Illegal smuggling networks which have imprisoned, tortured and abused thousands of migrants trying to cross Libya, "must be tracked and prosecuted". That's according to Othman Belbeisi, who is the UN migration agency IOM's mission chief, in Libya. He was speaking after the second flight of the year left Libya for Nigeria on Monday, under the [...]

Vulnerable Rohingya children living in "appalling conditions": UNICEF The inability of UN agencies to access vulnerable Rohingya children who remain in northern Myanmar is "troubling", said the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday. Describing her recent visit to Rakhine State, UNICEF spokesperson Marixie Mercado, said that around 60,000 Rohingya children remain "almost forgotten", trapped in [...]

He was one of the UN's very first staff members, and 72 years on, Robert Kaminker is still advocating for peace and the power of the organization to ultimately "save the world". Although he retired in the early 1980s, his enthusiasm for explaining how the UN works and can help people everywhere lead better lives, [...]

Millions of children vaccinated against measles in Somalia Millions of Somali children have been vaccinated against the deadly disease measles during the past five days, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). The agencies partnered with Somalia's Ministry of Health, to deliver the vaccines to a million children in [...]

UN allocates $50m in emergency humanitarian funding for Yemen The UN relief chief announced the biggest-ever allocation of emergency funds to war-torn Yemen on Friday, to help deal with the country's worsening humanitarian crisis. Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock said he was releasing $50m from the Central Emergency Response Fund, or CERF. Fighting between Iranian-backed [...]

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 40.3 million people were victims of forced labour and modern slavery in 2017.  The 2016 Global Report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says that the majority of trafficking victims – 51 per cent ­­– are women. The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has [...]

Loss of life in Iran protests deplored by UN chief A wave of anti-Government protests which have taken place across Iran have left more than 20 dead, according to news reports, leading the UN chief to deplore the loss of life. The protests began last Thursday, aimed initially at poor economic conditions and corruption. The [...]

It's essential to "get out in front" of humanitarian crises that are fuelled by the destructive weather patterns known as El Niño and La Niña. That's the strong view of one senior official with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), who's been working on how best to address the problem during [...]

Hundreds seek refuge around UN camp in CAR Hundreds of people have sought refuge around a camp run by MINUSCA, the UN Mission in the Central African Republic (CAR), following fresh violence between armed groups, said the UN on Tuesday. News reports said that villagers fleeing gunfire and machete attacks began to arrive in the [...]

"Many girls" want to "raise their voice": Afghan radio journalist Radio Sana is the only radio station run by women in the Northern City of Pul-e-Khumri in Afghanistan. Meena Mostayed is the head of the radio station and jointly with her four other women reporters is running the hard daily job of reporting in the [...]