What's New

As refugee numbers approach 26 million, heads of state, top UN diplomats, powerful figures from the private sector and civil society are heading to Geneva to agree on “bold, new” ways to help, at the first ever Global Refugee Forum, which got underway on Monday.

As we enter the Decade of Action to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world must “unite against corruption” to stop precious resources from being drained by illicit financial flows, an international conference on the issue heard on Monday in Abu Dhabi.

Negotiations at the COP25 UN climate conference in Madrid finally ended on Sunday, wrapping up an event which saw much progress made by the private sector, and by national, regional and local governments. However, there was widespread disappointment that no overall consensus was reached on increased climate ambition.

With one in three low and middle-income countries facing the two extremes of malnutrition – undernutrition and obesity – the UN’s health agency WHO is calling for a new approach to deal with rapidly changing food systems.

A new report, published in the British medical science publication The Lancet on Monday, suggests that, globally, almost 2.3 billion children and adults are overweight, and more than 150 million children are stunted, and warns that undernutrition and obesity can lead to effects across generations. 

With millions of workers increasingly affected by the climate crisis the route to securing livelihoods in the future lies in a wholesale transformation of how we power the planet and manage our resources, the UN chief said on Thursday, at a COP25 climate action event focused on greener jobs.

The UN Secretary-General has called on business and civil society leaders to press Governments into articulating policies that support private sector efforts to address climate change. 

António Guterres issued the charge on Wednesday in a speech to the annual Caring for Climate Meeting, held during the on-going UN COP25 climate conference in Madrid. 

Last September world leaders at the United Nations endorsed an ambitious political declaration on universal health coverage, “reaffirming that health is a human right”, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday in his message for International Universal Health Coverage Day.

Covering around 27 per cent of the earth's land surface, mountains play a critical role in moving the world’s towards sustainable economic growth. With the future in mind, the theme for this year’s international day celebrating the world’s peaks and summits on Wednesday, is Mountains matter for Youth.

The United Nations is highlighting the role of young people in leading the way to a better future for all people for this year’s observance of Human Rights Day, celebrated on Tuesday. 

They are the ones who are “bringing human rights to life”, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated in his message for the day. 

As we enter a decade of ambitious action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), stepping up efforts to eradicate corruption and promote good governance is “essential…to deliver on our global pledge to leave no one behind”, the UN anti-crime chief has said.