Global

A woman is vaccinated against COVID-19 at a health post in Nepal's remote Darchula District.
© UNICEF/Laxmi Prasad Ngakhusi

COVID vaccines: Widening inequality and millions vulnerable

19 September 2021
Health

Health leaders agree that a world without COVID-19 will not be possible until everyone has equal access to vaccines. More than 4.6 million people have died from the virus since it swept across the globe from the beginning of 2020, but it’s expected that the rate of people dying will slow if more people are vaccinated. 

Schoolgirls in Côte d'Ivoire perform as part of activities to raise awareness about peace and human rights.
UN Photo/Hien Macline

Counting on youth, for an ‘equitable and sustainable world for all’

17 September 2021
Peace and Security

At a virtual event on Friday commemorating the International Day of Peace, the UN chief saluted the “voices, vision and commitment of young people in shaping a more peaceful world”.

An Afghan refugee is vaccinated against COVID-19 in Rawalpindi in Pakistan.
© UNHCR/Asif Shahzad

Refugees face dire consequences from COVID-19 underfunding, UNHCR warns 

17 September 2021
Migrants and Refugees

Underfunding has left a “yawning gap” in the UN Refugee Agency’s ability to protect forcibly displaced people worldwide from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UNHCR said on Friday. 

A boy stands in a disadvantaged neighbourhood of Ahvaz, Iran. The country is among those being subjected to international sanctions, despite the ravages of COVID-19.
© UNICEF

Bachelet calls for major re-think over impact of sanctions on human rights

16 September 2021
Human Rights

Unilateral and coercive sanctions imposed by governments can create severe and undue suffering for innocent people who bear no responsibility for alleged misconduct, the UN rights chief warned the Human Rights Council on Thursday.

A domestic worker from the Kalayanpur Slum in Bangladesh who lost her job due to the COVID-19 crisis.
WFP/Sayed Asif Mahmud

Annual Secretary-General’s report reveals a world tested ‘to the limit’

16 September 2021
UN Affairs

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be the greatest shared global challenge since the UN’s founding 75 years ago, according to the annual Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization, published on Thursday. 

Indigenous women’s groups perform a Tlalmanalli opening ceremony to kick off the Generation Equality Forum in Mexico.
UN Women/Dzilam Mendez

UN Women’s feminist roadmap tackles triple crises of jobs, care and climate 

16 September 2021
Women

The UN’s gender equality and empowerment organization on Thursday published a flagship feminist plan for economic recovery and transformation, which aims to learn the lessons of the past, and seize the opportunity to handle COVID-related crises better.

A united global effort to phase out ozone-depleting substances means that today, the hole in the ozone layer is healing.
WMO/Chunseong Bang

Act now to slow climate change and protect the planet, urges UN chief

16 September 2021
Climate and Environment

The ozone layer – a fragile shield of gas that protects the Earth from the harmful rays of the sun – is “on the road to recovery”, the UN chief said on Thursday in his message for the World Ozone Day.

People cross a flooded river in western Haiti after a bridge was washed away by Hurricane Matthew. (file)
MINUSTAH/Logan Abassi

‘Tipping point’ for climate action: Time’s running out to avoid catastrophic heating

16 September 2021
Climate and Environment

The temporary reduction in carbon emissions caused by global COVID-19 lockdowns did not slow the relentless advance of climate change. Greenhouse gas concentrations are at record levels, and the planet is on path towards dangerous overheating, a multi-agency climate report published on Thursday warns. 

Ola al-Aghbary is the founder of the Sheba Youth Foundation for Development which focuses on youth and women empowerment in Yemen.
Hana Haza’a

FROM THE FIELD: Women owning the peace

16 September 2021
Peace and Security

The contribution of women activists towards building peace across the world is being highlighted in a UN exhibition of images taken by women photographers which is opening online and in New York.

Graphic for No Denying It, the UN News Podcast about Climate Action
UN/ Paula Bustamante

No Denying It episode 4: Kyne Introduces Mat dos Santos

15 September 2021
Climate and Environment

In the fourth episode of the UN climate action podcast No Denying It, drag performer, social media star, and mathematics communicator Kyne introduces Managing Attorney at Our Children’s Trust, Mat dos Santos. Mx. dos Santos and their colleagues oversee a legal program that brings climate litigation on behalf of youth in federal and state courts in the United States, and tribunals across the globe.