 2019
Health

With one in three low and middle-income countries facing the two extremes of malnutrition – undernutrition and obesity – the UN’s health agency WHO is calling for a new approach to deal with rapidly changing food systems.

Friday for Future demonstration at COP25
UNFCCC

An important opportunity lost as COP25 ends in compromise, but Guterres declares 'we must not give up'

15 December 2019
Climate and Environment

Negotiations at the COP25 UN climate conference in Madrid finally ended on Sunday, wrapping up an event which saw much progress made by the private sector, and by national, regional and local governments. However, there was widespread disappointment that no overall consensus was reached on increased climate ambition.

A woman carries seafood on the shore in Senegal, one of the few countries to develop a national climate change adaptation plan specifically for fisheries.
UNDP

As COP25 goes into the night, Guterres calls for more climate ambition

13 December 2019
Climate and Environment

With national delegations thrashing out an outcome agreement at the UN COP25 climate change conference in Madrid, the UN chief has called on countries to be more ambitious, side strongly with science, and commit to stronger action.

A woman walks through a flooded market in Port au Prince, Haiti, after Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the Caribbean island in 2012.
UN Photo/Logan Abassi

Thursday’s Daily Brief: South Sudan floods, Somalis leave Yemen, LATAM economic slowdown

12 December 2019
Humanitarian Aid

In today’s Daily Brief: Flooding could push millions in South Sudan into humanitarian crisis, Somalis return home from war-torn Yemen; historically low growth in Latin American and Caribbean economies; UN’s top court will deliberate on Myanmar genocide accusations; and alpinism’s classified a “cultural treasure”.

Solar panels provide clean energy to many Zambians. (file 2015)
ILO/Marcel Crozet

‘Embrace the transformation’ to a carbon-neutral world by 2050, UN chief tells COP25

12 December 2019
Climate and Environment

With millions of workers increasingly affected by the climate crisis the route to securing livelihoods in the future lies in a wholesale transformation of how we power the planet and manage our resources, the UN chief said on Thursday, at a COP25 climate action event focused on greener jobs.