The General Assembly on Tuesday condemned the coup d’etat in Honduras which overthrew President Manuel Zelaya on Sunday. President Zelaya, who attended the Assembly meeting and was greeted by sustained applause, said the resolution would empower every citizen to overcome challenges. Cut from Manuel Zelaya below.
The UN Envoy to Afghanistan Kai Eide, says the situation in the country is complex. Efforts must continue to ensure a credible and fair election, while long-term investments must be made in the country’s development. Cuts and full speech from Kai Eide below.
A senior official of the World Health Organization visiting Pakistan is worried about a lack of adequate health care for thousands of people in areas affected by the conflict.
A number of Darfur rebel groups say they are ready to resume peace talks with the Government of Sudan, according to the Office of the Joint United Nations-African Union Chief Mediator.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a global cancer crisis is looming. As many as 84 million people could die over the next 10 years. The IAEA, says the time to act is now. Gerry Adams has more: Narrator: Cancer kills more people each year than HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. In the looming [...]
News and features from United Nations Radio.
The UN Envoy to Afghanistan Kai Eide, says the situation in the country is complex. Efforts must continue to ensure a credible and fair election, while long-term investments must be made in the country’s development. Bissera Kostova reports. Eide 1: It is about strengthening peoples’ confidence in the democratic process, and about strengthening Afghanistan’s institutions. [...]
United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon is in Japan where he met Tuesday with Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone.
The August election in Afghanistan is about more than choosing leaders; it is about strengthening people's confidence in the democratic process and the election is not only about who will lead but about the legitimacy of leadership.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has welcomed a decision by the Tanzanian government to give more time to Burundian refugees to plan their return home.
Before the global financial downturn, there was the food crisis. For millions of Africans, that crisis continues. The UN Conference on Trade and Development, or UNCTAD, is meeting in Geneva on Tuesday to review policies that could prevent a repeat of last year’s food crisis. UN Radio’s Derrick Mbatha spoke to Habib Ouane of UNCTAD [...]
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on Tuesday that drought is affecting more than one million people in Somalia.
The world's largest resettlement programme on Tuesday hit a 50,000 mark when a Myanmar refugee left a camp in Thailand to begin a new life in the United States.
The departing United Nations envoy for Iraq on Tuesday congratulated the Iraqi government on its steady progress towards restoring full sovereignty for the country.
A new survey on Confidence in World Leaders has ranked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon among the top confidence-inspiring leaders.
The United Nations fact-finding mission on the recent Gaza conflict, on Monday completed its first round of public hearings in Gaza City.
The United States says it refuses to recognize any government of Honduras other than the constitutionally legitimate government of President Jose Manuel Zelaya.
The President of the General Assembly on Monday condemned the military intervention in Honduras which forced President Manuel Zelaya from office on Sunday.
United States Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, made the commitment at a discussion of UN peacekeeping in the UN Security Council on Monday. Acknowledging the good peacekeeping does, Ambassador Rice also pointed to the challenges: Cuts and full speech available below.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
The high-level United Nations meeting on the global economic and financial crises has agreed on a series of proposals to confront the crises and lessen their impact on development.
It’s been said that if sexual violence is not fully addressed in ceasefires and peace processes, there will be no peace for women. At a recent meeting organized by UNIFEM, Leeymah Gbowee of Liberia, Executive Director of the Women, Peace and Security Network, told Gerry Adams about what actions women are taking in post-war Liberia [...]
PRES: Not surprisingly, there were differences of opinion about the causes and remedies of the global financial crisis among the 119 countries, non-governmental organizations, economists and members of the corporate sector attending a UN conference last week that spilled over into Monday. Nick Baker and Nicole Suczek walked the halls of the UN to investigate [...]
People in Gaza are increasingly sinking into despair, says a new report by the International Committee of the Red Cross, the ICRC. Six months after the end of Israel’s military operation that destroyed thousands of homes, the continued closures of Gaza’s crossings are making it impossible to rebuild and seriously ill patients wait months for [...]
Experts in agriculture are gathering in Geneva to participate in a meeting of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), starting on Tuesday and focusing on the food crisis in Africa.
United Nations Secretary-General Bank Ki-moon has welcomed the signing of a decree to establish a transitional government of national unity in Mauritania.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on all the people of Honduras to resolve their differences peacefully.
The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ross Mountain, says joint Congolese and Rwandan military operations in the country have brought bad and good results.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on member states to upgrade their programmes to combat drug abuse.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern about political and institutional tensions in Honduras.
The World Food Programme is establishing banks for food and relief items to help people displaced by fighting in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan.
Afghanistan may be experiencing its most intensive fighting since 2001.
The International Labour Organization, the ILO, celebrates its 90th anniversary this year. The organization shares its anniversary year, 1919, with the League of Nations, the precursor to the United Nations. One way the ILO is observing this milestone is through the “Gender Equality at the Heart of Decent Work Campaign,” a kind of teaching tool [...]
The head of United Nations humanitarian affairs has called on the Security Council to look into how to improve compliance with international law on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Ambassador Rosemary A. DiCarlo, U.S. Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs, United States Mission [...]
The head of United Nations humanitarian affairs has called on the Security Council to look into how to improve compliance with international law on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.
On the final day of the UN Conference on the world financial and economic crisis, Brazil's Minister of External Relations is calling for greater global coordination of economic and financial activities.
The World Health Organization is sending a high level mission to Pakistan to raise awareness about the need for additional funding to meet the health needs of displaced people in the north-west of the country.
Caribbean States joined representatives of developing countries to complain of a drop in trade, tighter financing conditions and a reduction in remittances. They told a UN Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development that their nations were feeling the worst of the crisis while they were not responsible for [...]
In Somalia, ongoing fighting between government forces and the opposition Al-Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam has forced more people to flee the capital Mogadishu.
The United Nations has allocated 4.2 million dollars from the central emergency response fund to alleviate overcrowding and provide humanitarian relief and services in Somali refugee camps in Kenya.
The annual world drug report released by the UN Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shows that the production of traditional illicit drugs like heroin and cocaine has decreased, while seizures of drug supplies by law enforcement have increased.
An African Union panel on Darfur has just completed public hearings on the conflict in order to determine ways to speed up the peace process and create conditions for justice and reconciliation.
The Office of the Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has announced that it has created and activated a secure webpage now available for public use.
Rape and other forms of sexual violence are some of the ugly realities of conflict. UNIFEM this week held a two-day colloquium to support implementation of Security Council Resolution 1820, the first UN resolution to acknowledge the use of sexual violence in conflict as a deliberate tactic of war. Jan Egeland, Director, Norwegian Institute of [...]
The head of United Nations peacekeeping says leaders in Cote d'Ivoire are determined to hold elections on 29 November this year as scheduled.
Rape and other forms of sexual violence are some of the ugly realities of conflict.
The people of Guinea Bissau go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president.
Over half of Africa's population is still living under a dollar a day.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict will hold public hearings in Gaza City and Geneva.
UN agencies in Pakistan are pushing to get access to all the displaced in the northwest of the country who need assistance, says UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the country Martin Mogwanja.
High food insecurity persists in Zimbabwe despite of improvements in agricultural production and a more liberal import policy this year, according to a report by two United Nations agencies dealing with food.
Princess Haya Bint Al-Hussein is calling for a massive international effort to assist hundreds of thousands of people recently displaced by fighting in the north-west region of Pakistan.
The Secretary-General special envoy of for Iraq, has strongly condemned Thursday's bombing in Sadr City, and a string of bombings and shootings throughout Iraq.
The global economic and financial crisis is threatening to undo progress that Africa has made in its economic development.
Developing world countries will not be able to recover from the global financial crisis without substantial help from the developed world, according to Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says illicit drugs continue to be a serious challenge to human security.
United Nations Secretary-General is calling on the Group of 8 industrialized countries to pay attention to challenges that require their attention.
World leaders are in New York this week to discuss the global financial and economic crisis and its impact on development. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Ambassador Susan E. Rice – United States Mission to the UN Cuts and full speeches
Tens of thousands of internet sites spread intolerance and misinformation across the World Wide Web. UN Radio's Lindsay Lazarski reports on cyber hate and ways to contain its spread.
Global markets for cocaine, opiates and cannabis are steady or even decreasing, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported on Wednesday.
The UN describes this global financial crisis as the worst since the Great Depression.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
As world leaders meet to assess the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, General Assembly President Miquel d'Escoto Brockmann is urging the world to move beyond exploitation of the world's natural resources to a relationship of respect and synergy with nature.
World leaders are in New York this week to discuss the global financial and economic crisis and its impact on development.
An international campaign using biopesticides has prevented a massive outbreak of red locust in Tanzania, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is deeply distressed by the rape and assault of female inmates in a prison in Goma in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg met today to officially launch Climate Week NYC.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
Three UN agencies dealing with food security and agriculture are reminding world leaders that this silent food crisis, involving a sixth of humanity, poses a serious risk for world peace and security.
Developing world countries hold little responsibility for the current global economic crisis, yet they are among the hardest hit by it.
An increasing number of men from the Horn and East Africa are migrating to South Africa in pursuit of greener pastures.
The Government of Iraq and United Nations agencies on Tuesday concluded a workshop in Baghdad to review the UN's contribution to national priorities and align future UN programming to the National Development Plan of Iraq.
A first group of eleven refugees from Chad is resettling in the United States. The programme is part of the United Nations refugee agency’s plan this year to resettle refugees living in camps in eastern Chad. The agency says the group, which left the Chadian capital N’Djamena by air on Sunday, is made up of [...]
A dozen programmes from around the world on Tuesday received this year's United Nations Public Service Awards for innovations that have a positive impact on people's daily lives.
Three staff members of a non-governmental organization working with the United Nations refugee agency in Afghanistan have been killed in Jowzjan Province.
Preparations for next Sunday's presidential elections in Guinea Bissau remain on track, according to the Secretary-General's envoy in the country.
A new report by the International Organization for Migration says increasing numbers of smuggled migrants from the Horn and East Africa to South Africa suffer from human rights violations.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has called on Sweden to use its upcoming presidency of the European Union to promote policies that protect asylum seekers.
A first group of eleven refugees from Chad is resettling in the United States.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling for an immediate end to the arrests, threats and use of force in Iran.
The head of a Geneva-based think tank says this week's United Nations Conference on the global financial and economic crisis should decide on a mechanism to follow up on whatever decisions and proposals are made.
Islam's 1,400 year-old-tradition of generosity towards people fleeing persecution has had more influence on international refugee law than any other historic source.
UN-Habitat's Executive Director is one of three winners of the 2009 Göteberg Award.
International Energy Conference, Vienna, 22-24 June Government officials and energy and economics experts opened a 3-day meeting in Vienna on Monday to discuss how best to shift towards a low-carbon green economy. Cut and full interview with George Assaf, spokesperson for the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), one of the conference organizers.
The United Nations envoy for Iraq, Staffan de Mistura has strongly condemned the bombing in Kirkuk, Iraq over the weekend.
The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) welcomed the second round of senatorial elections in Haiti, which took place Sunday.
The International Criminal Court for Rwanda on Monday sentenced a former Rwandan official to thirty years in prison for his role in the 1994 genocide. Callixte Kalimanzira, a Director in the Ministry of Interior, has been found guilty of genocide, and direct and public incitement to commit genocide. Cut and full interview with Spokesman for [...]
At a recent meeting reviewing progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS senior UN officials expressed concern that discrimination against vulnerable groups continues to impede efforts towards achieving universal access to AIDS services.
WFP this month released a study which projects even more hunger and struggling in the developing world—particularly for those living on less than two dollars a day.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda established in 1994 has today sentenced a former Rwandan official to 30 years imprisonment for his involvement in genocide. BOCAR SY Chief of Press UN ICTR, spoke to UN Radio about this case.
United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon is calling on the authorities in the Central African Republic to hold elections as scheduled in 2010 to prevent a constitutional power vacuum
Government officials and energy and economics experts opened a 3-day meeting in Vienna on Monday to discuss how best to shift towards a low-carbon green economy.
The International Criminal Court for Rwanda on Monday sentenced a former Rwandan official to thirty years in prison for his role in the 1994 genocide.
The United Nations special humanitarian envoy, is calling on donors to increase assistance to the people displaced by insecurity in Pakistan North West Frontier Province.
African countries have enormous potential for commercial farming.
The United Nations mission in Haiti has categorically denied allegations that its troops fired on a demonstrator in Port-au-Prince on Thursday.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva on Friday adopted the "Global Jobs Pact" to tackle the global problem of unemployment.
The Food and Agriculture Agency reports more than one billion people will go hungry this year.
As the International Labour Organization (ILO) wraps up its annual meeting in Geneva, a unique organization in India has used the agency’s gender campaign to help Indian women not only find a way out of poverty but also to make themselves heard by the Government. The ILO’s Mandy Cunningham prepared this report about SEWA, the [...]
“Real People, Real Needs” is the theme this year for World Refugee Day, which is observed annually on June 20th. In a message for the day, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres urges us to think of refugees as ordinary people – just like us. GUTERRES 1: On this World Refugee Day, let us [...]
News and features from United Nations Radio.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for support to people living with sickle-cell anaemia.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is calling on the international community to remember that refugees are real people with real needs.
Relief aid to the displaced in northwestern Pakistan may have to be reduced or even stopped if urgently needed funding is not received soon.
The world will never advance to the extent it can, poverty and hunger will never be eradicated and peace and stability will never be sustained, if the creation of wealth is pursued at the expense of social justice. The warning comes from Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding in an address to the ILO, the International [...]
With the General Assembly’s annual session in September fast approaching, the UN is poised to create a powerful new department for women. The UN has been involved in promoting the rights of women and girls from its inception, from organizing major conferences on women to adopting a treaty on women’s rights. But, as UN Radio’s [...]
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has expressed concern about reports of an increasing number of arrests of protestors in Iran, arrests she says, which may not be in conformity with the law.
The outgoing President of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Friday stressed the importance of allowing human rights experts to investigate violations everywhere.
UN officials are urging governments and industry to invest in renewable and other forms of clean energy.
The situation in North West Pakistan is still unstable. A recent report from the International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC said civilians in Swat have been mostly confined to their homes and are short of everything. So far, it is the only humanitarian organization operating in that area. ICRC’s Simon Schorno recently described to [...]
A group of UN agencies and NGOs have called for an end to Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip which has been in force for two years this week, forcing the population to rely on aid.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
A suicide car bomb attack in Somalia on Thursday claimed the life of the country's Minister of Security.
Start your engines for the race against hunger.
Daily noon briefing by Michele Montas, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
The World Meteorological Organization has partnered with mobile phone service providers in Africa in an effort to improve the continents weather-monitoring network.
The United Nations independent expert on human rights in Somalia on Thursday called for an end to violence and human rights abuses in the country.
The top UN official in Iraq is confident the country will flourish if Iraqis can avoid or defuse tensions, and if they see changes in their daily lives as a result of better security.
In 2006, the General Assembly pledged to achieve universal access to comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010. A report by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon details some of the progress over the last 3 years, including a tenfold increase in provision of antiretroviral drugs, and a decrease in the percentage of young pregnant [...]
The General Assembly on Tuesday paid tribute to the late President Omar Bongo of Gabon who passed away on Monday last week.
The head of United Nations peacekeeping operations Alain Le Roy, visited Liberia on Tuesday as he continues his mission to Africa.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
The International Criminal Court has confirmed charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, the former vice-president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Daily noon briefing by Marie Okabe, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
The global economic crisis has created one of the most precarious global labour markets since the Great Depression. It is hardly the ideal time for a young person to be looking for a job, as UN Radio’s Nick Baker reports: Sound Byte #1: Students are postponing their graduation because they don’t want to enter the [...]
A UN mission monitoring the border between Georgia and Abkhazia came to an end on Tuesday as Russia voted against an extension of the mission mandate. The Security Council resolution would have allowed the mission to remain for another two weeks to allow for negotiations with Russia over the future of the mission and a [...]
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday stressed the need to take measures to fight discrimination against people affected by HIV and AIDS.
The United Nations reopened its offices in Peshawar, Pakistan on Tuesday.
The United Nations independent expert on human rights in Sudan on Tuesday urged the government of Sudan to improve the human rights situation in the country.
The World Food Programme says attacks on its boats have disrupted its operation to deliver food to nearly 20,000 internally displaced people in Southern Sudan.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he regrets that the Security Council has been unable to agree to extend the mandate of the UN mission in Georgia.
Five United Nations independent experts on human rights on Tuesday urged authorities in Myanmar to ensure that the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi and two of her aides is fair and open.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
Japan has welcomed the adoption of a Security Council resolution condemning North Korea's nuclear activity.
The UN and its partners are devoting 100 days to raise awareness of the true cost and dangers of nuclear weapons.
From New York State to the shores of the Pacific Northwest in the United States, to a Norwegian island north of the Arctic Circle, a new film documents the journey of retired history teacher Sven Huseby as he discovers the dangers of ocean acidification.
A new report from the International Labour Office warns that the global financial crisis could push an increasing number of children, particularly girls, into child labour.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
The Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted tougher sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Daily Noon Briefing by Michele Montas, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Negotiations for a global climate change treaty appear to be off to a good start.
The International Labour Conference is the world’s largest gathering of governments, employers and workers. It meets every June in Geneva bringing together approximately 4,000 delegates from ILO’s 183 member States. Each country is represented by a tripartite delegation consisting of government, employer and worker representatives. Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Senator [...]
Nearly half of Somalia's people will require humanitarian assistance before the end of the year, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Staff at the UN refugee agency in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Friday paid tribute to a co-worker and other UN personnel killed this week in a terrorist attack.
More than 100 million girls are involved in child labour worldwide, the International Labour Organization (ILO) reports. In a study launched on the World Day against Child Labour, observed on Friday, the ILO warns that the global financial crisis could push an increasing number of children, particularly girls, into child labour. ILO expert Frank Hageman [...]
More than 100 million girls are involved in child labour worldwide, the International Labour Organization (ILO) reports.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Cuts and full press conference.
The UN Secretary-General has written to Sri Lanka's leaders in connection with commitments made last month following the end of military operations against Tamil fighters in the north of the country.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
Influenza A H1N1 is now a global pandemic-the first in more than 40 years. The Director-General of the World Health Organization Dr. Margaret Chan made the announcement in Geneva on Thursday following a WHO emergency committee meeting. Dr. Keiji Fukuda, Assistant Director-General ad Interim for Health Security and Environment, WHO Geneva. Cut and full press [...]
The UN Secretary-General is calling on countries to be watchful now that the World Health Organization has declared a global influenza pandemic.
Influenza A H1N1 is now a global pandemic—the first in more than 40 years.
The head of UN Humanitarian Affairs, John Holmes, on Thursday briefed the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Sudan. Mr. Holmes travelled to Sudan last month where he visited areas most affected by the government’s decision in March to close three national NGOs and expel 13 international organizations from Darfur. John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for [...]
The head of UN Humanitarian Affairs, John Holmes, briefied the Security Council on Thursday on the humanitarian situation in Sudan.
The World Food Programme (WFP) is calling on governments to boost their social safety net programmes as poor households continue to feel the pinch of the global financial crisis.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is headed for the American heartland.
Countries which are party to the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court are preparing for a conference next year in Kampala, Uganda.
The Security Council has concluded informal consultations on a draft resolution calling for new sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Cuts and full stakeouts Ambassador Susan E. Rice Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations Ambassador Vitaly I. Churkin Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative of [...]
The current political and security situation in the Central African Republic tops the agenda of the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs who visits the country this week.
The Security Council has concluded informal consultations on a draft resolution calling for new sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The senior UN envoy for Iraq has condemned a car bomb attack which killed more than 35 people and injured dozens more in the city of Nasiriyah on Wednesday.
The world's poorest are among the hardest hit by the continuing global economic crisis, an injustice that has been acknowledged by many in the business world today.
The World Food Programme is warning that millions of people in the Horn of Africa are once again facing a food crisis.
The head of UN peacekeeping is making his first visit to West Africa.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
Several local staff supporting UN programmes in Pakistan were also killed and injured in the attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar on Tuesday.
Daily noon briefing by Marie Okabe, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
A high-level meeting of the UN Peacebuilding Commission was held in New York on Wednesday to galvanize support and resources to implement Sierra Leone's Agenda for Change.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) says the global financial crisis could push an increasing number of children, particularly girls, into child labour.
The UN General Assembly has elected its new president.
African Finance and Economic Ministers are calling for "bold and swift" action to tackle the impact of the financial and economic crisis currently affecting the continent.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned a terrorist attack at a hotel in Pakistan on Tuesday which killed at least 18 people, including two UN staff members.
The number of deaths from influenza A (H1N1) now stands at 249, the World Health Organization reported on Tuesday. World Health Organization (WHO) says 73 countries have now reported the disease, with more than 26,563 laboratory confirmed cases. Vivian Tan, spokesperson of WHO China. Ms. Tan full interview. Dr. Keiji Fukuda, Assistant Director-General ad Interim [...]
In northwest Pakistan, UNHCR is continuing to look for land to develop more sites to accommodate an increasing number of displaced persons seeking shelter in camps.
Despite the progress achieved, the situation in Burundi remains fragile and the processes of consolidating peace and security are still incomplete.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
Animal health is important for both food security and disease control.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has congratulated Lebanon's new leaders.
Daily noon briefing by Marie Okabe, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
The World Food Programme is bracing for a regional crisis as millions of people in the Horn of Africa face hunger and desperation for yet another year.
More than $400 million is still needed to fund a humanitarian appeal for Pakistan, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) continues to seek land for camps to house internally displaced people (IDPs) in north-west Pakistan.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) estimates that more than 117,000 people have been displaced in the Somali capital Mogadishu over the past month as fighting between government forces and militant groups continues to escalate.
United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon says national reconciliation is the main priority in Iraq in the coming months.
The head of the UN Department of Political Affairs, Lynn Pascoe, visited Senegal on Monday at the start of a six-nation trip to West and Central Africa.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday expressed concern about the situations in Gaza and the West Bank.
United Nations and other agencies attending climate change talks in Bonn are calling for inclusion of humanitarian impacts of climate change in an agreement to be made in Copenhagen in December. Philippe Boncour, Head of the International Dialogue on Migration Division in the Migration Policy, Research and Communication Department of the International Organization for Migration [...]
A treaty set to be signed in Copenhagen later this year, that will succeed the Kyoto protocol, should include the humanitarian impact of climate change.
As we commemorate the first observation by the UN of World Oceans Day, scientists at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are joining forces with marine experts around the world to call for urgent action to control what they refer to as the "other CO2 problem" – ocean acidification.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
The top United Nations official in charge of pandemic preparedness said on Monday that animal health can have wider implications for human beings. Dr. David Nabarro said that hundreds of millions of people depend on livestock for their livelihoods and at the same time diseases move from animals to affect people. Dr. David Nabarro, Senior [...]
The foreign minister of Sierra Leone on Monday reiterated a call on the Security Council to continue its support, understanding and patience as her country consolidates peace.
Daily noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
UN special envoy for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Alan Doss, was this past weekend in the Kivu provinces in the east, to assess progress in the joint UN/Congolese army operations against illegal armed groups.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has congratulated the people of Lebanon and all Lebanese parties and institutions concerned on the peaceful conduct of the parliamentary elections.
Human activities are taking a terrible toll on the world's oceans and seas. That's what Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a message marking World Oceans Day, being observed Monday 8 June.
The World Food Programme (WFP) says that tens of thousands of people took to the streets in cities around the world on Sunday to show their support for its work against global hunger.
The top United Nations official in charge of pandemic preparedness said on Monday that animal health can have wider implications for human beings.
Climate change talks being held in Bonn have failed to elicit commitments from industrial nations to drastically curtail their greenhouse gas emissions.
United Nations and other aid agencies attending climate change talks in Bonn are calling for inclusion of humanitarian impacts of climate change in an agreement to be made in Copenhagen in December.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on the Sri Lankan government to keep its promise to provide humanitarian assistance to the more than 300,000 people displaced by the just-ended conflict between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels.
General Martin Luther Agwai, the Force Commander of the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) on Friday visited the North Darfur town of Umm Barru to assess the situation there.
The UN Secretary-General on Friday condemned the bomb attack in a mosque in the Upper Dir district of Pakistan, which reportedly killed at least 30 people.
Actress Mia Farrow told reporters on Friday that the people of Darfur overwhelmingly support the indictment of President Omar Al Bashir of Sudan by the International Criminal Court.
The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said on Friday that the government of Sudan has the responsibility to arrest people accused of committing crimes against civilians in Darfur. Briefing the Security Council on the situation in Darfur, Luis Moreno Ocampo said the warrant of arrest for President Omar Al-Bashir has been sent to the [...]
The representative of Sudan on Friday criticized the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo for his report to the Security Council.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the killing of a candidate for the forthcoming presidential elections as well as a member of parliament and others in Guinea-Bissau.
Climate change is a global concern.
Fix that leaky faucet, don't drive if you can walk, and stop using plastic bags.
A programme to facilitate temporary migration of workers from Guatemala to Canada reached a milestone of 10,000 people this week.
The World Food Programme is sending a high level delegation to St. Petersburg, Russia, where world leaders will brainstorm this weekend on how to manage grain supply.
Daily noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said on Friday that the government of Sudan has the responsibility to arrest people accused of committing crimes against civilians in Darfur.
Thousands of people in some 70 countries are expected to join the World Food Programme and its major corporate partners in a walk against hunger on Sunday.
More than 90,000 Somalis have fled their homes since the conflict between government forces and militants started at the beginning of May, according to the United Nations refugee agency, UNCHR.
Caribbean News Round-Up: a weekly 15-minute news magazine on developments at the United Nations concerning the Caribbean.
UN Calling Asia – a weekly magazine programme, in English, that keeps you in touch with UN developments covering Asia and the Pacific
A photographer whose work highlights the beauty of wildlife, and a group who plan to sail across the Pacific in a catamaran made of reclaimed plastic bottles are among the "climate heroes" being celebrated by the UN Environment Programme ahead of World Environment Day on the 5th of June.
May 29th was observed as the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says the UN has been pressing forward with intensive efforts not only to involve more local women in peacemaking and peace-building, but also to recruit more women into UN operations. The United Nations Population Award honours an Egyptian doctor [...]
Children living in conflict areas are subjected to grave physical and mental violations by the warring parties. In addition to being forcibly recruited as soldiers, sex slaves or labourers, they suffer the direct consequences of war including displacement, starvation and illness. Myanmar is one of the countries where the situation of children is alarming. UN [...]
With glaciers melting and oceans rising, the UN is urging all its agencies to consider how climate change will affect the world’s security. A resolution adopted by the General Assembly on Wednesday calls on the UN system to step up efforts to address this challenge. Ambassador Marlene Moses of Nauru-representing the Pacific Small Island Developing [...]
The UN World Food Programme has sent urgently needed food assistance to northwest Pakistan to help feed more than 2 million people displaced by fighting between Government forces and militants.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the speech delivered by United States President Barack Obama in Cairo on Thursday.
A senior United States arms control official has called for the completion of work on a treaty to stop production of material used for making nuclear bombs.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has called for the repeal of laws that discriminate against women.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says the world food supply looks less vulnerable to shocks this year than it was during the food crisis in 2008.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) says the latest round of talks on climate change taking place in Bonn, Germany, is progressing well.
The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) says its police advisors have begun training some 2500 Congolese police in the country.
Flooding in nine provinces in northern and northeastern Afghanistan has affected a total of 12,000, according to the latest assessment by UN agencies, the Afghan government and non-governmental organizations.
Former senior military officers of Somalia are meeting in Washington D.C. this week to share ideas on how to build security forces of the war-ravaged country.
The World Health Organization continues to monitor cases of Influenza A H1N1 as the new strain of flu continues to spread across the world.
PRESENTER: The global financial crisis has aggravated the food crisis around the world and could possibly top the number of chronically hungry people to one billion according to the United Nations leading food aid agency, WFP. So, how is this situation affecting the world’s poor? UN Radio’s Jocelyne Sambira has the story. NARRATOR: The Millenium [...]
Professor Philip Alston presenting the following reports: an annual report, a 400 page communications report, follow-up reports on Guatemala and the Philippines, and final reports on missions to Afghanistan, Brazil, the Central African Republic, Kenya, and the United States of America. Professor Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions full statement.
Daily noon briefing by Ms. Michelle Montas, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
The Kenya government has been heavily censured at the United Nations Human Rights Council for condoning extra judicial killings and violence against human rights defenders.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has expressed concern about the return to Burundi of a large group of refugees from a camp in Rwanda.
The Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) has called on governments, workers and employers to produce a global jobs pact to respond to the global financial and economic crisis.
The President of the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday paid tribute to the victims of the Air France jet that crashed over the Atlantic Sunday.
Immediate funding is needed for national and international health providers in Pakistan.
A programme aimed at improving the quality of primary schools was launched Tuesday in Sri Lanka.
The International Organization for Migration says the Black Sea region is at the crossroads of several smuggling and trafficking routes towards the European Union.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is again calling for help for Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons.
Press Conference by Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia
In Sri Lanka, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, is working with other relief agencies and the Government to provide urgently needed assistance to hundreds of thousands of people who have fled the former conflict zone in the last several months.
Daily noon briefing by Ms. Michelle Montas, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
The crisis in Somalia of fighting and displacement of civilians has been called a long-running “genocide in motion” in that Horn of Africa country. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for that country, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, says that more international attention should be paid to the tragic situation there: Ould-Abdallah 1: It is very sad to [...]
The United Nations Population Award was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981 in recognition of individuals and organizations outstanding contributions to the awareness of population issues and their solutions. This year’s laureates are a renowned Egyptian doctor, Mahmoud Fathalla and a Nicaraguan Non-Governmental Organization, Movimiento Comunal Nicaraguense. UN Radio’s Jocelyne Sambira reports. [...]
Eleven developing countries will receive over half a million dollars to support efforts to conserve food and other genetic material from major crops.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) announced on Tuesday that more than 100,000 Sudanese refugees over the age of 18 in eastern Chad will receive identity cards.
An official from the United Nations weather agency on Tuesday says it is highly unlikely that lightning or inclement weather alone caused the crash of the Air France jet that disappeared in a storm Sunday night.
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Business and Human Rights has stressed the need to protect human rights in the face of the current financial and economic meltdown.
More people fleeing fighting between Pakistani troops and militants in the Swat Valley are arriving at a newly established camp in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, according to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak on Monday spoke to the press after meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan has expressed concern about the recent increase in violent ethnic clashes in Southern Sudan.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Monday that he does not think that his government will cooperate with the team investigating alleged war crimes committed during the recent Israeli-Hamas conflict.
The United Nations and humanitarian agencies in Zimbabwe have issued a revised appeal for more than $700 million dollars to assist six million people.
The United Nations health agency, World Health Organization, called on governments to require that all tobacco packages include pictorial warnings to display the sickness and suffering caused by tobacco use. The request preceded the World Health Organization’s World No Tobacco Day, observed on 31 May. Farah Ahmed has the story. VOXPOP1: When you see it, [...]
Four thousand government delegates from 181 countries, including representatives from research institutions and environmental organizations, have gathered in Bonn to negotiate the first round of a climate change text. I spoke to John Hay of the UNFCCC, who is involved in the negotiations: And the delegates have come here to discuss three different negotiating texts. [...]
Daily noon briefing by Michele Montas, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
A second round of United Nations climate change talks opened in Bonn, Germany on Monday to agree on tough new limits to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.
A second round of United Nations climate change talks opened in Bonn, Germany on Monday to agree on tough new limits to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.
The joint Special Representative of the African Union and the United Nations in Darfur, Rodolphe Adada on Monday expressed deep sorrow over the death of the former president of Sudan.
A group of 16 international organizations have urged participants at the climate change talks taking place in Bonn to ensure that fisheries and aquaculture are not neglected in their discussions.
The head of the United Nations mission in Iraq has welcomed the completion of the first week of updating voter registration in the Northern Region of Kurdistan.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization on Monday announced a new scheme to reward farmers in poor countries for conserving and breeding crop varieties.
