Religious leaders from around the world are coming together at UN Headquarters on Friday to launch a new action plan aimed at preventing future genocide. The Plan of Action to Prevent Incitement to Violence that Could Lead to Atrocity Crimes, aims to "prevent, strengthen and build" on measures to counter the kind of ideology that [...]

Greater gender balance needed in peacekeeping, says UN chief Deploying more women to peacekeeping operations will help boost the protection of civilians and reduce the chances of sexual exploitation and abuse, the UN chief urged on Friday. Antรณnio Guterres was speaking via video-link to chiefs of defence and senior military officials attending a conference at [...]

"Astonishing" improvements came about when five UN agencies joined forces in an integrated manner to help transform one impoverished valley in the Central Asian country of Tajikistan. That's the lesson of working together on improving human security, and an indicator of what needs to be done to implement the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, said the [...]

Listen to a bulletin of news and features from the United Nations, with Matt Wells and Dianne Penn. In today's programme: Mosul's children are suffering "deep physical and mental scars" after the brutal fight to liberate their city, the UN Children's Fund tells us; and we'll hear how women who've borne the brunt of war [...]

Death of Chinese activist a loss for human rights worldwide: UN rights chief Chinese peace and democracy activist Liu Xiaobo is being remembered by the UN human rights chief as "the definition of civic courage and human dignity." Mr Liu, 61, who had been suffering from liver cancer, died on Thursday in Shenyang, in northeast [...]

An innovative project that has given former child soldiers access to education in Sudan shows the value of embracing technology for sustainable development, the UN said on Thursday. According to the UN Children's Fund UNICEF, these vulnerable youngsters have been able to follow the country's national curriculum using solar-powered electronic tablets. The initiative is being [...]

Babies have been found in the rubble of Mosul and children there have "deep physical and mental scars" that may take years to heal, the UN said on Thursday. The warning from UN Children's Fund UNICEF comes amid ongoing violence in parts of the Iraqi city where security forces have largely driven out ISIL extremists. [...]

Women in northern Uganda, who have borne the brunt of a 20-year war, now need full access to justice and their basic rights for society to make a full recovery. That's the view of Uganda's Chief Justice, Bart Magunda Katureebe, speaking at a High-Level meeting on Women's Access to Justice at UN Headquarters in New [...]

MONUSCO "working very closely" with DRC generals on civilian protection As "harrowing reports" mount of violence and killings across the Kasai provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the head of the UN military operation there says peacekeepers are doing "their level best" to protect civilian lives. The UN Stabilization Mission MONUSCO's Force [...]

More than 2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, UN warns Around 2.1 billion people worldwide lack access to "safe, readily available" water at home and more than twice as many are lacking safe sanitation. That's according to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF. [...]