Global perspective Human stories

Filter by:

Latest News

United Nations Civil Society Briefing.
UN News/Maher Nasser

‘Leaders who sanction hate speech’ encourage citizens to do likewise, UN communications chief tells Holocaust remembrance event

The Holocaust illustrates how easily “people can move from condoning brutality, to committing genocide” and shows that “leaders who sanction hate speech or make anti-Semitic or xenophobic slurs” are encouraging their own citizens “to do the same”, the UN’s head of Global Communications told leading members of the Jewish community at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday.

Venezuelan refugees and migrants sleep in front of the bus terminal in Maicao, Colombia. The conditions are highly insecure and have led to theft, assault and rape of the migrants.  September 2018.
© UNHCR/Stephen Ferry

Independent UN rights expert calls for compassion, not sanctions on Venezuela

The crisis in Venezuela will not be solved by sanctions that “can lead to starvation”, a UN-appointed rights expert said on Thursday. Special Rapporteur Idriss Jazairy, who reports to the Human Rights Council, issued the warning against the background of widespread suffering in the South American country, linked to spiralling economic woes and deep political uncertainty.

Children at Batbu camp in western rural Aleppo, Syria, burn pieces of cartons and paper to warm up at night. November 2018.
© UNICEF/UN0266988/Watad

UN relief chief urges Security Council to back aid delivery, more funding for millions of Syrians hit by harsh weather

With people in Syria “suffering a cold, hard winter”, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator on Wednesday appealed for international funding, backed by UN Security Council support for safe aid delivery, to alleviate the conditions faced by millions struggling for survival amidst rain, snowfall and freezing temperatures across the still war-torn nation.