The rebound follows a massive 95 per cent decrease in 2023, when the ban nearly eliminated poppy production nationwide, leading to a severe decline in Afghanistan’s opium output. However, while cultivation has increased, the current levels remain substantially lower than in 2022, which saw 232,000 hectares under poppy cultivation. UNODC...
135 UNRWA staff members are known to have been killed in Gaza since the escalation of fighting since the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel. That’s the most ever in one incident but, despite the danger and extremely difficult working conditions, UNRWA is continuing to assist those caught up in...
Together with her grandson, Ike Howard, the 109-year-old Ms. Fletcher came to UN Headquarters this week to commemorate the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) International Day of Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. Standing in front of the Ark of Return monument, Ms. Fletcher and Mr. Howard spoke...
“We are together to mourn the more than one million children, women, and men who perished in 100 days of horror 29 years ago,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “We pay tribute to the resilience of the survivors [and] recognize the journey of the Rwandan people towards healing, restoration, and...
More than 3,500 desperate Rohingya attempted deadly sea crossings in 39 boats in 2022 – mainly from Myanmar and Bangladesh – UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told journalists in Geneva. “This represents a 360 per cent increase on the year before, when some 700 people made these journeys.” The UN agency’s...