Mediterranean deaths spike as people smugglers change tactics A recent spike in the number of people dying while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe has been blamed on a ruthless new tactic by smugglers. An estimated 240 migrants went missing and are presumed dead after two shipwrecks on Wednesday in stretch of [...]

Engaging local communities and incorporating traditional cultures is key to managing disasters in Indonesia. That's according to Dian Triyansah Djani, the country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, speaking ahead of the UN's first World Tsunami Awareness Day. UN figures show that Indonesia was the worst-hit country during the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. More than [...]

"Business as usual is not an option" for farmers across the world, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Changes to the climate are directly affecting the productivity and livelihoods of farmers, especially in developing countries and the UN food agency is warning that up to 120 million could fall into poverty if they [...]

Children who have been affected by the hurricane which struck Haiti one month ago face a desperate situation which is likely to persist for the "foreseeable future", according to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Hurricane Matthew struck the Caribbean island on October 4th, killing some 400 people according to government estimates and leaving more than [...]

The official entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change which commits 193 countries to limit global temperature rises to below 2 degrees, is an "extraordinary milestone.” That's according to Paul Hanle, president of Climate Central, one of the civil society groups taking part in a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on [...]

  Thousands fleeing South Sudan each day: UNHCR Ongoing conflict in South Sudan forced an average of 3,500 people a day to flee to neighbouring countries last month, according to data from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). UNHCR and its partners in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Sudan, have been racing [...]

Being a woman, human rights defender in Pakistan is "risky" Being a woman and a human rights defender in Pakistan is "risky" a young activist who founded a non-profit called "Aware Girls" with her sister when she was just fifteen. Saba Ismail grew up in the conservative Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on the border between Pakistan [...]

  Human rights considerations for climate change treaty The entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change should motivate countries to do more to tackle global warming, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner said on Thursday. Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein's comments came in a statement released on the eve of the treaty coming [...]

Listen to a bulletin of news and features from United Nations Radio, with Matthew Wells and Dianne Penn. In today's programme: the human rights’ spotlight falls on Zimbabwe's record, and the whereabouts of a journalist who vanished 18 months ago…. And in Bangui, the Deputy Secretary-General, tells the people of the Central Africa Republic the [...]

Probe into South Sudan July attacks points to "lack of leadership" During July's outbreak of violence in South Sudan, there was a "lack of leadership" and clarity over the UN's mandate, the head of an independent special investigation team has concluded. Acts of violence were committed against civilians and peacekeepers in the capital Juba between [...]