United Nations

As the world’s population moves inexorably and rapidly to ever larger cities, how can we make sure that urban environments are sustainable and safe for their citizens? These questions and more will be tackled at the twelfth edition of the World Urban Forum.

The humanitarian situation in Lebanon has surpassed the devastation wrought by the war with Israel in 2006, UN agencies said on Saturday, publishing the latest updates from the ground amid calls for an immediate ceasefire.

The long-awaited final phase of a UN-supported polio vaccine campaign began on Saturday in bombarded, besieged northern Gaza even as reports emerged that one vaccination centre had been hit during a humanitarian pause, according to UN agencies on the ground.

Between 2006 and 2024, over 1,700 journalists have been killed around the world, and around 85 percent of the cases did not make it to court, according to a report by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 

UN Secretary General António Guterres has strongly condemned escalating attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan’s Al Jazirah state, as new reports reveal over 135,000 civilians were displaced in just 10 days.  

South Sudan is facing a spiralling humanitarian crisis with hunger and cholera cases escalating in several parts of the country. UN agencies on Friday called for more international support and interventions to ease the widespread suffering.

In a landmark move towards ending statelessness, Thailand’s cabinet has approved an accelerated pathway to permanent residency and nationality for nearly half a million stateless people, marking one of the region’s most significant citizenship initiatives. 

The record-breaking rainfall and deadly flash floods that hit Spain this week underscore why saving lives as climate change turbocharges extreme weather must be a top priority, the World Meteorological Office (WMO) said on Friday. 

Non-stop displacement orders in Lebanon and bombings in Gaza continued as the postponed polio campaign in north is now set to resume on Saturday morning, with the latest updates from colleagues on the ground and interviews with Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, the UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix and more. UN News app users can follow here.

A senior UN disarmament official on Thursday called on all parties to the conflict in Ukraine to exercise restraint and avoid actions that could further escalate the war.

Despite international progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), cities, particularly in the Global South, continue to grapple with poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation.

Despite decades of educational progress and international commitments, a quarter of a billion children and youth remain out of school worldwide, UN education agency UNESCO’s latest Global Education Monitoring Report revealed on Thursday. 

People in Lebanon continue to be killed, injured and displaced by airstrikes, hostilities and displacement orders, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said on Thursday. 

An independent UN expert on Thursday called on the international community to fulfill its “urgent moral obligation” to support the Marshall Islands in addressing displacement challenges stemming from the impacts of historical nuclear testing and the growing threat of climate change. 

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday that Israeli legislation to shut down the main lifeline for Palestine refugees in Gaza “will be deadly” if fully implemented. 

On Monday, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, voted in favour of legislation targeting the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, which could effectively bring its operations in the occupied Palestinian territories to a halt. Here are five things to know about the bills and the potential consequences if they go into effect.

“Catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity” bordering on starvation are expected to impact hundreds of thousands of people in coming months, driven principally by violence and conflict. Five hunger hotspots are of particular concern: Haiti, Mali, the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), South Sudan and Sudan, UN agencies said on Thursday. 

As tensions mount between Pristina and Belgrade, the UN’s top official in Kosovo called for “responsible leadership” from all parties to protect human rights and foster constructive political dialogue.

The UN General Assembly on Wednesday once again urged the United States to end its economic, commercial, and financial embargo on Cuba, renewing a demand it has made annually since 1992.

Education, health care, humanitarian and social services, camps for displaced people, including in times of armed conflict. These are just some of the services that the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has been providing Palestinians since the agency began operating in 1950.