Asmaa Niang, who is from Morocco, spoke to UN News at the UN Convention to Control Desertification (UNCCD) meeting known as COP16 and explained why as an athlete she has the “responsibility to give back and inspire others to protect the land.” As a five-time African judo champion and Olympic...
Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla said the Israeli army has “massacred” over 40,000 civilians in Gaza over the past 11 months. He also paid tribute to the more than 220 UN staff killed in the conflict. “The genocide against the Palestinian people must end unconditionally and without further delay,” he said....
first glance, one would not notice the tumultuous journey that Shiraz has faced in order to find her place in the world. She is studying programming, and dreams of becoming a heart surgeon. She enjoys belly dancing, with her TikTok videos racking up thousands of views and likes. However, the...
In a message marking International Migrants Day, the UN chief emphasized that migration promotes the exchange of knowledge and contributes to economic growth, but at the same time, “poorly governed migration is a cause of great suffering.” “It forces people into the cruel realm of traffickers, where they face exploitation,...
In the first of a two-part series, Angela Muhindo spoke to UN Women ahead of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, marked annually from 25 November to 10 December, Human Rights Day. “My life has been full of pain,” she said, surveying the green landscape where she spent her childhood in...
In a passionate speech standing just a few metres from the Egyptian side of the crossing, he pointed behind him and spoke of the two million trapped without sufficient supplies now for nearly two weeks. “We are witnessing a paradox: behind these walls we have two million people that are...
She is currently deployed with the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, to the north of her country, supporting refugees who are fleeing conflict in Sudan. She has been speaking to UN News ahead of World Humanitarian Day which is commemorated annually on 19 August. “Saving lives became a passion of mine when...
Speaking to the Council’s annual meeting in Geneva on protecting the rights of women and girls, the UN High Commissioner said it was an urgent task, and there needed to be zero-tolerance of gender-based violence. He highlighted the alarming reality that female human rights defenders, women journalists, and those in...
This summer will be “the first in more than three years that many of us will enjoy without the looming threat of COVID-19”, but the life-threatening virus has not gone away completely, WHO’s regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, told reporters at a virtual press conference from Copenhagen. Each week, the...
“Patriarchy must be a thing of the past. Our future depends on women and girls being at the table everywhere when decisions are made,” said Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Only 1 in 4 parliamentarians are women “It was only last year that for the first...
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for greater action to protect oceans in his message to mark World Oceans Day on Thursday. “The ocean is the foundation of life. It supplies the air we breathe and food we eat. It regulates our climate and weather. The ocean is our planet’s...
Latest news reports said the death toll is at least 275. More than 1,000 people were hospitalised but close to 800 of those involved in the crash have reportedly been discharged. According to reports, railway officials and India’s minister in charge of the vast network, said on Sunday that a...