UN Affairs

Rosemary DiCarlo, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, meets with Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmaajo, the Federal President of Somalia, at Villa Somalia during her working visit to Mogadishu, Somalia, on 30 January 2019.
UN Photo/Omar Abdisalan

‘Open, cordial, and frank discussions’ held over future Somalia-UN relationship

30 January 2019
Africa

Discussions described in a joint statement as “open, cordial and frank”, took place on Wednesday, between Somalia’s top two politicians and the UN political and peacebuilding affairs chief, in the capital Mogadishu.

As 2019 marks the 150th anniversary of the creation of the Periodic Table by Russian scientist Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev, the UN has launched a yearlong initiative to raise awareness of chemistry and its applications for sustainable development.
Graham Crouch/World Bank

UN lauds special chemistry of the periodic table, kicking off 150th anniversary celebrations

29 January 2019
Global

On Tuesday, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements at its headquarters in Paris, kicking off a series of events and activities to be held throughout the year, as the world celebrates the 150th anniversary since its creation by Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleev.

Tribute ceremony in N'Djamena for the 10 Chadian peacekeepers who were killed on 20 January in a terrorist attack in northern Mali.
MINUSMA

UN chief of peace operations honours fallen Chadian ‘blue helmets’ serving in northern Mali

28 January 2019
Africa

After 10 Chadian peacekeepers serving with the United Nations mission in Mali (MINUSMA) were killed in a terrorist attack on 20 January, the UN chief of peace operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, went to N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, to pay tribute to them on Monday in a ceremony organised by the Government.

On 26 August 2015, a distressed child rests over the shoulder of the man carrying him, in the town of Gevgelija, on the border with Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
UNICEF/Tomislav Georgiev

UN chief 'commends' leadership of Greece and former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as name dispute draws to final close

25 January 2019
Europe

The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres congratulated the Greek Parliament over its ratification of a name change for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on Friday, and commended the leaders of both countries for signalling the end to a naming dispute that has roiled the region for some 28 years.

Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres (r) addresses the World Economic Forum in Davos, Swizerland alongside Forum President, Børge Brende, on 24 January 2019.
World Economic Forum/Benedikt von Loebell

Guterres in Davos: ‘Dysfunctional’ response to common problems, shows need for effective multilateralism

24 January 2019

The world’s problems are “more and more integrated” but the response to them is increasingly “fragmented” and “dysfunctional”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday, in an appeal for governments and other partners to respond to people’s grievances and recommit to international cooperation.

The Guinean contingent of MINUSMA which is based in Kidal in the extreme north of Mali, ensures the security of the camp, conducts mine action activities and also ensures the safety of the civilian population.
MINUSMA/Harandane Dicko

Ten UN peacekeepers killed in a terrorist attack in northern Mali

20 January 2019
Africa

Ten ‘blue helmets’ from the United Nations Stabilization Mission In Mali (MINUSMA) were killed on Sunday following a complex terrorist attack against the mission’s camp in Aguelhok, in the Kidal region, northern Mali. 

Press conference by the Secretary-General António Guterres (right) on 18 January 2019, with his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric (left).
UN Photo/Manuel Elías

‘The best-selling brand today is fear’: UN chief highlights urgent need to address global ‘deficit of trust’

18 January 2019
Global

Warning against the dangers of widespread fear and mistrust in our planet, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, told journalists on Friday he wants to reaffirm the UN as a “platform for action to repair broken trust in a broken world.”

Destruction in the Iraqi war-battered city of Mosul, evident after the city was liberated from ISIL forces in 2017.
UNICEF/Sparks

Iraq: UN demining agency rejects desecration accusations, involving historic Mosul churches

17 January 2019
Middle East

The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Iraq issued a statement on Thursday rejecting allegations made earlier this week by a non-profit organization  there, alleging that personnel had carried out explosive hazard clearance inside two historic churches in Mosul “in a barbaric and arbitrary manner.”

Secretary-General António Guterres speaking to the General Assembly on his Priorities for 2019.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

‘Proving our worth through action’: 5 things Guterres wants the UN to focus on in 2019

16 January 2019
Global

Despite countless “headwinds” and “ills”, the United Nations has “made a real difference” in 2018 and will need to achieve even more in 2019, as the planet faces “a world of trouble”. 

A peacekeeping officer during a patrol in the streets of Gao, Mali, performed daily by United Nations Police (UNPOL) Officers from MINUSMA and Malian National Guard Officers. 7 November 2018.
MINUSMA/Marco Dormino

THE COMMITTEES: ‘All roads lead to the Fifth’

10 January 2019

At the United Nations, there is a popular saying – all roads lead to the Fifth – the “Fifth” here is the General Assembly’s main Administrative and Budgetary Committee, where all financial and programme matters concerning the UN system, are discussed. In this feature series on the work of the General Assembly, the UN body made up of all 193 Member States, UN News gives you an inside look at the critical work of the Fifth Committee.