From the first day he took office, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made the issue of climate change a priority. In visits to areas affected by global warming, he and his team saw firsthand the effects of climate change. Most recently, he traveled to China and Mongolia. The Secretary-General explained that he made the trip to [...]
The time has come for the United Nations to establish a presence in Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, UN Special Representative of the Secretary General told the Security Council this Wednesday. Somalia is at a turning point, says Ould- Abdallah, and the international community has an obligation to move quickly to support peace efforts. UNICEF Radio: Early [...]
News and features from United Nations Radio.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
A senior UN official has expressed concern over "illegal settlement activity" in the West Bank including East Jerusalem.
The United Nations Department of Public Information will hold its annual International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil starting Monday.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
The UN is categorically denying reports that Hamas is in control of the aid effort in Gaza and that John Ging, the Director of UN agency for the Palestinian refugees has left Gaza in response to death threats from Hamas. Gerry Adams spoke to Christopher Gunness, the spokesman for the UN agency there.
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is meeting in New York to review what member states are doing to protect and promote the rights of women. Denmark has an impressive record on gender equality however, it still has a long way to go in terms of bridging the gender pay gap and labour market. Jocelyne Sambira has the story.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is in China where he called on the government to be a global leader in combating climate change. He said the country has an opportunity to leapfrog decades of traditional development based on high polluting fuels by investing in green growth. Meanwhile, the UN's top climate change official told UN Radio's Donn Bobb that the financial burden of climate change must be shared.
The World Health Organisation says more than 160 countries have now reported cases of the AH1N1 flu virus.
By investing in green growth and prioritizing clean energy, China can be a model not only for developing nations but for the whole world in combating climate change. That was what UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasized on Friday in Beijing.
The Director of operations of the UN humanitarian agency in Gaza, John Ging, has dispelled rumors printed in an Israeli newspaper that he has fled Gaza as a result of threats to his life.
The United Nations refugee agency is reporting a fresh wave of population displacement in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution stressing the critical importance of a regional approach to preventing conflict in Africa.
In a special dialogue on the concept of "the responsibility to protect", the UN General Assembly President cautioned that the legacy of colonialism made some countries sceptical about the use of force for humanitarian reasons.
The UN Security Council on Thursday extended the mandate of the UN mission in Nepal, UNMIN, for a further six months.
A new campaign has been launched to protect countries against Foot and Mouth Disease.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
At the World Summit in 2005, governments agreed that if a country fails to protect its citizens, the international community has a responsibility to use appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian and other peaceful means to try and stop genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
International experts and survivors are urging counties to implement the Responsibility to Protect now.
UN Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay has welcomed moves towards establishing the first regional Human Rights Commission in Asia and the Pacific.
A new study by the World Health Organization shows that a longer course of anti-retrovirals given to HIV-positive women from late pregnancy through six months after delivery can help prevent transmission of the virus to their babies through breastfeeding.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
A young orphan boy at a school in Juba, Southern Sudan is struggling to pay his school fees. The government of Southern Sudan has promised to support top students, but 17 year old Michael Lual is worried that this might be his last year of school. UNICEF is featuring a series of stories by young [...]
An area in Sudan, rich in oil and claimed by northerners and southerners alike, is at the heart of a dispute between north and south Sudan. The disagreement over who should have ownership of Abyei and its surrounding areas caused violence last year between government forces and rebels in the south of the country. On [...]
South African performer Yvonne Chaka Chaka was recently in New York to drum up support for the Roll Back Malaria campaign. Her activism also pays tribute to one of her beloved musicians who died from the disease. Dianne Penn caught up with “The Princess of Africa” at a reception in her honour. YVONNE: I must [...]
UN peacekeepers have joined in the fight against climate change by planting trees.
Answering a request by the Security Council, the UN Secretary-General has presented a report on peacebuilding in the immediate aftermath of conflict.
Foreign Direct Investment, or FDI, is expected to begin a slow recovery next year after a sharp drop in 2009, according to a survey conducted by the UN Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on Israel to freeze all illegal settlement activity and natural growth in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, says up to a million children in Pakistan's Northwestern Frontier province may be unable to return to school this September.
The UN envoy for Sudan, Ashraf Qazi, has congratulated the government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Army for completing an arbitration process on the boundaries of Abyei region.
Slovakia will offer a temporary home to 98 Palestinian refugees currently stranded in makeshift camps between Iraq and Syria.
Countries are being advised to take their own mitigation measures when it comes to the H1N1 influenza virus.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
Every country around the world will have the chance to somehow impact on the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in December. UN Radio’s Nick Baker looks at just how important the role of developing countries will be. Developing countries will either make or break the upcoming Copenhagen climate change talks, according to UN officials. Rajendra Shende [...]
Forty years after astronauts landed on the moon, space exploration continues to captivate imaginations world-wide. Dianne Penn spoke to Hans Haubold (How Bold) of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs. He says whether we know it or not, practically everyone on Earth relies on outer space. HAUBOLD: As a matter of fact, outer space [...]
The first evidence that it’s possible to eliminate onchocerciasis has been declared a milestone. Onchocerciasis, or river blindness, is a debilitating disease affecting 37 million people in Africa. It’s caused by a black fly that breeds near rivers and infects those who come close. Dr. Hans Remme, a consultant for the World Health Organization on [...]
The elimination of onchocerciasis [on-ko-sir-KAI-a-sis], or river blindness, is feasible using the drug ivermectin.
A new report on human development in the Arab world is calling on governments in the region to pay more attention to human security and rights for their citizens.
A killer fish disease threatens the livelihood and food security of millions in the Zambezi River Valley, warns the Food and Agriculture Organization.
Over 200,000 civilians have fled the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu, because of renewed attacks by the Al-Shabaab and Hisb-ul-Islam militia groups against government forces.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged states to turn the promise of the Responsibility to Protect into practice.
The United Nations humanitarian appeal for 2009 is still short of 4.8 billion dollars.
The UN Secretary-General says he is deeply concerned by the increasing violence in West Darfur and along the Chad-Sudan border.
Seven UN human rights experts have repeated their request to the Russian authorities to be allowed to assist in conducting an independent investigation into a series of killings of human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists in the country.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
United Nations Secretary-General says the quality of cooperation between the United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and the government of Sudan has improved.
The World Health Organization has announced changes in reporting requirements for the H1N1 influenza pandemic.
The Security Council has voiced its outrage over the deadly bombing of two hotels in Jakarta on Friday morning.
The President of the Assembly of States parties to the International Criminal Court has called on governments to cooperate with the ICC, as the court is known.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has praised former South African President Nelson Mandela as an exemplary global citizen.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
The past year has witnessed a rise in violence against women in Afghanistan and of its public acceptance, according to the UN women's development fund, UNIFEM.
Six months after Israel's conflict in Gaza, according to UNDP, the United Nations Development Programme, UN efforts at assisting any sort of recovery process are being stymied by Israeli sanctions.
United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned the bombings in two hotels in Jakarta Friday morning which have reportedly killed at least nine people.
A UN Security Council committee on Thursday imposed new sanctions against North Korea following its second nuclear test on May 25th.
Sara has found a new chance at life at a women’s shelter in Heart supported through UNIFEM‘s trust fund for Ending Violence against Women. She has learned to sew and embroider and to read and write. Before that Sara, an orphan, had been sold into sexual slavery in Iran. UNIFEM’s country director, Wenny Kusuma, says [...]
A United Nations independent expert has called on Ugandan authorities to do more to help displaced people who are returning to their homes in Northern Uganda.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says there is no justification for attacks on humanitarian workers dedicated to the protection and care of the world's most vulnerable people.
A regional preparatory meeting on HIV and development in Latin America and the Caribbean took stock of progress made in controlling HIV in the region. Jamaica’s Minister of Health Rudyard Spencer told the annual ministerial review of the UN Economic and Social Council in Geneva, that the preparatory meeting also analyzed the main obstacles in [...]
In most parts of the world, people with a high risk of contracting HIV like homosexuals, sex workers, drug users, women, often face stigma and discrimination. The problem is further exacerbated when the law is not on their side and they are often put in jail. This discourages them from testing, or seeking treatment and [...]
The Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) affected areas, says military operations by Ugandan and countries in the Great Lakes region of Africa have disrupted the LRA.
The United Nations independent expert on minority issues says there is room for improvement in the promotion of the rights of minorities in Kazakhstan.
The Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) says the gross domestic product in the region will contract by this year.
Kids should be kids—even in difficult times. For this reason, UNICEF has launched an Early Childhood Development kit to encourage young children to learn and interact, even in the face of natural disasters and conflict.
As the global community continues efforts to try and stamp out Al Qaeda, the clock may be counting down to their next major attack. UN Radio's Nick Baker reports.
The Security Council has welcomed Afghan-led preparations for upcoming presidential and provincial elections in Afghanistan.
Experts at the Food and Agriculture Organization, the FAO, are predicting that as soon as 2011, the West African country of Benin will be self-sufficient in the production of rice.
A senior United Nations official says formidable differences remain to reach a agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.
For at least a decade the International Committee of the Red Cross has been urging States to develop strict controls on the transfer of conventional arms.
The West Africa nation of Togo is set to receive $20 million from a major funding agency to fight HIV and AIDS over the next two years.
United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon has stressed the vital role of the Non-Aligned Movement in finding solutions to global problems.
Aid agencies in Somalia are appealing for a total of $11 million for emergency water and sanitation programmes in that country.
The head of United Nations Peacekeeping on Tuesday visited the Sudanese town of El Geneina in West Darfur, close to Sudan’s border with Chad.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), has warned that the manufacturing capacity for influenza vaccines is inadequate for a world of 6.8 billion people.
A Security Council committee overseeing sanctions on individuals and entities associated with Al-Qaida and the Taliban is facing shortcomings, according to its chairman.
Addressing the G-8, the Group of Eight industrialized nations, as they met in L'Aquila, Italy, in early July, Kanayo Nwanze, President of IFAD, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, told the leaders that while food aid cannot be ignored, we cannot resolve the world’s food security without long-term investment in agriculture
In a forum on advancing global health in the face of the economic crisis, convened by the UN Secretary-General last month, one of the solutions put forward was prioritizing maternal health.
People displaced by conflict in Pakistan have begun heading home to the Swat Valley after spending the past two months in temporary camps, with host families, or in schools.
The heads of five international agencies have signed a petition in support of an international campaign pushing for a successful outcome of United Nations-sponsored negotiations on climate change.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) is asking the government of Italy to explain the treatment of people sent back to Libya after trying to reach Italy.
The President of IFAD, the International Fund for Agricultural Development said on Tuesday that food security is fundamental for global security.
More than 5,000 people began returning to their homes in Pakistan's Swat Valley on Tuesday.
A former Rwandan municipal official and military officer has been sentenced to life imprisonment for his part in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
The representative of Myanmar to the United Nations has said his country is planning to release prisoners to enable them to participate in national elections next year.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq Ad Melkert has expressed concern about the continued targeting of the Christian minority in Iraq.
The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known by the French acronym MONUC, is supporting the government as it works to integrate former rebel fighters into its army while also neutralizing the threat of foreign armed groups.
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor is on trial at the Special Court for Sierra Leone on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity arising from the civil war in Sierra Leone.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday once again called on the authorities in Myanmar to deliver on their promise to make elections next year inclusive, free and fair.
German Formula 1 driver, Timo Glock has put his racing helmet up for auction on eBay to raise funds for the World Food Programme's campaign to feed children.
The trial against former Liberian President Charles Taylor for crimes committed in Sierra Leone has entered its defense phase.
The International Court of Justice has ruled that Costa Rica can freely use the San Juan River for commerce and transportation of passengers.
Presenter: The financial crisis in the US is the subject of this year’s “photo of the year” winner at the 2009 World Press Photo Exhibit, hosted by the United Nations.
The United States contributed 4 billion US dollars last year to fight AIDS in developing countries, more than half of the amount disbursed by all G8 industrialized nations together.
In Geneva, the UN Economic and Social Council concluded its High-Level Segment with a call for global cooperation to boost public health.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
Caribbean News Round-Up: a weekly 15-minute news magazine on developments at the United Nations concerning the Caribbean.
Women: a weekly 14-minute news magazine that looks at issues affecting women around the world
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, says atrocities being committed against civilian population in Somali capital Mogadishu by government forces and rebel groups may constitute war crimes.
With the Taliban regime gone, women in Afghanistan are trying to reclaim their basic rights, like education and the right to participate in public life. This has resulted in an escalation of violence against women and girls. A report released by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights along with the UN Mission [...]
News and features from United Nations Radio.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
The significant progress achieved in West Africa in the area of peace, security and stability remains extremely fragile, according to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the region.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed an understanding reached in Moscow by the leaders of the United States and Russia on cutting nuclear weapons.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
Nine students from five continents traveled to United Nations headquarters to prepare for the Model United Nations Conference in Geneva next month.
The United Nations Public Service Awards Programme is the most prestigious international recognition of excellence in public service.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is on a two-day visit to Myanmar. He met with Senior General Than Shwe in the capital Nay Pyi Taw on Friday.
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Organization for Migration, IOM are joining forces to recruit technical experts from the Somali diaspora to help rebuild key governance structures in the country.
UNICEF is deeply concerned about the condition of thousands of children displaced by conflict in north-western Pakistan.
The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency is meeting in Vienna today to appoint Yukia Amano of Japan as the new Director-General of the IAEA.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed an agreement between Ghana and the Gambia to end tension between the two countries.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is deeply concerned about the ongoing political and constitutional crisis in Niger following the decision by the country's leader to dissolve Parliament.
Women: a weekly 14-minute news magazine that looks at issues affecting women around the world.
Caribbean News Round-Up: a weekly 15-minute news magazine on developments at the United Nations concerning the Caribbean.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
A landmark ruling by an Indian court repealing a law that criminalizes homosexual acts has been hailed by the United Nations agency dealing with HIV/AIDS as setting an important precedent for the world. UNAIDS hopes it would encourage more HIV victims in India to come forward to seek treatment and information. Bissera Kostova reports. Timberlake [...]
River blindness continues to cause pain and suffering among Africans. The disease is transmitted by the blackfly which breeds in fast flowing rivers. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 100 million people are at risk of infection with river blindness, the overwhelming majority in Africa. But now there is a glimmer of [...]
The United Nations independent expert on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories has denounced the seizure by an Israeli gunboat of a ship sailing to Gaza.
The United Nations humanitarian office says a crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border will be reopened for three days each month to patients in need of medical care, students, and foreign visa holders.
The United Nations has praised efforts by the Pakistani people to help their compatriots, who have been displaced by the conflict in the northwestern part of Pakistan.
While countries in the Western Balkans are seeing healthy economic growth overall, rural areas are falling behind, according to a new report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Bank.
UNAIDS has welcomed the decision by the Delhi High Court in India to repeal a 150-year-old law criminalizing consensual adult homosexual relations.
Food shortages are nothing new for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. And according to a spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP), Lena Savelli, North Koreans traditionally have learned to cope. But now, with a 500 million dollar appeal, only 15% funded, Ms. Savelli tells UN Radio’s Patrick Maigua that WFP is concerned about [...]
International Discussions to prevent renewed violence over the Russian-backed regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia which broke away from Georgia have realized concrete results.
A clinical trial of a drug that can eliminate onchocerciasis or river blindness is being launched in three African countries.
The Commission of Inquiry into the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto formally began its work on Wednesday.
News and features from United Nations Radio.
Much has been achieved in the fight against racism in Germany over the past years, yet much still needs to be done, according to a United Nations independent expert on racism.
What started as an idea during a summer workshop at one of the world’s most prestigious universities could help save thousands of babies worldwide. The Just Milk nipple shield is designed to stop mother to child transmission of the HIV virus during breastfeeding. The device was developed by Dr. David Sokal and a team of [...]
Food shortages are nothing new for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. And according to a spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP), Lena Savelli, North Koreans traditionally have learned to cope. But now, with a 500 million dollar appeal only 15 percent funded, Ms. Savelli tells UN Radio’s Patrick Maigua that WFP is concerned [...]
The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday unanimously condemned Sunday’s coup d’etat in Honduras. The 192 UN Member States adopted a resolution, calling for the restoration of the democratically-elected President and constitutional Government. Bissera Kostova reports. SFX (adoption) NARRATOR: By an orally revised text on the “Situation in Honduras: democracy breakdown” the General Assembly decided [...]
The World Health Organization has warned that HIV-infected infants risk contracting a deadly form of tuberculosis from a vaccine instead of receiving protection against the tuberculosis.
Two United Nations agencies are concerned that Iraq won't be able to meet its obligations under a treaty banning anti personnel land mines.
The World Food Programme has warned that its emergency feeding operation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is running out of money.
The United Nations expert on the independence of judges and lawyers has expressed concern about recent attempts to restrict the freedom of lawyers to represent their clients effectively in Cambodia.
