UN News - Global perspective Human stories

• A historic course correction: how the world’s shipping sector is setting sail for net zero
  Long overlooked as a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, the shipping industry is now at the forefront of a unique display of international cooperation. The shift signals that even the world’s largest transport sector can be steered toward climate accountability.
• 8 million teens in world's wealthiest countries functionally illiterate: UNICEF
  Children in many of the world’s wealthiest countries saw marked declines in their academic performance, mental wellbeing, and physical health as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report published by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Wednesday.
• Funding cuts in Afghanistan mean ‘lives lost and lives less lived’
  In a remote village clinic in the Bamyan Province in Afghanistan last week, a group of teenage girls were given potentially life-saving reproductive health advice, excited by the small kit of menstrual supplies they had been given.
• ‘Politically unacceptable, morally repugnant’: UN chief calls for global ban on 'killer robots'
  UN Secretary-General António Guterres has once again called for a global ban on lethal autonomous weapon systems – machines capable of taking human lives without human oversight – describing them as “politically unacceptable” and “morally repugnant.”
• UN aid office denounces attacks on Gaza hospital
  The UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, underlined the need to protect civilians and healthcare facilities in the Gaza Strip in a renewed appeal on Wednesday. 
• In Berlin, broad backing for UN peacekeeping as global threats mount
  More than 130 countries and international partners threw their weight behind UN peacekeeping at a high-level ministerial summit in Berlin on Wednesday, pledging military, tech and political support.
• US-Houthi ceasefire ‘a welcome opportunity’ to advance peace efforts in Yemen
  The ceasefire between the United States and Houthi rebels in Yemen provides an opportunity to revitalize the peace process in the Middle Eastern country, the UN Security Council heard on Wednesday. 
• World News in Brief: Sudan refugees, aid for Syrian returnees, MERS alert in Saudi Arabia, Venezuela urged to end secret detentions
  More than 40,000 Sudanese have fled to eastern Chad in the past month to escape intensifying violence in Darfur.
• ‘Stop the 21st century atrocity’ in Gaza, Fletcher urges UN Security Council
  No aid has entered Gaza for more than 10 weeks and every single one of the 2.1 million people there faces famine conditions, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said on Tuesday in a briefing to the Security Council in New York.
• Half of women’s organizations in crisis zones risk closure within six months
  Women’s organisations operating in crisis settings are being pushed to the brink by widespread funding cuts. In a report published on Tuesday, UN Women – the UN agency for gender equality – warned that 47 per cent of these groups may be forced to close within the next six months.
• GAZA LIVE: ‘Humanity, the law and reason must prevail’ in Gaza, UN relief chief tells Security Council
  The Security Council met in New York to discuss the horror unfolding in Gaza, where humanitarians warn of “a critical risk of famine” and aid shipments have been blocked by Israel for over 70 days. UN relief chief Tom Fletcher briefed the Security Council, asking ambassadors if they will finally act decisively "to prevent genocide" and ensure respect for international law. He also called on Hamas to release all hostages and stop putting civilians at risk. App users can follow the coverage here.
• US deportations raise serious human rights concerns
  The UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk has voiced concern over the recent deportation of large numbers of non-nationals from the United States, particularly to third countries. 
• Number of internally displaced breaks new record with no let-up in conflicts, disasters
  A record 83.4 million people have been forced from their homes around the world, fuelled by an increase in disasters and conflict, the UN migration agency, IOM, said on Tuesday.
• As funding cuts bite, UN chief announces new dawn for peacekeeping
  The future of peacekeeping took centre stage on Tuesday in Berlin as UN chief António Guterres urged Member States to do more to support the global body’s 'blue helmets' and stave off the worst impacts of deep funding cuts.
• Gaza: 57 children reported dead from malnutrition, says WHO
  In the aid desert of Gaza, malnourished children are dying while survivors can now expect a lifetime of dire health problems, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
• UN aviation council finds Russia responsible for downing of Malaysia Airlines flight
  A UN body has found that Russia was responsible for the 17 July 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine that killed all 298 people on board. 
• World News in Brief: Sudan aid update, child migrant deaths at sea, nursing shortages, invasive pest scourge
  The UN expressed deep concern on Monday over the impact of ongoing drone attacks on civilian infrastructure across Sudan.
• UN chief calls for major reforms to cut costs and improve efficiency
  Amid financial strain and growing global challenges, UN Secretary-General António Guterres is pushing for wide-ranging structural reforms to enhance the world body’s effectiveness.
• Gaza: Guterres hails hostage release, renews ceasefire call
  UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the release of a hostage held in Gaza on Monday and renewed his call for a permanent ceasefire and greater humanitarian access to the war-torn enclave. 
• UN migration agency helping migrants in the US return home voluntarily
  The United States has asked the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to assist undocumented migrants who choose to return to their home countries. 
• Gaza: Starvation looms for one in five people, say food security experts
  Gazans remain at “critical risk of famine,” UN-backed food security experts warned on Monday, a full 19 months since war began with Israel and 70 days since deliveries stopped of all aid and commercial supplies.
• Climate change takes increasingly extreme toll on African countries
  Devastating floods in South Sudan in recent months left thousands of herders without their most precious possessions: goats, cows and cattle. The animals are central to people’s lives and age-old customs including marriage and cultural traditions. All risk being swept away or scorched by the ravages of climate change.
• Field of Dreams: Football Breathes Life into Yemen’s Camps
  Every summer in Ma’rib, Yemen, a place marked by loss and uncertainty, a football tournament offers a rare kind of hope. For hundreds of displaced youth living across more than a dozen sites, it’s a chance to unite, to belong, and to dream.
• Guterres welcomes India-Pakistan ceasefire
  Following pronouncements of an end to hostilities between India and Pakistan, neighbouring nuclear powers, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, said that the organisation stands ready to support efforts aimed at promoting peace and stability in the region.
• ‘We can do better’ for pedestrian and cyclist safety worldwide
  A cycling network expanded from 70 kilometres to over 400 kilometres in Fortaleza, Brazil. A project to create a bike lane in every street of Paris. And the longest pedestrian and cycle tunnel in the world, in the Norwegian coastal city of Bergen.