United Nations

Sanctions imposed by the United States on three prominent and well-respected Palestinian human rights groups are “completely unacceptable and should be withdrawn”, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Friday.

The UN aid coordination office, OCHA, has released $10 million in response to the urgent need for food, water, shelter and other lifesaving provisions following this week’s devastating earthquakes and aftershocks in Afghanistan.

Speaking to journalists in the capital of Papua New Guinea (PNG) on Friday, UN chief António Guterres rounded off the first ever visit to the Pacific nation by a sitting Secretary-General, paying tribute to the country’s unbroken 50-year run as a multilingual democracy – which is now beset by major economic and environmental challenges.

As the nearly 30-month-long conflict in Sudan between rival militaries grinds on, looting, burning, and shelling continues to destroy livelihoods and hope.

Sexual violence is rife in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but urgently needed assistance for survivors has had to be halted as sweeping funding cuts bite, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, warned on Friday.

Women make up half of the world’s population but receive only 26 per cent of media coverage, according to the latest UN-backed Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) report, the world’s largest study on gender representation in news media. 

As billions continue to breathe polluted air that causes more than 4.5 million premature deaths every year, UN climate experts on Friday highlighted how damaging microscopic smoke particles from wildfires play their part, travelling halfway across the world.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) called on Thursday for the international community to do everything possible to prevent catastrophe in Gaza City as Israel ramps up military operations ahead of a planned full takeover. 

War-torn Sudan continues to face “a horrific humanitarian situation” as UN colleagues scramble to help communities affected by the devastating landslide that struck Tarseen village in South Darfur state over the weekend, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Thursday.

As the death toll from the Afghanistan earthquake disaster jumped to more than 2,200 on Thursday, UN agencies continued to help, while calling for funding to help build sturdier housing to withstand future shocks.

A senior official from the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Thursday he was extremely concerned over intensifying Israeli military operations in northern Gaza – including Gaza City – and warned against any attempt to annex parts of the West Bank. 

Nearly four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and 11 years since conflict began, the toll on mental health across the country is severe.

Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday he was “profoundly saddened” by the death and destruction caused by the recent floods in northern Pakistan. The current death toll stands at over 400.

Governments, academia and other stakeholders must “double down on delivering reparatory justice” for people from the African diaspora, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said in a report published on Wednesday. 

Thousands of Palestinians have been caught in the crossfire while trying to escape attacks and dire food shortages in war-torn Gaza, with extraordinary challenges for some, according to latest reports from UN officials on the ground and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Pacific Island nation of Papua New Guinea is proof that embracing differences can be the world’s greatest strength, the UN Secretary-General said in a speech to parliamentarians in the capital, Port Moresby, on Wednesday. 

A massive assistance mission for earthquake survivors continued in Afghanistan on Wednesday as aid teams tackled blocked roads and downed communications lines in a bid to reach the most remote communities still in need of help.

“Instead of studying in school, we’re living in it,” said Diana, summing up the conditions faced by thousands of children in the Gaza Strip whose lives have been turned upside down by war who now face the prospect of a third year without education.

Global education funding is facing sharp reductions that could leave an extra six million children out of school by 2026, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Wednesday.

The international community must support efforts towards peace and stability in Syria and end the displacement of millions – both within and outside the country – who fled years of war and just want to go home.