World

The size of the appeal – 25 per cent higher than this year’s – reflects the fact that the total number in need is 65 million more than in 2022, the UN and partner organizations noted. In a video message, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that during a “year of extremes”, it was essential to fund lifesaving operations next […]

The agreement reached at COP27 in Egypt shows that solidarity and co-operation between nations on the world’s most pressing issues is possible through negotiation and compromise, even in testing times. But the world needs urgent actions, not just carefully crafted words, to avoid climate catastrophe. We welcome governments’ reaffirmation of the need to limit the […]

Sharm El-Sheikh, November 16, 2022 – As negotiations move to the ministerial level at COP27 Climate Summit in Egypt, the Global Climate and Health Alliance today reiterated its call for a governments to commit to establishing a Loss and Damage fund under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).  Outside COP27’s negotiating halls, protesters […]

Nairobi, Kenya, November 7, 2022 – Global solidarity is urgently needed to help vulnerable communities in the Horn of Africa survive a rapidly unfolding humanitarian catastrophe, driven by the longest and most severe drought in recent history that is expected to continue well into 2023. Humanitarian and development actors must urgently prepare for the continuation […]

New York, November 1, 2022 – In the decade since the United Nations launched a Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, no one has been brought to justice in nearly 80% of the 263 cases of journalists murdered in retaliation for their work worldwide, according to the Committee to […]

Strasbourg, 27.10.2022 – The Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action Against Human Trafficking (GRETA) has published today its second evaluation report on the implementation of the Council of Europe Anti-trafficking Convention by Belarus. The report assesses progress in the implementation of the Convention since the publication of the first evaluation report by GRETA […]

Nairobi, 27 October 2022 – As intensifying climate impacts across the globe hammer home the message that greenhouse gas emissions must fall rapidly, a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report finds that the international community is still falling far short of the Paris goals, with no credible pathway to 1.5°C in place. However, the Emissions […]

Geneva/New York, 26 October (WMO) – In yet another ominous climate change warning, atmospheric levels of the three main greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide all reached new record highs in 2021, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). WMO’s Greenhouse Gas Bulletin reported the biggest year-on-year jump in […]

NEW YORK (26 October 2022) — A UN expert today called for the prompt establishment of an independent investigative mechanism into all human rights violations leading up to and since the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, who died in hospital after being arrested by the morality police. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of […]

Washington, D.C. October 11, 2022 1. We, the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), convened today with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Our meeting took place against the backdrop of the most recent missile attacks against civilian infrastructure and cities across Ukraine, leading to the death of innocent civilians. We condemn these attacks in the […]

GENEVA (7 October 2022) – Egypt must ensure the safety and full participation of all parts of civil society at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP27) in November, UN human rights experts* said, after a wave of government restrictions on participation raised fears of reprisals against activists. This new […]

Islamabad / Kuala Lumpur, 7 October 2022 – As widespread flash floods in Pakistan continue to trigger waves of displacement, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Pakistan Red Crescent are scaling up their humanitarian assistance. In a revised emergency appeal, the IFRC is asking for CHF 55 million to assist three […]

Strasbourg, 30.09.2022 – Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Chair of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, Simon Coveney, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Tiny Kox, and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, have made the following statement: “The Council of Europe strongly […]

Researchers now know that, around 175 million years ago, a 12-metre long sauropod, roamed around an area of northern Colombia. The scientific world is attributing the discovery of this new species of herbivorous dinosaur to the improved security situation that exists in Colombia since the signing of a 2016 peace deal, which put an end […]

September 22, 2022 – 1.         We condemn in the strongest possible terms the plan to hold so-called “referenda” on joining the Russian Federation in the Ukrainian regions partly controlled by the Russian military. As the UN General Assembly reaffirmed in its resolution “Aggression against Ukraine” adopted on 2 March 2022, no territorial acquisition resulting from […]

September 22, 2022 – UN Women is deeply concerned and saddened by the death of Mahsa Amini, in Iran, at the age of 22. We convey our heartfelt sympathies to her family.  The death of any young person, any young woman, is a tragedy beyond measure. The circumstances surrounding this series of events, are cause for […]

September 22, 2022 – As the third UNGA of the COVID-19 pandemic reaches its conclusion, many countries are far from meeting global targets on vaccination coverage, testing rates, and access to treatments and PPE. The co-chairs of the ACT-Accelerator’s Council Tracking and Accelerating Progress working group warn that coordinated action, sustained political will and funding […]

September 21, 2022 – Climate change organizations under the Big Shift Coalition have called on the World Bank to fire its President David Malpass. In a panel discussion during a New York Times event yesterday, Malpass refused to back climate science and was labelled a “climate denier” by former US Vice President Al Gore. Malpass […]

Nearly 5,800 people have been killed in the conflict in Ukraine and the situation of prisoners of war in Russian-held areas is “worrying”, the head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country said on Friday.  Matilda Bogner was presenting some of the findings of its latest report to journalists in Geneva, Switzerland.  The conflict is now […]

Achieving full gender equality, one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), could take close to 300 years if the current rate of progress continues, according to a report published on Wednesday by UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). The study reveals how gender disparities are worsening in the face […]