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Top diplomats debated the deepening crisis in the Gaza Strip and the whole Middle East in the UN Security Council on Tuesday against the backdrop of Israel’s unrelenting military operation, mounting death toll and escalating global calls for an immediate ceasefire. The UN Secretary-General told ambassadors and foreign ministers that any refusal to accept a two-State solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict "must be firmly rejected", as the Council is poised to reconvene on Wednesday afternoon to hear more from the wider UN membership.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine on Tuesday condemned the latest round of Russian air strikes on the two biggest cities in the country, which killed at least seven people and wounded dozens more, according to news reports.

Amid continuing heavy fighting in Gaza on Tuesday morning, including reported attacks on hospitals in the southern city of Khan Younis, UN humanitarians expressed deep concern for patients and others seeking treatment who had “no way in and out”.

The UN and its global partners will grapple with the massive loss of animal and plant species and how to avoid further extinction at a major conference beginning 23 January. Here’s a primer on what exactly biodiversity is and how the UN can help support efforts to enable nature to survive and thrive.

The human rights expert appointed by the UN High Commissioner to monitor Sudan, Radhoune Noucier, told UN News on Monday that everything from basic human rights to the economy and the legal system, have been decimated by the on-going war between rival militaries.

Hundreds of Afghan women were forced to quit their jobs or have been arrested and denied access to essential services in the last quarter of 2023, a new update from the UN mission there revealed on Monday, as Taliban officials continue undermining their basic human rights.

A group of independent UN human rights experts on Monday called on the authorities in Hong Kong to drop all charges against pro-democracy media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai and release him immediately.

The UN human rights office (OHCHR) on Monday strongly condemned a weekend attack on the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine which left scores dead and injured.

In Gaza, bombs and bullets are far from the only threat to life. Residents lack food and clean water, health facilities are practically nonexistent and communication with the outside world is patchy at best. 

The head of the UN health agency raised concerns on Monday that the draft of a global agreement to head off a future pandemic may not be finalized by May this year, as previously agreed.