UN News Centre

More than 20 countries committed to a new declaration on agricultural and rural development on Friday, in a bid to stamp out poverty and hunger. The commitment came at the end of a forum on international development cooperation in Changsha, China.

The United Nations human rights chief has warned that an official campaign in and around the capital of Tanzania to identify and detain anyone suspected of being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) “could turn into a witch-hunt.”

Well over half the world’s undernourished people live in the Asia-Pacific region, making it a critical part of the global push to end extreme hunger and malnutrition in line with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs), cautioned a new United Nations report on Friday.

Hundreds of people already forced to flee their homes by violence in Nigeria’s troubled north-east have been uprooted once again after deadly attacks in and around a camp where they were sheltering, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, said on Friday.

Countries should heed the “clear pro-abolitionist spirit” towards the death penalty of one of the world’s most important treaties, a key UN independent human rights panel said on Thursday, while highlighting concerns about right-to-life violations in Belarus and Sudan.

Thousands of elated citizens gathered in South Sudan’s capital of Juba on Wednesday to celebrate an agreement signed in September between the President and his former deputy, which it is hoped will finally end years of brutal conflict across the world’s youngest country.

The killing of journalists around the world for doing their job is “outrageous” and should not become the “new normal” according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly voted in favour of condemning the United States economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba - a call it has made every year since 1992.

The critical difficulties in accessing food in Yemen, and other hardships caused by the ongoing conflict, could lead to the world’s worst famine ever, and place up to two million malnourished, pregnant and lactating women at risk of death, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, said on Thursday.

In a move described as a landmark decision, the Group of Earth Observations (GEO) – a UN-backed partnership set up to improve Earth observation data-sharing and availability, to benefit all life – has launched a global initiative to reverse the “existential crisis” created by desertification and land degradation.

Ongoing tensions between the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and the country’s state authorities were centre stage, as the United Nations top envoy for the country visited the country’s South West State on Wednesday.

A team of Guinean peacekeepers deployed to the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, (MINUSMA) is playing a key role in removing explosives from areas in which the mission is operating.

A group of independent, UN-appointed human rights experts have called on world leaders to stop inciting hatred and violence against the media, citing the hundreds of journalists killed or forcibly detained because of their work, and ensure that those responsible are held accountable.

The United Nations Security Council, on Wednesday, extended the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), until 30 April next year.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed veteran Norwegian diplomat Geir O. Pedersen as his next Special Envoy for Syria.

Calling for solidarity against anti-Semitism, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, addressed an inter-faith tribute held on Wednesday in New York’s historic Park East Synagogue, to honour victims of Saturday’s mass-shooting in Pittsburgh.

The United Nations in Zimbabwe is reaffirming that people living with HIV and AIDS need to continue with antiretroviral (ARV) therapy to manage their infections, after a local preacher reportedly claimed that he had received divine revelation of an herbal cure.

When it comes to helping green our world, organic mushrooms from the local market may be just the tip of the iceberg. A new United Nations-backed report reveals that fungi could help ween the world off its plastic addiction, by degrading polyurethane in just a matter of weeks.

After a lull in fighting in Ukraine over the summer, the last few weeks have seen a sharp rise in civilian deaths, more than half of which are due to landmines and explosive remnants of war, the United Nations top political official said on Tuesday.

A radio series was launched on Tuesday in Nigeria by the UN migration agency (IOM) to sensitize vulnerable people seeking to pursue economic opportunities abroad on the perils of irregular migration – migration done outside the regulated frameworks – and provide information on pathways to migrate legally and safely.