Latest News

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has requested the General Assembly to confirm former Prime Minister Helen Clark of New Zealand as the new Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for a four-year term.

The recent announcement by the United States State Department that it will contribute $50 million to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will ring in a new era for women, girls and their families around the world, the head of the agency has said.

At least $1 trillion is needed to help developing countries get through the global financial crisis, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the leaders of the world’s richest nations ahead of their meeting in London on 2 April.

When a crisis or disaster strikes, the victims not only need rapid assistance with food, water, shelter and safety, but fast and effective information describing the situation on the ground, a senior United Nations humanitarian official told a panel discussion in New York today.

The international community must continue to work together to identify and fill the most immediately life-threatening gaps in Darfur in the wake of the ouster of 13 aid groups by the Sudanese Government, the top United Nations relief official said today.

Announcing the second Forum of the United Nations campaign for understanding between cultures, known as the Alliance of Civilizations, its director said today that its purpose is to help reconcile specific communities, not to resolve political conflicts or divisive issues.

International finance structures must be drastically overhauled in the face of the current global economic crisis, a panel of experts convened by the United Nations General Assembly said today, calling on wealthier nations to direct one per cent of their economic stimulus packages to help developing countries address poverty.

The top United Nations relief official today repeated the world body’s concerns over the safety of civilians – numbering as high as 190,000 – trapped by fighting in northern Sri Lanka between Government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

In creating a $30 million trust fund to boost the food output of developing countries, China has cemented its role as a major global player in cooperation between developing countries, the United Nations agricultural agency said today.

Operators of the world´s 250 research reactors – nuclear reactors that do not generate power but are used instead for scientific testing and the production of medical isotopes – are meeting this week to tackle fuel risks, the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency said today.