Social protection for rural workers “remains a dream”, according to a report launched in Geneva on Thursday by the Bureau for Workers' Activities (ACTRAV), part of the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO).

Democratic and responsible governance is needed to counter ongoing insecurity in West Africa and the Sahel, the UN Special Representative for the subregion told the Security Council on Thursday. 

Countries already under pressure from the economic fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic, risk seeing the same economic turmoil and human misery as Sri Lanka, with the war in Ukraine dragging on, unless the international community agrees to radical financial measures to help countries saddled with debt, the UN said on Thursday.

In the face of record food price inflation, skyrocketing fuel costs and widespread commodity shortages, some 6.26 million Sri Lankans, or three in 10 households, are unsure of where their next meal is coming from, according to the latest food insecurity assessment from the World Food Programme (WFP), released on Wednesday. 

Following the killings of at least 23 Brazilians during police raids and checks, UN-appointed independent human rights experts called on Wednesday for urgent reforms against “racialized police brutality”.

The Director-General of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) has called on drug manufacturer Pfizer to do more to ensure that its new COVID-19 oral antiviral medication is available quickly, to provide effective treatment to countries that may struggle to afford it.

In the face of record high food inflation, skyrocketing fuel prices and widespread key commodity shortages, some 6.26 million Sri Lankans, or three in 10 households, are unsure of where their next meal is coming from, according to the latest food insecurity assessment of the World Food Programme (WFP) – released on Wednesday.

The number of people affected by hunger globally rose to as many as 828 million in 2021, according to a new UN report that provides fresh evidence that the world is moving in reverse, away from the Sustainable Development Goal of ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms, by 2030, when the SDGs are supposed to be realized.

On Wednesday, the first day of the Women’s Euro 2022 football tournament, the United Nations launched Football For The Goals (FFTG), an initiative aimed at tapping into the power of the game to raise awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN’s blueprint for a fairer, greener future.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday echoed strong condemnation from the Security Council and elsewhere, of the killing of two more UN peacekeepers in northern Mali.

The UN human rights chief called on Tuesday for a prompt, impartial and “transparent investigation” into the deaths of at least 18 people during clashes at protests in the Uzbek region of Karakalpakstan last Friday.

Harnessing partnerships to create a world of “peace and prosperity” that protects people and planet, is the main goal of a key annual development forum that started on Tuesday, the President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Collen Kelapile, has said.

UN chief António Guterres lent his support on Tuesday to international efforts to rebuild Ukraine, as a conference began in Switzerland to garner support for the war-shattered country.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are characterized by a “shallow commitment” to racial justice and equality, an independent UN-appointed rights expert told the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday, adding that they fail to address systematic racism and xenophobia.   

A sharp increase in essential goods in the Central African Republic (CAR) linked to war in Ukraine will likely have a devastating impact on the already dire humanitarian situation there in coming weeks, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday.

Nearly a third of all women in developing countries, start having children at the age of 19 or younger, and nearly half of first births to adolescents, are to children or girls aged 17 or under, new research released on Tuesday by UNFPA, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, reveals. 

New suspected mass graves have been uncovered in Tarhuna, Libya, a Human Rights Council probe reported on Monday, highlighting continuing extreme rights abuses in the country that have affected children and adults alike.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has declared the end of its 14th Ebola outbreak after less than three months, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

The UN Secretary-General’s final day in Suriname began on a small plane and ended at a podium. A 90-minute flyover from Paramaribo into the Central Suriname Nature Reserve revealed to António Guterres the astounding beauty of the Amazon but also spotlighted the threats the rainforest is facing from extraction activities and climate change. 

Suriname might be the smallest and least populated country in South America, but it is also one of the greenest. Considered a global leader in biodiversity conservation, with more than 90 per cent of its land surface covered by native forests, the nation’s unrivaled natural resources more than make up for its size. 

Rising gang crime in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince is limiting access to education and is preventing thousands of children from going to school. Since 2020, gang-related violence has led to school closures, and children have become easy prey for gang recruitment.

A new UN report has shed fresh light on the ways that the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed cascading risks, particularly on vulnerable people, worldwide.

The UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Friday expressed alarm over the killing of at least nine protesters by security forces in Sudan a day earlier, including a 15-year-old child.

The situation for women is so desperate in Afghanistan that they are committing suicide at a rate of one or two every day, the Human Rights Council has heard.

Following a week of discussions and events in Lisbon, Portugal, the UN Ocean Conference concluded on Friday, with governments and heads of state agreeing on a new political declaration to Save Our Ocean.

A week since the US Supreme Court overturned a landmark, 50-year-old judgement guaranteeing access to abortion, top UN-appointed independent experts urged United States lawmakers on Friday to adhere to international law that protects women’s right to sexual and reproductive health. 

Veteran UN aid coordinator Najat Rochdi on Friday signalled grave concerns about rising humanitarian needs across Lebanon linked to the global food and fuel crisis, which are affecting “everyone, everywhere”.

The UN migration agency on Friday deplored the deaths of at least 20 migrants in the Libyan desert and renewed its call for stronger migrant protection along the Chad-Libya border. 

The ruling by the United States Supreme Court against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday, is “a setback in our fight against climate change” said the UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.

The southern ocean border of Kenya and Tanzania is dotted with thick hedges of mangroves – indispensable carbon sinks and spectacular ecosystems teeming with life – that appear to float dreamlike over creek beds and mudflats. These hardy trees and shrubs, and the communities that depend on them, are getting a major boost from UN-backed restoration plans that are also helping to reduce poverty and build economic resilience.

Despite diplomatic engagements, restoring the so-called Iran nuclear agreement continues to be hindered by political and technical differences, the UN political and peacebuilding chief told the Security Council on Thursday.  

UN-appointed rights investigators announced on Thursday that they’ve launched a probe into an alleged massacre of at least 200 people in Ethiopia’s Oromia region. 

Road traffic accidents claim nearly 1.3 million lives each year, cost some countries up to three per cent of their annual GDP, and are the biggest killer of five to 29-year olds globally, the UN General Assembly President told a High-level Meeting on Improving Global Road Safety on Thursday.

A new UN-led financing tool to strengthen weather and climate forecasting, improve life-saving early warning systems, safeguard jobs, and underpin climate adaptation for long-term resilience, officially opened for business on Thursday.

Increasing scientific knowledge, developing research capacity and making the most of new marine technology, are essential to sustainable ocean management, the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, heard on Thursday.