What's New

The International Support Group for Lebanon (ISG) met on 3 August, on the eve of the anniversary of the tragic explosions at the port of Beirut on 4 August 2020.  All members expressed their solidarity with the families of the victims, and with those whose lives and livelihoods have been affected.  It urged authorities to swiftly complete the investigation into the port explosions, so that the truth may be known and justice rendered.  

The world football body, FIFA, launched a UN-backed campaign on Monday designed to raise awareness of potentially damaging mental health issues, and encourage people everywhere to seek help when they need it.

The United Nations is encouraging everyone across the world to participate in the literal race against the climate emergency. 

UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, on Monday launched #TheHumanRace, a global challenge to show solidarity with people in the most disaster-prone countries and those hardest hit by climate change. 

Two senior UN officials are urging Governments to make breastfeeding-friendly environments a priority, in line with commitments made earlier this year to accelerate global progress on malnutrition. 

On August 4th, 2020, a devastating blast in a warehouse destroyed much of the centre of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Many neighbourhoods were destroyed, downtown Beirut looked like a war zone. Thousands were injured and some 200 people tragically lost their lives on that day and the days that followed. For many, their property and livelihoods were literally blown away.

Najat Rochdi the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon spoke to UN News about how the country has coped over the last 12 months and what the future holds.

Leading athletes, influencers and innovators have been sharing their thoughts on the role that sport can play in building a better world for all, in UN-led online discussions held to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics.

Small island nations across the world are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis, and their problems have been accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has severely affected their economies, and their capacity to protect themselves from possible extinction. We take a look at some of the many challenges they face, and how they could be overcome.

The Municipality of Beirut launched on Thursday the first municipal mobile health clinic, in partnership with UN-Habitat through the Mayors Migration Council’s Global Cities Fund for Inclusive Pandemic Response. The clinic will provide free and non-discriminatory COVID-19 testing and other basic medical services, to those unable to access these services, including migrants and refugees in marginalized neighbourhoods.

UN Secretary General António Guterres on Thursday urged States to take action against human trafficking, where a third of all victims are children.

Highlighting how the COVID pandemic has pushed as many as 124 million more people into extreme poverty, the UN chief insisted that “many millions” have been left vulnerable to the scourge.

A teenage girl who was sold for sex for the price of a few beers as a twelve-year-old, has told the United Nations how she was trafficked between Burundi and Tanzania in East Africa.

Some one thousand victims of human trafficking have been identified in Burundi since 2017, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).