Some 69 States around the world currently criminalise homosexual relations between consenting adults. This means that in just this one area of human rights violations, two billion people are being discriminated against on a daily basis – a third of the world's population.

Despite some signs of progress in ending the political, economic and humanitarian crisis that has worsened across Haiti since the assassination of its president last year, the situation there remains “fraught and highly polarized”, the UN envoy to the country told the Security Council on Friday.

With tensions continuing to mount over the Ukraine crisis, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Friday that he still believed military conflict in Europe “will not happen” – although if it did, “it would be catastrophic”.

Thousands of Eritrean refugees sheltering at a camp in the Ethiopian Afar region, have fled following a deadly attack on the facility earlier this month, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.

Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia will be the first countries on the African continent to receive the technology needed to produce game-changing mRNA vaccines, which have proved crucial to the fight against COVID-19, the head of the UN health agency said on Friday.

Global trade reached a record high in 2021, but it is expected to slow this year for many reasons including continuing delays in global supply chains, UN economists said on Thursday.

Global commitments on implementing multilateral agreements were front and centre on Thursday, as the General Assembly President co-hosted hundreds of Parliamentarians from around the world – the largest in-person gathering at the UN in New York since last September’s High Level Week.

Amid competing narratives of events unfolding swiftly in and around Ukraine - one detailing the withdrawal of Russian troops from the borders and another proclaiming that an attack is imminent – the UN political affairs chief called on Thursday for the parties to make meaningful progress on implementation of the 2015 Minsk agreements, as she briefed the Security Council.

Conflict prevention, counter-terrorism and support to Afghanistan, top the list of issues on which the UN and the Collective Security Treaty Organization – a Eurasian regional grouping comprising Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan – should bolster their cooperation, Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council on Wednesday.

As the Sahel region “stares down a horrendous food crisis”, the UN emergency food relief chief warned on Wednesday that the number of people on the brink of starvation has “increased almost tenfold” over the past three years and “displacement by nearly 400 per cent”.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan on Wednesday strongly condemned the continued violence across the country, which is affecting the safety of civilians and humanitarian workers, constraining humanitarian access, and disrupting the delivery of aid and services to thousands of vulnerable people.

Migration is a “a defining feature of humanity and our world”, the UN chief told the General Assembly on Wednesday, launching his second report on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.

Haiti is once more at a ‘crossroads’, six months after a devastating earthquake hit the south-west of the country, according to the UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed.

The Global Disability Summit began on Wednesday in Oslo, where UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged all countries to do more to put people living with disabilities “front and centre” of their post-COVID recovery plans.

On 14 August 2021, the south-west region of Haiti was hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake which led to widespread death and destruction. Some 2,200 people died, over 12,500 were injured and up to 800,000 people directly impacted. Six months on, the Haitian government has organized an international pledging conference, in the hope of raising the $2 billion needed for reconstruction.

Independent UN experts expressed deep concern on Tuesday over allegations that human rights defenders have been threatened at the Polish-Belarusian border, including media workers and interpreters. 

Recent attacks on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia indicate how the conflict in Yemen risks spiralling out of control, the chief UN mediator for the country told the Security Council on Tuesday, as he called for “serious efforts” to be made by Yemeni parties, the region and the international community, to end the fighting, now in its seventh year.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) top official in Europe on Tuesday called on governments and health authorities to “closely examine” why there is low demand and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines, as an “Omicron tidal wave” slams countries in the east of the region.

Somalia’s leaders must put aside their differences and urgently conclude a credible election process, the UN’s senior official in the country told the Security Council on Tuesday, noting that national elections are now more than a year behind schedule and women’s representation remains significantly off-track.

Progress in the overall survival rate for children with cancer is uneven across Europe, with a significant proportion of the thousands diagnosed with cancer each year, still dying, the UN health agency WHO alerted on Tuesday.

The UN together with humanitarian partners on Monday, launched the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan for Mali, seeking $686 million from donors to help 5.3 million of the most vulnerable people in the country.

Amid increasing tension over Ukraine between Russia and Western countries of the NATO alliance, the UN Secretary-General declared on Monday that “there is no alternative to diplomacy.”

During a COVID-19 global action meeting on Monday, the UN health chief described the progress underway at the World Health Organization (WHO) mRNA vaccine technology transfer Hub in South Africa, noting that the “historic initiative comes at a critical time” in the global fight against the virus.

The impacts of climate change are already “very visible” and “happening worldwide”, the head of the UN weather agency told the start of the 55th Session of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which convened on Monday.

The UN Joint SDG Fund announced on Monday an additional $54.5 million in investments for projects across five countries, to try and get the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) back on track. 

The impacts of climate change are already “very visible” and “happening worldwide”, the head of the UN weather agency told the start of the 55th Session of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which convened on Monday.

In the age of new communication technologies and social media, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) recently announced the designation of new FM frequencies to expand radio's reach in Africa. 

As Timor-Leste prepares to choose a new president in March, Roy Trivedy, the senior UN official in the country, explains the Organization’s role in securing the vote for all citizens across the small island nation, which gained independence from Indonesia in 2002, and expresses his hopes for safe, inclusive, and transparent elections.

More than 600 family members of ISIL fighters have been repatriated from Syria to Kazakhstan over the last three years, as part of an initiative to rehabilitate women and children from the country. One formerly radicalized wife who married a member of the terrorist group, has been speaking to UN News about her regrets, and her hopes for a better future.

This year’s World Radio Day marked on Sunday, focuses on the pertinent theme of “Radio and Trust”, at a time when misinformation and disinformation are spreading, and distorting the flow of life-saving facts in relation to public health, as well as fanning hate speech. 

In Ukraine, home to heavy industry and one of the largest coal mining operations in the world, passionate women entrepreneurs are adopting new approaches to business, putting environment and people first.

Six months after a devastating earthquake in south-west Haiti which caused the deaths of 2,200 people and injured 12,700 more, the international community is coming together with the Government of Haiti to raise up to $2 billion for the long-term recovery and reconstruction of the country. UN News explains why support is needed

Mozambique may have been spared by Tropical Cyclone Batsirai, but it is still reeling from the devastating impacts of Tropical Storm Ana. Humanitarians are continuing to support the country’s recovery, and the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA is focusing on fortifying their services to support women and girls. 

Brazil must comply with its international obligations, and reinforce its national prevention mechanisms against torture, UN independent experts said on Friday, after concluding a visit to the country, which is home to the third largest prison population in the world.

From adolescence to old age, sexual health constantly needs to be revaluated in the light of every individual’s changing circumstances, the UN health agency said on Friday.