Keeping sea routes safe today while also addressing emerging challenges was the focus of a debate in the UN Security Council on Monday which was convened by Panama, president for the month of August. Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), told the Council that last year, a...
From ancient microbes awakening in melting glaciers to toxic pollutants unleashed by floods, the dangers are no longer distant or theoretical. They are here, and they are growing. The Frontiers Report 2025, released by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), highlights four critical areas where environmental degradation intersects with human vulnerability: legacy...
The UN’s key Sustainable Development Goals Report launched Monday by Secretary-General António Guterres, chronicles both progress and setbacks – showing that the world has made significant advances but is still drastically off-track to achieve its development goals by 2030. Seize the day “This report is more than a snapshot of...
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israeli authorities issued displacement orders overnight for two neighbourhoods in Khan Younis, where up to 80,000 people had been living. The Al Satar reservoir – a critical hub for distributing piped water from Israel – has become inaccessible...
Each year, more than 21 million adolescent girls in low and middle-income countries become pregnant. About half of these pregnancies are unintended. Nine in 10 adolescent births occur among girls who were married before turning 18. “Early pregnancies can have serious physical and psychological consequences for girls and young women,”...
The action plan, spearheaded by the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, was launched in January this year amid deepening political and social tensions and a resurgence of “insidious centuries-old myths”, said a joint statement from the top UN...
In an online message on Monday, the WFP said that it “condemns the pillage of its warehouses in Bukavu in South Kivu…the food supplies kept there were meant to provide vital support to the most vulnerable families who now face a growing humanitarian crisis”. Looters made off with 7,000 tonnes...
Jean-Pierre Lacroix briefed journalists at UN Headquarters on Friday, as the M23 rebel group and Rwandan Defence Force (RDF) continued their march toward the city of Bukavu, having taken control of the provincial capital, Goma, earlier this week. “We are concerned not only as far as the eastern DRC is...
For many workers, defending human rights is not just a job, but a calling. As he noted, many “work out of a deep sense of service to others, and a desire to make a meaningful impact.” From conflict zones to post-war societies, they provide crucial support to detainees and victims...
The world remains dangerously unprepared for the next pandemic, despite the harrowing lessons of COVID-19, Mr. Guterres warned. “COVID-19 was a wake-up call to the world,” he stated, reflecting on the devastating human, economic and social toll of the pandemic. “The crisis may have passed, but a harsh lesson remains:...
Leonardo Santos Simão, highlighted upcoming presidential elections in Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau, and the adoption of constitutional reforms amid a strained political environment in Gambia. He also commended recent successful elections in Ghana and Senegal, noting the signing of a “Peace Pact” by all presidential candidates in Ghana and the...
The historic shift of power in Syria and the possibility of finally accessing evidence of horrific human rights violations could bring accountability closer than ever – if only proof can be preserved – a top UN investigator said on Tuesday....