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As part of his final global update, the United Nations human rights chief on Monday voiced his deep concern over recently-adopted United States border protection policies that have seen hundreds of migrant children forcibly separated from their parents.

Land is not a limitless resource and ignoring its role in our everyday lives threatens food and water supplies, biodiversity and the security of us all, the United Nations agency that fights desertification worldwide has said.

In a statement marking the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, the head of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) said that everyone needed to recognize the true value of land.

On the occasions of World Environment Day and World Oceans Day, observed annually on 6 and 8 June respectively, “Believe in Lebanon” NGO, represented by its founder Colette Haddad, launched two art exhibitions in collaboration with the United Nations Information Centre in Beirut (UNIC Beirut), ATCL Club and Octopus Team that includes water divers. The exhibitions were held under the patronage of Minister of Culture Ghattas Khoury, Minister of Tourism Avedis Guidanian, and Minister of Environment Tarek Al-Khatib.

An underwater photographer’s chance encounter with a starving turtle led to a personal “awakening” about the dangers discarded plastic poses to sea life in the world’s oceans.

In November 2017, Saeed Rashid from the United Kingdom was taking photos during a dive on a reef in the Egyptian Red Sea when he came across a female hawksbill turtle that had swallowed a plastic bag and was, as a result, unable to eat.

The turtle probably mistook the floating plastic bag for a jellyfish which hawksbills typically eat.

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Information Service in Geneva (UNIS Geneva) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights teamed up with Spanish artist Cristóbal Gabarrón and the Gabarrón Foundation to launch an international drawing contest urging young people to reflect on the importance of human rights.

The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday elected Ecuadorean Foreign Minister María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of its upcoming 73rd session; only the fourth woman to hold that position in the history of the world body, and the first since 2006.

Ms. Espinosa secured 128 votes against 62 votes obtained by the only other candidate, UN Ambassador Mary Elizabeth Flores Flake of Honduras.

In her acceptance speech, Ms. Espinosa also noted that she was the first woman ever from Latin America and the Caribbean to preside over the Assembly.

Less than 20 per cent of the “desperate” civilians living in Syria’s hard-to-reach areas have got the humanitarian aid they need so far this year, a senior United Nations official warned on Tuesday, calling for the Security Council to help ease their plight.

With more than 128 million people worldwide requiring immediate humanitarian aid, mostly due to war and violence, the United Nations Secretary-General has urged the international community to do more to protect civilians caught in conflict.

Global economic growth is exceeding expectations this year but heightened geopolitical tension and uncertainty over international trade could thwart progress, according to a new United Nations report.

New research indicates that people who are genetically prone to being overweight have a higher risk of taking up smoking - and they are likely to smoke more than average — UN scientists said on Wednesday.