UN Interviews

Many countries still have COVID-19 related restrictions on social gatherings, but the UN system is fighting to ensure that as many schools as possible can stay open, citing the critical, diverse services they provide children.

Robert Jenkins is UNICEF’s education chief, and he told UN News’s Conor Lennon that the full weight of the UN has been brought to bear on this enormous challenge.

The number of plants and animals on the planet that are at risk today would be far higher without globally agreed safeguards and action to protect them - but it still far from good enough - UN biodiversity experts said on Tuesday. 

In a call for far greater commitment from all nations to safeguard human wellbeing and the planet’s, the body that oversees this work – the Convention on Biodiversity urged all those gathering for a UN Summit at the end of the month to broaden their ambition. 

From the Convention, here’s Executive Secretary Elizabeth Mrema and Deputy Executive Secretary David Cooper, talking to UN News’s Daniel Johnson. 

All parties to the conflict in Yemen - and the humanitarian catastrophe that it has created – are responsible for terrible crimes which should be investigated by an international criminal probe. 

That’s the message from rights investigator Melissa Parke; she’s part of a Human Rights Council panel which is calling for the Security Council to address what she calls a “pandemic of impunity”.  

Here she is talking to UN News’s Daniel Johnson about the findings of the Group Of Experts’ latest report into the war-torn country. 

Keeping COVID-19 infections at bay among Palestinian refugees has never been so important at the start of this new academic year, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has said. 

In an interview with UN News’s Daniel Johnson, agency spokesperson Tamara Alrifai explains how the agency has put changes in place to keep the 5.6 million people it helps safe in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank - including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. 

Recognized as one of Africa’s foremost thought leaders, and a powerful advocate for agricultural reform, Agnes Kalibata is responsible for running the first-ever UN Food Systems Summit.

In an interview with Conor Lennon from UN News, Ms. Kalibata, the Secretary-General’s Envoy for the event, outlines the ways that food systems are negatively impacting the world, and how she plans to use the Summit to address these problems.

She began by acknowledging that the term “Food Systems” is not widely understood, and explained why it is so important to tackle the issue.

For many children, their safest place is at home. In Beirut, last month’s huge explosion that devasted the port and surrounding neighbourhoods, changed that forever.

In an interview with UN News’s Daniel Johnson, child protection officer Roula Abi Saad, describes what UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is doing to address their fears, in safe spaces dotted around Lebanon’s capital city.

With the added stress created by rising numbers of COVID-19 infections, it’s important to explain to children that their fears are a normal reaction in an abnormal situation, she explains.

Documenting women’s empowerment globally is the theme of this year’s Mobile Film Festival, co-organized by UN Women, the UN agency that promotes gender equality.   

People everywhere are invited to participate by submitting one-minute films shot on their mobile phones before the deadline of 20 October. 

Cristina Silveiro spoke to Bruno Smadja who founded the festival, now in its 16th international edition. 

He explained why the focus this year is on a “very important revolution” that ultimately will benefit all humanity.   

Although Afghanistan’s COVID-19 crisis is “vast”, what people really want are jobs and security, according to a senior UN relief official. 

In an interview with UN News’s Daniel Johnson, the UN Development Programme’s representative there, Abdallah Dardari, explains how the agency is already helping the Government to confront the pandemic, and supporting the rising number of families falling into poverty. 

Digital finance is transformational, and promises huge benefits to the world’s most vulnerable citizens, says Achim Steiner, who heads up the UN Development Programme, UNDP.

Mr. Steiner spoke to Conor Lennon from UN News ahead of the launch of a new report from a special UN task force, which spells out how digital finance can empower citizens.

August 19th marks World Humanitarian Day, a day to commemorate humanitarian workers worldwide, who dedicate themselves to protecting and saving the lives of millions around the globe.  

2020 has been a particularly challenging year, as a result of the restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In this interview, we hear from Meshak Malo, a humanitarian worker with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) who’s in South Sudan.  

He spoke to FAO’s Charlotta Lomas about the challenges faced by the country, and what inspires him to go the work each day.