Latest News

The unilateralism of recent events has called into question the decades-old tradition of global consensus on collective security and brought the international community to a fork in the road, portending a moment “no less decisive than 1945 itself, when the United Nations was founded,” United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.

Calling for wide-ranging United Nations reform in order to win the respect of the peoples of the world, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today exhorted the leaders of the world to grapple resolutely with the issue after a decade of indecision, particularly in reshaping the Security Council.

The United Nations refugee agency today said it was concerned about a succession of events that have increased the uncertainty affecting around 1,000 displaced Chechens living in Ingushetia.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said it was worried about reports that civilians are being forced to work in local farms in Gbarnga, Liberia, 150 kilometres north of the capital Monrovia, for rebel groups.

The continued fight against terrorism, multilateralism, dealing with the worldwide ills of poverty and hunger and the debate over reform of the United Nations were among the themes highlighted by world leaders as the General Assembly's annual high-level debate concluded its morning session.

The first-ever United Nations global survey on ecstasy and amphetamines, released in Rome today, reveals a striking picture of rising production, trafficking and abuse of synthetic drugs worldwide.

Wrapping up the first day of its annual high-level debate, the United Nations General Assembly heard one world leader after another call for concerted action to fight the troubles that plague the international community.

United Nations agencies today used the global forum afforded by a special General Assembly meeting on HIV/AIDS to press for urgent steps to fight the pandemic and all its effects, ranging from providing drugs to 6 million victims in poor nations to feeding the disease's 14 million orphans to educating 2 billion children.

The United Nations refugee agency has launched revised guidelines for combating sexual and gender-based violence against displaced women and children in a bid to ensure better delivery of services and protection of those at risk.

The United Nations General Assembly today convened a high-level meeting to discuss a progress report by Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the worldwide fight against HIV/AIDS, two years after Member States agreed to a time-bound set of targets to roll back the disease.