Moving towards a "permanent ceasefire" between Lebanon and Israel remains the "real challenge" facing the UN's Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). That's the view of Major-General Michael Beary, who has just taken over as Force Commander and Head of Mission. The former Irish Army officer has enjoyed a long military career and was deployed to [...]

The Government of Sudan has an obligation to extend greater "economic, social and cultural rights" to the citizens of the troubled Darfur region. That's according to Isha Dfyan, chief of the Human Rights Section of the joint UN-African Union Mission in the region,  UNAMID. Darfuri rebels have been fighting government troops and militia since 2003, [...]

Creative partnerships, refugee support, focus of UN chief's LA visit Encouraging greater collaboration between the United Nations and the creative community was the focus of the UN Secretary-General's visit to Los Angeles this Wednesday. Ban Ki-moon arrived in the city, home to Hollywood, for two events which support that partnership. A statement from his office [...]

Learning a new language is the "most humanizing thing you can do" for yourself. That's according to Rachel Ann Lott, one of the 60 young winners of a multilingual essay contest organized by the United Nations and ELS Educational Services Inc. In her case, learning Arabic has allowed her to see "through the stereotypes that [...]

Urgent appeal for agricultural support in north-eastern Nigeria Funding is urgently needed to provide farming support for 385,000 people in north-eastern Nigeria, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Tuesday. The UN agency reports that food insecurity is "rampant" in the region and it is appealing for US$10 million to help people displaced by [...]

  Aleppo: Humanitarians "ready to roll" provided they have access Two million people "living in fear of besiegement" in Aleppo, Syria, are counting on the international community to end their suffering, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator said on Tuesday. Stephen O'Brien was speaking to journalists following a closed-door briefing to the Security Council on what he [...]

Venezuela is "cracking down" on media workers during a time of economic and political crisis and failing to meet its obligations under international human rights law. That's according to David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression. He said that attacks on journalists and independent media workers have increased [...]

Listen to a bulletin of news and features from United Nations Radio, with Matthew Wells and Dianne Penn. In today's programme: Big nation states need to work together with Indigenous Peoples to lift education standards for all, one leader from the Artic region tells us. And, after criticism that a new draft agreement on refugees is [...]

Efforts are underway in Paraguay to prepare impoverished people living on the margins of the country's biggest rubbish dump, for the likely eventuality of flooding. The Cateura dump is located next to the Paraguay River in the south of the capital Asuncion. The river floods regularly, driving some of the poorest people in this South [...]

When it comes to true educational equality for the world's indigenous peoples, nation states need to "work together" with local leaders and embrace their common heritage. That's the view of Karla Jessen Williamson, an Inuit from Greenland, who is the former Executive Director of the Arctic Institute of North America and currently an academic at [...]