UN News Centre

Exactly 25 years after the historic world conference in Beijing on the advancement and equality of women, the head of the UN gender empowerment agency declared on Friday that “its significance is undimmed”. Looking back on the Fourth World Conference on Women in the Chinese capital, UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile… »

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said the deteriorating security situation in Libya and the absence of a functioning judicial system underscored the importance of the work of a team of independent experts to document human rights violations and abuses. The High Commissioner today announced the appointment of… »

UNESCO has just launched a global initiative to reimagine how knowledge and learning can shape the future of humanity and the planet. UNESCO’s Futures of Education initiative aims to rethink education and shape the future. The initiative is catalyzing a global debate on how knowledge, education and learning need to… »

UN Secretary General António Guterres on Sunday marked 75 years since the atomic bombing of Nagasaki with praise for the hibakusha, the survivors, who transformed their decades-long plight into a warning about the perils of nuclear weapons and an example of the triumph of the human spirit. »

The United Nations is working closely with the authorities in Lebanon to support ongoing response in the aftermath of the massive deadly explosion that rocked Beirut on Tuesday, destroying large swathes of the capital. More than 130 people were killed in the blast, which ripped through the port and surrounding… »

This year, we will focus on the first responders to human trafficking. These are the people who work in different sectors – identifying, supporting, counselling and seeking justice for victims of trafficking, and challenging the impunity of the traffickers. During the COVID-19 crisis, the essential role of first responders has… »

The Charter of the United Nations has been a constant presence in my life. My awareness of it started with the usual brief introduction to the basics of the United Nations as an organization that many young people receive in school. Later, as my political awareness took shape against the… »

As the Turkish President signed a decree on Friday converting the ancient Hagia Sophia in Istanbul into a mosque, the UN cultural agency (UNESCO) said that it “deeply regrets the decision” made “without prior discussion”, having earlier in the day called on the State to abide by… »

Twenty-five years after the Srebrenica genocide, peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina remains fragile, underscoring the need for true reconciliation in the region, the UN Secretary-General said on Thursday in a video message marking the anniversary of the worst atrocity crime in Europe, since the Second World War. In paying… »

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, has expressed alarm at the arrest of demonstrators in Hong Kong, following China’s adoption of a national security law for the Special Administrative Region (SAR). Spokesperson Rupert Colville told journalists in Geneva on Friday that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was… »