Global literacy rates have improved in past 50 years: UN Considerable efforts by countries and organizations have helped raise the global literacy rates for adults and children but much work remains to be done. That's what the Director-General of the United Nations education organization, UNESCO said during the launch of the 50th International Literacy [...]

Listen to a bulletin of news and features from United Nations Radio, with Daniel Dickinson and Jocelyne Sambira. In today's programme: we hear from the outgoing President of the United Nations General Assembly and the "delicate" process of picking a new UN Secretary-General And, FIFA becomes the first sports organization to sign up to UN [...]

Selection of next UN chief "delicate process" The selection process for the next UN Secretary-General has been a "delicate" and "game-changing process" according to the outgoing President of the General Assembly, Mogens Lykketoft. For the first time in the history of the organization, the candidates for the next UN chief presented their vision, in open [...]

The women of Syria: the "backbone" of peace and reconciliation in the war-torn country, and a "glimmer of hope" in a flailing peace process. Then, we'll hear the story of a Syrian refugee mother who fled the city of Aleppo with her family. Presenter: Jocelyne Sambira Production Assistant: Sandra Guy Duration: 10'00″.

Football's world governing body FIFA, has become the first international sports organization to commit to a UN campaign to combat climate change. The Climate Neutral Now campaign encourages companies and organizations to take the lead on reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to the goal of keeping global temperature rises to below two degrees [...]

More "police keeping" is needed in UN missions around the world to bolster the traditional role of peacekeepers. That's the view of the out-going UN Police Commissioner for the mission in the Central African Republic, MINUSCA. Luis Carrilho first joined the UN in 1996 training civilian police with the mission in Bosnia, and also served [...]

There are around 260,000 refugees from neighbouring countries living in camps around South Sudan, adding to the "enormous political, economic and social challenges" facing the world's youngest country. That's according to Roko Nuri, a communications officer with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Continuing conflict inside the country and on its borders, has led refugees to [...]

The selection process for the next UN Secretary-General has been a "delicate" and "game-changing process" according to the outgoing President of the General Assembly, Mogens Lykketoft. For the first time in the history of the organization, the candidates for the next UN chief have presented their vision in open meetings for the future of the [...]

Anti-Semitism "deadliest form" of hatred warns UN chief Anti-Semitism, or the hostility against the Jewish people, is one of the world's oldest, most pervasive and deadliest forms of hatred, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned. A High-Level Forum on Global Anti-Semitism opened on Wednesday to assess the rise of this form of prejudice around the [...]

Listen to a bulletin of news and features from United Nations Radio, with Daniel Dickinson and Jocelyne Sambira. In today's programme: Almost a quarter of a million people have fled their homes in Afghanistan since the beginning of the year And, 50 million children around the world are "on the move"…we hear from the UN [...]