Multiple forms of discrimination and exclusion are behind the "alarmingly high prevalence" of violence experienced by indigenous women in Australia, according to a UN human rights expert. Dubravka Šimonović said many of these women face sexism and racism, but they are also subjected to class-based discrimination due to their low socioeconomic status. The UN Special [...]

Schools and clinics "severely devastated" by cyclone in Mozambique An emergency appeal has been launched to help around 550,000 people affected by the aftermath of Cyclone Dineo, which has caused "severe devastation" to areas of Mozambique, the UN team there said on Wednesday. The cyclone made landfall on 15 February, killing seven and injuring 101 [...]

Listen to a bulletin of news and features from the United Nations, with Jocelyne Sambira and Matthew Wells. In today's programme: UNAIDS says "make some noise" for #zerodiscrimination And…The world’s first “playable” policy conference kicks off in Bonn

There has been a pattern of excessive use of force in the repression of dissenting voices across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a senior UN official in the country has warned. Jose Maria Aranaz, the Director of the UN Joint Human Rights Office of MONUSCO, the UN Mission in the DRC, made the remarks [...]

  "Major milestone" as arms handover verification begins in Colombia In what's been described as a "major milestone", the UN Mission in Colombia began the official verification process of the laying down of arms by FARC rebels on Wednesday. It's another major step on the road to conclusively ending more than 50 years of armed [...]

Human rights must not end up being a "secondary consideration" as the new Somali government focusses on securing and stabilizing the country. That's what Kirsten Young, the Chief of Human Rights for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) told members of the Security Council in her brief on the situation in the country. [...]

Continuing conflict in Yemen has left millions without adequate access to food and water, and the international community needs to do everything it can “now” to fund a major relief effort. Stephen O'Brien, the UN emergency Relief Coordinator, said public services were under huge stress and in some cases, civil servants had gone six months [...]

Conflict continues to hamper humanitarian response to South Sudan famine Ongoing fighting in South Sudan is preventing aid from reaching famine-hit communities, the UN has warned. Some 100,000 people face starvation in parts of the country where famine was declared on eight days ago. A further one million are on the brink of famine. Since [...]

Listen to a bulletin of news and features from the United Nations, with Jocelyne Sambira and Matthew Wells. In today's programme: the UN must "reinvent itself" to serve the world better, the UN deputy chief says; And… children bound for Europe are forced to sell their bodies to survive, a UNICEF report warns.

UN relief chief "extremely disappointed" by denial of access to Taiz The UN relief chief Stephen O'Brien has said he's "extremely disappointed" by rebel fighters' refusal to allow aid into Taiz city in Yemen. The Humanitarian Coordinator has spent several days travelling around the war-torn country this week, where almost 19 million are in need [...]