Latest News

Addressing an international forum on peacebuilding and statebuilding, the United Nations deputy chief today highlighted the need for a greater investment in those activities and the importance of taking more preventive measures to reduce humanitarian needs.

The United Nations atomic energy agency plans to train dozens of participants this month from mostly Latin America and Caribbean countries on how to use nuclear-derived techniques to detect the Zika virus in as short a time as three hours.

Chronic malnutrition in Rwanda have fallen significantly in the last three years, but still remain stubbornly high, especially in rural areas, finds a new study conducted over three years by the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture with support from the World Food Programme (WFP).

The United Nations human rights office today expressed concern over the increased number of mob attacks in Malawi since the beginning of the year, in 2016 and called for Government agencies to support police and for the strengthening of the rule of law in the country to combat such violence.

The number of people fleeing violence in Central America has surged to levels not seen since the region was wracked by armed conflicts in the 1980s, the UN refugee agency warned today, urging action to ensure that unaccompanied children and others receive the protection which they are entitled to.

Ongoing turmoil in Syria and the impact of drought in Ethiopia are among the diverse and pressing crises cited by the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) as the agency and its partners appealed for some $2.2 billion to provide lifesaving health services to more than 79 million people in more than 30 countries facing protracted emergencies this year.

Civil strife and unfavourable rains have further reduced crop production in South Sudan, contributing to a cereal deficit of 381,000 metric tons – 53 per cent greater than in 2015 – and aggravating the already severe food shortages, two UN agencies warned today.

Findings of a United Nations Response Team tasked with investigating sexual abuse allegations committed by UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) indicate sex with minors along with paternity claims.

Briefing Member States on preparations for the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on Heads of State and Government to come to the event and deliver a strong message that “we will not accept the erosion of humanity which we see in the world today.”

Despite a “deepening paralysis and divisions within multilateral disarmament bodies,” and the fact that many are looking outside traditional United Nations forums for progress, the top official on the issue stressed today that the UN Disarmament Commission has considerable potential to demonstrate that the existing disarmament machinery can produce results.