Thousands fleeing South Sudan each day: UNHCR Ongoing conflict in South Sudan forced an average of 3,500 people a day to flee to neighbouring countries last month, according to data from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). UNHCR and its partners in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Sudan, have been racing [...]
Mediterranean deaths spike as people smugglers change tactics A recent spike in the number of people dying while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe has been blamed on a ruthless new tactic by smugglers. An estimated 240 migrants went missing and are presumed dead after two shipwrecks on Wednesday in stretch of [...]
Listen to a bulletin of news and features from United Nations Radio, with Matthew Wells and Dianne Penn. In today's programme: The Paris Agreement on climate change comes into force…One civil society leader tells us it's an historic milestone… And the children of Haiti face desperate hardship after Hurricane Matthew for the "foreseeable future" the [...]
The official entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change which commits 193 countries to limit global temperature rises to below 2 degrees, is an "extraordinary milestone.” That's according to Paul Hanle, president of Climate Central, one of the civil society groups taking part in a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on [...]
Children who have been affected by the hurricane which struck Haiti one month ago face a desperate situation which is likely to persist for the "foreseeable future", according to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Hurricane Matthew struck the Caribbean island on October 4th, killing some 400 people according to government estimates and leaving more than [...]
Civil society groups worldwide have been encouraged by the UN Secretary-General to press governments to deliver on their promises to protect the planet. Ban Ki-moon met with leaders from these organizations at UN Headquarters on Friday to celebrate the entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change. The treaty aims to mitigate global [...]
Workers in the global garment industry are often deprived of "freedom of association", which is key to boosting competitiveness in the industry. That's according to Dan Rees, head of the Better Work Programme, an initiative set up by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Bank. The Better Work Programme, founded in 2009, is [...]
"Business as usual is not an option" for farmers across the world, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Changes to the climate are directly affecting the productivity and livelihoods of farmers, especially in developing countries and the UN food agency is warning that up to 120 million could fall into poverty if they [...]
Engaging local communities and incorporating traditional cultures is key to managing disasters in Indonesia. That's according to Dian Triansyah Djani, the country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, speaking ahead of the UN's first World Tsunami Awareness Day. UN figures show that Indonesia was the worst-hit country during the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. More than [...]
