UN News Centre

A new United Nations ‘Free & Equal’ campaign video highlighting the diversity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community is being shown today on the massive screens in New York’s Times Square ahead of International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia. The Day, marked Sunday, 17 May in… »

21 January 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today encouraged the world’s sole multilateral forum for disarmament negotiations to live up the international community’s expectations and resume substantive work aimed at ridding the globe of weapons of mass destruction. “My message is clear. Do not wait for others to move. »

New HIV infections among children have been reduced by 50 per cent or more in seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the United Nations agency spearheading the global AIDS response said today. Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, and Zambia have reduced new HIV infections among children by half since 2009,… »

Documentation on Holocaust victims, a collection of Buddhist scriptures written on stones from Myanmar, two rare manuscripts from Nepal and diaries belonging to Ernesto Che Guevara, are among 54 new additions to the UN educational and cultural agency’s Memory of the World Register. “The items presented by Israel, Myanmar, Nepal are… »

Developing countries rich in natural resources can make huge gains towards universal schooling if they managed resource revenues better and devoted a significant share to education, according to a United Nations study released today. The Education for All Global Monitoring Report study, produced by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization… »

A United Nations expert group today urged global clothing brands to work with Bangladesh, international organizations and civil society to improve working conditions in the country’s garment sector, following the collapse last month of a factory that left hundreds dead and wounded. “The international brands sourcing from Bangladesh have a… »

In an increasingly interconnected world where trillions of dollars worth of goods and services are traded annually, the rapidly expanding market for low-carbon and environmentally friendly products will create new opportunities, the United Nations environmental agency today reported. The report, Green Economy and Trade – Trends, Challenges and Opportunities, finds that… »

The Security Council today approved a 12,600-strong United Nations peacekeeping operation to take over from the African-led mission in Mali on 1 July and authorized the blue helmets “to use all necessary means” to carry out security-related stabilization tasks, protect civilians, UN staff and cultural artefacts, and create the conditions… »

Insecticide-treated mosquito and fly nets encircling livestock pens in small farms in western Kenya are proving to be an effective means of killing disease-carrying pests and boosting milk yields, the United Nations today reported, as well as contributing to fewer people being bitten at home. “The nets are environmentally safe… »

The United Nations human rights chief today urged all branches of the United States Government to work together to close the Guantánamo detention centre, stressing that the indefinite incarceration of detainees is a clear breach of international law. “I am deeply disappointed that the US Government has not been able… »