UN Interviews

Living heritage gives people a sense of meaning and belonging, connecting individuals and communities across generations.

On Thursday, the UN culture agency, UNESCO’s committee which safeguards living cultural traditions worldwide, added 67 new living heritage elements to UNESCO’s extensive lists.

UN News’s Anshu Sharma in the Indian capital, New Delhi, spoke to Tim Curtis, Director of the UNESCO office there and the agency’s Representative to India, Bhutan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka, about the significance of recognising and safeguarding intangible cultural heritage.

Latest available figures published on Tuesday show more than 272 million children around the world were out of school through 2023, underscoring a deepening global education crisis.

That’s according to UN education and cultural organization, UNESCO, which says that despite lack of access, significant progress has been made in advancing gender parity and integrating emerging technologies in classrooms worldwide, including artificial intelligence.

In an interview with UN News’s Cristina Silveiro, UNESCO policy and lifelong learning director, Borhene Chakroun, outlined the key findings from the agency’s new global report, on the eve of Human Rights Day.

Despite widespread suffering driven by escalating conflict, displacement and disasters, Myanmar’s humanitarian emergency has become all but “invisible” to the world, the top UN official in the country has warned.

Gwyn Lewis, the UN’s interim Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Myanmar, issued the alert during a visit to UN Headquarters, where she has been urging Member States and diplomats to refocus attention on the crisis.

She noted that 3.6 million people have been displaced, nearly 12 million face severe food insecurity, and one million of them are already living in emergency conditions.

Speaking to UN News’ Vibhu Mishra, she called on the international community to increase support and funding to alleviate Myanmar’s humanitarian crisis.

For many survivors of human trafficking, support often ends too soon. With limited resources and systems that fail to provide long-term care, many are thrown out of the system — left without proper trauma support or recognition beyond their stories. 

Mother, activist, and human trafficking survivor Malaika Oringo is determined to change that. As the founder of Footprint to Freedom, a survivor-led non-profit dedicated to empowering and reintegrating trafficking survivors, she advocates for survivor voices to be at the heart of policymaking and government action.

In a conversation with UN News, Ms. Oringo reflects on her personal journey — how she overcame trauma, reclaimed her voice, and continues to inspire change through her tireless advocacy. 

Charlotte Frantz began by asking her what drives the trafficking of people. 

More than two years of conflict in Sudan have brought mass displacement, widespread hunger, the destruction of entire cities, and an end to the rule-of-law.

Despite limited access – especially to the killing fields of Darfur – UN human rights office, OHCHR, continues to document violations, support humanitarian response efforts, and amplify the voices of victims, women, youth, and those displaced.

Ahead of Human Rights Day on 10 December, UN News’s Abdelmonem Makki spoke to the top OHCHR official in Sudan, Li Fung, who described a country enduring one of the world’s gravest humanitarian and human rights emergencies.

Syria is working hard to turn the page on its dismal human rights record under the former Assad regime – allowing the UN rights office (OHCHR) access to the country following years of freezing officials out.

Though the country remains fragile, the resilience of its people – and the political will to change shown by transitional authorities – is helping society move on from decades of repression and 13 years of devastating conflict.

The return of OHCHR to Damascus is “essential” to supporting a rights-based vision for a “new Syria”, said Mohammad Al Nsour, Chief of the Office’s Middle East and North Africa Section, speaking to UN News’s Ezzat El-Ferri. 

Thick toxic smog and air quality or AQI levels up to 35 times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) limits are turning Delhi’s winters into a recurring health emergency.

Balakrishna Pisupati, head of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) office in India, warns that pollution is “almost reaching the level of a disaster.”

In an interview with UN News, he cites vehicle emissions, crop burning, industrial activity, construction dust and stagnant winter air as key contributors.

Despite programmes and investments, progress can feel like “running on a treadmill” due to policy gaps, weak enforcement and little change in behaviour.

UN News’ Anshu Sharma spoke to Mr. Pisupati on how UNEP is addressing India’s air pollution challenge, and the urgent need for coordinated action on fossil fuels and forest conservation.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) may not have the same profile as some of the better know agencies within the system, but it is punching above its weight in terms of its impact on the economies of the developing world.

At UNIDO’s Global Industry Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, UN News’s Khaled Mohamed spoke to Manuel Mattiat, the agency’s Chief of Cabinet, about the crucial role his organization plays in helping industrialized countries to invest in emerging economies, raising living standards for all.

Reducing inequality in Nepal remains a major challenge, as the co untry continues to struggle to meet its Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets.

Among those tackling this issue is Aishworya Shrestha, a young Nepali social worker recently named a UN Young Leader for the SDGs.

Ms. Shrestha leads community-driven mental health and empowerment programmes in some of Nepal’s most remote areas and works to engage young people around the world in advancing the SDGs.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by all UN Member States in 2015 aim to create a fairer, healthier, and more sustainable world.

Each year, 17 Young Leaders are selected globally to help inspire action and accelerate progress toward these shared goals.

UN News’s Charlotte Frantz spoke with Ms. Shrestha about what this recognition means to her and how she plans to leverage the role to create meaningful change.

During his visit to Barcarena in the Amazon basin – a UN-recognized Resilience Hub – the UN’s disaster risk reduction chief, Kamal Kishore, has been seeing climate resilience first hand; not just through infrastructure, but through imagination, education, and community-driven action.

The top official is at COP30 in Belém and told UN News that from flood and heat-resilient schools – to empowered children shaping their own future – Barcarena demonstrates how local leadership can inspire global transformation.

Speaking to Felipe de Carvalho who’s also on the ground there, he praised the local school as “a guiding light” for climate adaptation, one he hopes to see replicated “at least 100,000” times worldwide.