United Nations

Years of progress in tackling HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are at risk of stalling, leaving millions of people without access to life-saving prevention, testing and treatment, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.

A woman is stopped for buying groceries alone. The shopkeeper who served her is slapped and hauled in for questioning. A teacher is turned away from her own classroom for wearing the wrong cloak.  

A job advert can hide a criminal network, and a single click can lead to a nightmare. Hundreds of thousands of people are trafficked every year on the promise of legitimate work abroad, only to be held captive and forced into online scam operations.

Regional tensions are mounting as the US-Iran war continues and a rising number of Israeli attacks are threatening Gaza’s fragile October ceasefire that ended two years of war with Hamas. Security Council members heard briefings followed by an open debate on Tuesday. UN News app users click here for live coverage.

As the world marks the 75th anniversary of the Refugee Convention, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has launched a global campaign urging governments, organizations and individuals to renew their commitment to protecting people forced to flee war, violence and persecution.

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk expressed concern about ongoing displacement and destruction caused by Israeli strikes against Lebanon as he concluded a two-day visit to the country on Monday.

The United Nations continues to monitor developments in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amid rising violence and greater restrictions in the occupied West Bank.

The AIDS epidemic could stage a comeback amid unequal access to breakthrough prevention medicines and a sharp decline in global funding, according to a UN report released on Monday ahead of the opening of the 26th International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

More than 2,000 rescue workers from 27 countries have been deployed to Venezuela to locate people trapped under the rubble following the twin earthquakes on Wednesday, in a deployment supported and coordinated by the United Nations. 

The new head of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has urged parties to the peace processes for the volatile eastern region to maintain momentum and fully implement their commitments.

More than 2,600 people were displaced in the Artibonite department of Haiti following clashes between armed groups last week as the humanitarian situation continues to worsen, according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA).

A senior United Nations official warned on Friday that the opportunity to prevent a major escalation in the Sudanese city of El Obeid is “rapidly narrowing” as fighting intensifies in and around the North Kordofan state capital.

Secretary-General António Guterres and General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock reaffirmed the principles outlined in the UN Charter and called for a renewed commitment to multilateralism at a General Assembly meeting on Friday marking the Charter’s 81st anniversary. 

The United Nations’ maritime agency said on Friday that it had successfully evacuated about 2,500 stranded seafarers from the Persian Gulf before suspending the operation, after an attack on a commercial vessel exposed uncertainty over who can guarantee safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

More people are using drugs than ever before, while synthetic substances are reshaping illicit markets and exposing vulnerable communities to greater health risks, according to the UN World Drug Report 2026, released on Friday.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Friday called for stronger independent oversight of the United States immigration detention system and investigations into all deaths in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.

Nearly seven million Venezuelans could be affected by this week’s double earthquakes as the death toll rises to at least 235 people amid massive, growing needs and ongoing emergency search and rescue efforts, UN agencies reported on Friday. UN News app users can follow here.

Aid agencies on Friday highlighted massive needs across Venezuela caused by a double earthquake disaster that has killed at least 235 people so far, with search and rescue for people trapped under the rubble still the top priority.

The 15-member Security Council unanimously adopted a draft resolution on Thursday renewing the mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) for six months.

The UN's top humanitarian official has allocated $8 million in funding to help Burundi and South Sudan prepare for the potential spread of Ebola.