UN News Centre

The UN chief has expressed his deep concern by the reported advance of forces based in the east, towards the Libyan capital, Tripoli, declaring that “there is no military solution” to restoring peace and stability to the country.

Celebrating the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told an event in New York on Wednesday - headquarters of team UN - that “sport helps find common ground” during times of division.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has paid tribute to the role played by Egypt in helping to avoid a “dramatic” escalation of violence in Gaza over recent months, as tensions grew over Palestinian protests at the border, Hamas rocket attacks, and reprisal airstrikes by Israel.

With the end of the UN’s peacekeeping presence in Haiti in sight, the UN’s human rights chief told the Security Council on Wednesday that the country now stands “at the crossroads between peacekeeping and development”, urging all concerned parties to continue building on progress made, or “risk losing it” altogether. 

In the wake of the resignation in Algeria of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the UN Secretary-General on Wednesday saluted “the mature and calm nature” of protests involving hundreds of thousands of citizens who took to the streets peacefully in recent weeks, to express “their desire for change.” 

More than two billion people face grave health risks because basic water facilities are not available in one in four medical centres globally, the UN has said, in an appeal to countries to do more to prevent the transmission of treatable infections that can turn deadly if not washed or flushed, away. 

From killing and maiming, to recruitment, sexual abuse and abduction, “violence against children in armed conflict can take many forms”, said Secretary-General António Guterres, in a special message delivered at the launch of a new UN advocacy campaign on Tuesday - Act to Protect Children Affected by Conflict. 

In a world defined by “competition over cooperation, and the acquisition of arms, prioritized over the pursuit of diplomacy”, the threat of a nuclear weapon being used is “higher than it has been in generations,” the Security Council heard on Tuesday.

On World Autism Awareness Day, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres underscored in his message on Tuesday, the importance of technology which helps people living with autism “achieve their full potential”. 

Approximately 113 million people in 53 countries experienced high levels of food insecurity last year, according to a new joint UN and European Union (EU) report released on Tuesday, which warns that these crises are primarily driven by conflict and climate-related disasters.

Around 900,000 doses of cholera vaccine arrived in Mozambique on Tuesday to help stave off a possible epidemic, after the devastation caused by Cyclone Idai, amid reports that the disease has already infected more than 1,000 people in affected areas.

Speaking in Cairo’s historic al-Azhar mosque on Tuesday, UN chief António Guterres issued a call for societies, faiths and cultures everywhere to “focus on what unites us”, urging everyone to work together towards realizing the 2030 Agenda “for the collective benefit of all”.

A new interactive data tool created by the UN University Centre for Policy Research, which shows a mismatch between where modern slavery occurs, and where governments are spending resources to address it, could help make a positive impact on policy debates surrounding the issue.

With the rights and lives of millions of women, children and men uprooted by conflict every year, the UN Security Council held a special meeting on Monday to examine ways to promote and strengthen the rule of law, especially in the humanitarian field.

The United Nations is highlighting the important role that population trends play in promoting sustainable development, during the annual Commission on Population and Development, which began at UN Headquarters in New York on Monday.

Proposed changes to Brunei’s penal code to incorporate punishments under a strict interpretation of Islamic law - including death by stoning - should be halted, the UN’s top human rights official, Michelle Bachelet, said on Monday.

Attending the Summit of the League of Arab States in Tunis, Tunisia, on Sunday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, recognized the critical importance of the region on the international stage and called for even stronger cooperation between the UN and the Arab States.

The UN body exclusively dedicated to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment wrapped up its annual session on Friday evening with agreement on ways to safeguard  and improve women’s and girls’ access to social protection systems, public services and sustainable infrastructure.

Against a background of serious warnings against the effects of climate change, World Meteorological Day this year celebrates the crucial role played by the sun in powering all life on Earth, and in driving the weather, ocean currents and the hydrological cycle.

Fundamentally linked to human development, gender justice requires ending inequality and redressing existing disparities between women and men, according to a high-level United Nations forum on the situation in Arab States.