Global communication, understanding the value of religious freedom, and a solid framework are all key in implementing protection of religious sites.  

That’s from  Miguel Moratinos, High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), referencing a Thursday announcement of new efforts by the agency to counter hate and violence around the globe.

South-South Cooperation is “essential, and critical” in reaching the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals agenda come 2030, and the digital world will play an instrumental role.

That’s from Jorge Chediek, the Special Envoy of the Secretary General and Director of the UN Office on the matter (UNOSSC), who explains how the massive sharing of information with countries of the South can be amplified by online tools.

A dusty, dry and conflict-affected area in the Far North region of Cameroon has been turned into a “land of hope” according to a mentor for people displaced by the activities of terrorists in the West African country.

The small plot of land next to Kourgui town was once a no-go area due to the presence of militia associated with the outlawed Boko Haram group. Now it has been transformed by local and internally displaced people into a productive garden providing food to the community and an income to the participants.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, flew to the Bahamas on Wednesday to meet with the Prime Minister and other members of Government, and discuss the next steps in the relief effort.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with UN News’s Conor Lennon, Mr. Lowcock described the scene as one of “mass destruction”.

Paddling hard for a Global Oceans Treaty

Most people think that only trees produce oxygen. But one marine biologist explained that algae is responsible for “more than 50 per cent of the oxygen that we breath”.

According to Greenpeace campaigner Sandra Schöttner, there are a lot of problems “in the big blue”, which is why she is passionate about protecting the oceans.

“We’re taking more fish out of the ocean than nature can produce”, she warns as just “one of the dangers” facing oceans today.

The vast majority of the world’s nearly 26 million refugees are hosted in the Global South where providing education for them is a major challenge, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.

In an interview with UN News’s Daniel Johnson, the agency’s Mamadou Dian Balde (Deputy Director, UNHCR Division of Resilience and Solutions) explains how a new plan is helping to provide not just primary but also secondary schooling to vulnerable youngsters.

Nigerian musician Lambo raises money to bring music therapy programs to youth prisons, through his NGO SALT (Saving All lives Together).

Conor Lennon from UN News met Yinka at the event, and asked him why he is so passionate about the subject.

Saudi women will now be able to apply for passports. Those over 21 will be allowed to travel independently, without permission from their so-called guardians.  UN News’s May Yaacoub spoke to UN Women’s Dr. Mouza Al Shehhi and started by asking her what those steps represent for the region.

Fighting corruption is particularly important in countries recovering from conflict, Mirella Dummar-Frahi, from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said in an interview with UN News.

Speaking to Conor Lennon, at the UN Civil Society Conference, Ms. Dummar-Frahi,, said that, in these countries, corruption can be a driver of conflict.

With Zimbabwe experiencing its worst-ever hunger crisis, the United Nations and its relief partners have revised their humanitarian appeal to scale up food assistance to people most affected by drought, flooding, and economic stagnation. The UN Resident Coordinator for Zimbabwe, Mr. Bishow Parajuli, was recently in New York and sat with UN News’s Assumpta Massoi and gave her a snapshot of the current humanitarian situation in the country.