The World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2025 report shows that despite withstanding a series of mutually reinforcing shocks, global economic growth has stagnated and remains below the pre-pandemic annual average of 3.2 per cent. The report produced by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), highlights the enduring impact...
Covering the period of September to November 2024, the report describes intensified Russian attacks on populated areas, deliberate strikes on energy infrastructure, and efforts to restrict fundamental rights. “Behind each of the facts and figures in this report are stories of loss and human suffering, showing the devastating impact of...
The 2024 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons reveals a 25 per cent increase between 2022 and 2019, as more children are exploited and forced labour cases spike due to vulnerabilities brought on by poverty, conflict and the climate crisis. “Criminals are increasingly trafficking people into forced labour, including to...
Titled ‘The Syrian Government Detention System as a Tool of Violent Repression,’ the report from the UN International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) draws on over 300 witness interviews, medical forensic evidence and the Syrian Government’s own documentation. It reveals widespread human rights violations including sexual violence and enforced disappearances....
The report details the horrific reality faced by both the people of Israel and Gaza since 7 October 2023, with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stressing the imperative for Israel to fully and immediately comply with its obligations under international law and the rules of war....
In short, countries must start curbing emissions immediately, according to the UN Emissions Gap Report 2024. “Climate crunch time is here,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen. “We need global mobilisation on a scale and pace never seen before, starting right now before the next round of climate pledges.” If...
The findings come in the Secretary-General’s latest annual report on women, peace, and security. The rise in death and violence is “taking place against a backdrop of increasing blatant disregard of international law designed to protect women and children during war,” according to UN Women, the lead agency on the...
Civilians accounted for 93 per cent of the global casualties from cluster munitions in 2023, according to the 100-page Cluster Munition Monitor 2024, produced by the Cluster Munition Coalition, an international civil society group working in over 100 countries. Children made up nearly half of all people killed and injured...
Just over five per cent of the world’s workforce is without a job, according to the International Labour Organization’s World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2024 report. This is a better situation than before the pandemic, but it isn’t set to last, as an extra two million people are expected to...
The flagship forecast launched in New York on Thursday indicates that last year’s stronger-than-expected GDP growth coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic masked short-term risks and structural vulnerabilities in the world economy. The sombre short-term outlook is based on persistently high interest rates, further escalation of conflicts, sluggish international trade,...
Launched in 2015, the Agenda set out a 15-year plan to realize 17 interconnected targets, known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and change that trajectory. In the second of a two-part series, UN News looks at how far the world has come since 2015 in tackling climate change, creating clean...
Launched in 2015, the initiative set out a 15-year plan to realize 17 interconnected targets, known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since then, the ambitious goals have shaped national action plans, from building resilient cities and reducing inequalities to taking climate action and forging strong public and private sector...