Listen to a bulletin of news and features from the United Nations, with Dianne Penn and Matt Wells. In today's programme: a UNICEF report finds rich countries are struggling to meet development goals; and challenges persist for people with disabilities despite law changes.  

Secretary-General welcomes new resolution on UN counter-terrorism office A General Assembly resolution adopted on Thursday will establish a new United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism. The UN Secretary-General has welcomed the move which endorses a proposal that he put forward. StĂŠphane Dujarric is the UN Spokesperson: "The Secretary-General considers counter-terrorism and prevention of violent extremism to [...]

One in five children in rich countries lives in poverty and one in eight is food-insecure, the UN said on Thursday. The findings appear in a UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) report, which shows that even the world's strongest economies are struggling to achieve commitments to youngsters contained in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which [...]

A High Level Panel on Migration in Africa is hoping to stem the tide of young people forced to flee their homelands because they cannot find jobs, a senior UN official has said. Thokozile Ruzvidzo heads the Social Development Policy Division at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), which established the body together with [...]

Conflict in Syria continues to rage with "disastrous consequences" for civilians who continue to bear the brunt of the six-year war, a leading rights investigator said on Wednesday. In an update to the Human Rights Council, Paulo Pinheiro, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on Syria, appealed to the warring parties to stop fighting and [...]

Migrants "lifting millions out of poverty" by sending money home The amount of money migrants send to their families in developing countries has risen by 51 per cent over the past decade, according to a new report released by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on Wednesday. The study covers a 10-year period of migration and [...]

Listen to a bulletin of news and features from the United Nations, with Matthew Wells and Jocelyne Sambira. The Commission of Inquiry on Syria says civilians continue to bear the brunt of the "disasterous" civil war, in terms of lives lost; and only the UN and it's international partners stand between the people of Central [...]

Increased UN efforts to respond to the cholera epidemic in Haiti has helped reduce the transmission of the bacterial disease, but more needs to be done. That's the gist of the UN deputy chief's remarks to the General Assembly on Wednesday during an informal briefing on the matter. Over the last seven years, cholera has [...]

Ukraine's warring parties repeatedly fail to respect ceasefire agreements "Daily ceasefire violations" in Ukraine have led to a significant rise in the number of people killed in the four-year conflict, the UN said on Tuesday. Between February and May this year, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) recorded 36 conflict-related civilian deaths [...]

Investing in women's healthcare as a basic human right in Finland used to be something of a "sensitive issue", but it has turned out to be a "smart investment", the country's former President said at the UN on Tuesday. Speaking ahead of a debate at the Human Rights Council in Geneva to promote women's rights [...]