UN News - Global perspective Human stories

• Flagship UN report extolls win-win water partnerships to avert global crisis
  Water starts wars, puts out fires, and is key to human survival, but ensuring access for all hinges largely on improving cooperation, according to a new flagship UN report published on Tuesday.
• Extreme weather: UN global early warning initiative ‘fast-tracked into action’
  A global initiative launched by the UN Secretary-General to ensure that all countries are protected by early warning systems, by 2027, is being fast-tracked into action on the ground, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday.
• UN upholds fight for a fairer world on anti-racism day
  With xenophobia, prejudice, and hate speech on the rise, the UN community gathered in the General Assembly Hall on Wednesday to call for action to root out racism and discrimination across the world. 
• Pakistan: 10 million deprived of safe drinking water in flood-affected areas
  Six months after catastrophic floods struck Pakistan, more than 10 million people, including children, still lack access to safe drinking water, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
• Haiti: Deploy specialized force to take down gang violence, UN rights chief
  A specialized force must be deployed to urgently help Haitian authorities tackle a tsunami of gang violence, as rapes, sniper killings, and kidnappings become daily threats, the spokesperson for the UN rights chief said on Tuesday.
• School meals fuel young minds, but most vulnerable still missing out: WFP
  Nearly 420 million children across the globe receive school meals – that’s 30 million more than in 2020 - the World Food Programme (WFP) said in a new report published on Tuesday.
• Young poets lend their talents to promote peace, marking the 75th anniversary of UN peacekeeping
  “Across identities and differences…  over countries and continents… it is not hard to choose peace.” These lines are from a new poem created to mark the 75th anniversary of UN peacekeeping operations. 
• Healthy forests, healthy planet, healthy humans
  Forests are often called the lungs of the planet, because they absorb harmful carbon dioxide and produce life-giving oxygen so it’s no exaggeration to equate healthy forests with healthy people, the theme of this year’s International Day of Forests.
• Sudan holds massive political ‘workshops’, embarks on new transition phase, Security Council hears
  The parties to a watershed political agreement in Sudan – signed in December 2022 – have launched a fresh round of consultations on key challenges facing the country, the senior UN official in Khartoum told the Security Council on Monday, citing several important breakthroughs that have already emerged from that process. 
• Yemen: Fresh negotiations conclude with release of 887 prisoners
  The UN Special Envoy for Yemen announced on Monday the planned release of 887 conflict-related detainees from all sides along with other gains after concluding 10 days of negotiations to address the devastating eight-year-old conflict.
• Spate of missile launches triggers call for unity on Korean Peninsula
  Raising alarms that the situation on the Korean Peninsula is heading in the “wrong direction”, a senior UN official appealed to the UN Security Council for unity on Monday, following a spate of missile launches in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
• UN underlines commitment to support communities affected by Syria-Turkiye earthquakes
  The head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has underlined on Monday the importance of addressing immediate humanitarian needs in earthquake-affected Syria and Türkiye, and efforts to promote recovery.
• UN ramps up aid as millions affected in cyclone Freddy’s wake
  UN agencies on Monday were scrambling to reach millions affected by the deadly tropical cyclone Freddy, which has worsened cholera outbreaks in Malawi and Mozambique as communities recover from devastating damages caused by storms, massive flooding, and mudslides.
• South Sudan: Humanitarians call for justice after latest deadly attack
  Humanitarians have strongly condemned the latest deadly assault on aid workers in South Sudan, urging the Government to step up security and bring those responsible to justice.
• Iran: possible crimes against humanity, absence of accountability - top rights expert
  “The most serious human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran over the past four decades” have been committed since the death in police custody of Jina Mahsa Amini on 16 September 2022, Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran said on Monday.
• A liveable future for all is possible, if we take urgent climate action: flagship UN report
  A major UN “report of reports” from the authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), outlines the many options that can be taken now, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to human-caused climate change.
• Rebooting memories of life before the nuclear devastation of Hiroshima
  A Japanese initiative to colourize photos of Hiroshima survivors, taken before the war, has been hailed by the UN as a way to breathe new life into conversations about peace, and a world without nuclear weapons.
• 190 million children at risk from water-related crises: UNICEF
  A new analysis from the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, shows that some 190 million children in 10 African countries are at the highest risk from a convergence of three water-related threats – inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); related diseases; and climate hazards.
• Origami hummingbirds to make a splash at UN Water Conference
  Flocks of paper origami hummingbirds crafted by children around the world have departed their locations to “attend” the UN Water Conference in New York from 22-24 March, carrying the future generation’s resolve to turn the tide on the global water crisis.
• 5 things you should know about the UN 2023 Water Conference
  The UN 2023 Water Conference, which takes place at UN Headquarters from 22-24 March, is being hailed as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to accelerate progress towards universal access to safe water and sanitation by 2030.
• Don’t give up on Haiti, plead senior UN aid officials
  Following their return from a fact-finding visit to Haiti, a group of senior United Nations officials and representatives of NGOs issued an urgent call on Saturday, for increased access and resources to reach people in desperate need.
• Black Sea Grain Initiative extended on deadline day
  The Black Sea Grain Initiative, a UN-brokered deal aimed at supplying markets with food and fertilizer amid global shortages and rising prices, exacerbated by the Ukraine war, was extended on Saturday, the day it was due to expire.
• Flagship UN gender event closes with ‘blueprint’ for greater role of women in tech
  The 2023 Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 67), the largest UN gathering on gender equality, successfully wrapped up on Saturday, with Member States calling for a full and equal participation of women and girls in the development of digital technologies.
• First Person: Starting from zero – Gambian returning migrant counts cost of attempted Europe crossing
  Amadou Jobe, like many other Gambians before him, embarked on a perilous journey through northern Africa, in a failed bid to reach Europe. Now, with the support of the UN, he is making a life for himself and his family back home.
• Ukraine-Russia: Extension of grain export deals vital to global food security
  The war in Ukraine has had very significant implications for global food insecurity, the top UN humanitarian official told the Security Council on Friday, underscoring the critical need to extend landmark agreements to export grain and fertilizer from the region.