UN Interviews

An upsurge in violence in Haiti could be in anticipation of more “assertive operations” by the recently formed UN-backed Gang Suppression Force as rival gangs in the beleaguered Caribbean Island nation fight for control of territory and resources. Gangs control the vast majority of the capital Port-au-Prince, and terrorize the population with murder, rape and kidnapping for ransom. Some 1.5 millio...

Professor Serigne Gueye, a Senegalese urologist and world expert on obstetric fistula, has spent decades helping women recover from one of the most devastating – yet preventable – childbirth injuries.  Honoured with this year’s UN Population Award, he has treated patients across Africa, trained surgeons from more than 45 countries and championed access to quality maternal services. In an inte...

As governments, industry leaders and researchers gather in Geneva on Monday for the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance and the AI for Good Summit, a UN expert says managing artificial intelligence responsibly will require action from everyone, not just policymakers. Professor Kaveh Madani, Director of the UN University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health, told UN News’s Nathalie Mina...

As drones, artificial intelligence and new weapons transform modern warfare, Ukraine has become one of the world's most mine-contaminated countries, creating new dangers for civilians while threatening global food security and recovery.  In an interview with UN News, Paul Heslop, Chief Mine Action Adviser at the  UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, explains how drones have fundam...

A night of heavy strikes across Kyiv has left children and families facing widespread destruction, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine. At least 20 people are now reported to have been killed in the Kyiv attacks. UNICEF is also deeply saddened by reports of a seven-year-old girl killed in the Dnipro region on Thursday. Speaking to UN News’s Evgeniya Kleshcheva after visiting so...

As synthetic drugs spread into new markets and traffickers develop increasingly potent substances, the global drug landscape is becoming more complex, unpredictable and dangerous, the  2026 World Drug Report reveals. In an exclusive interview with UN News, Chloé Carpentier, lead researcher on the report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), warned that powerful new synthetic opioids, p...

Five days after two deadly earthquakes struck north-central Venezuela, the UN says the emergency is far from over.  With search-and-rescue operations continuing, Vanessa May, Head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the stricken South American nation, told UN News’s Victoria Fernandez that families who have lost their homes and loved ones will nee...

Following the earthquakes in Venezuela, teams from 27 countries continue searching for people trapped beneath the rubble.  From La Guaira, the most affected region, families describe the agonizing wait, while the United Nations coordinates the response and expands assistance for those who have lost their homes.

Women and girls in Gaza and the West Bank continue to face severe challenges due to conflict and displacement, while funding cuts have undermined access to healthcare and protection services. The UN agency responsible for maternal and reproductive healthcare, UNFPA, is warning that humanitarian needs remain immense, with services for mothers and babies under growing strain. Nestor Owomuhangi, the...

A new generation of HIV prevention tools could help reshape the global response to the virus which has led to the deaths of over 44 million worldwide – but without sustained funding, political commitment and community leadership, millions more risk being left behind. Ahead of next week’s High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS, Mandeep Dhaliwal, Director of the Prosperity and Well-being Hub at the UN Devel...

Sustainability in the kitchen is increasingly seen not just as a trend, but as a necessity shaped by economic pressures and changing consumer expectations. Chef Jaume Biarnés, a former member of the world-renowned El Bulli restaurant team in Spain, and now Director of the Yondu Culinary Studio in New York, believes that sustainability is integral to modern cooking He told Liudmila Blagonravova fro...

Hate speech is an unavoidable menace today – particularly so for women and girls – on and offline.  The abuse they face is increasingly fuelled by so-called “manosphere” online influencers. Their posts primarily target young men and boys to promote a warped view of masculinity, usually by promoting rigid gender roles and misogyny. To mark the International Day for Countering Hate Speech on 18...

Since its launch in March 2025, the UN80 initiative has moved into a decisive phase. Guy Ryder, Under-Secretary-General for Policy, joins UN News's Laura Quinones to discuss what has changed, what results are already emerging, and how the United Nations is working to become more effective at a time of growing financial and political pressure.

In Lebanon, UN teams and partners are dealing with a country in flames as the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) appealed on Wednesday for a “sustained cessation of hostilities”. As thousands of families continue to be displaced and uprooted by the violence between Hezbollah fighters and the Israeli military since March, UN News’s Daniel Johnson discussed the impact on children with Marcoluigi...

Global cooperation is essential as criminal networks become more complex, sophisticated and interconnected, according to the new Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Director-General of the UN Office at Vienna, Monica Juma, who took office last month. Speaking to UN News’s Ezzat El-Ferri, the former Kenyan national security adviser said no single country,...

Four months of escalating violence and displacement in Lebanon are having a severe impact on women and girls. According to the UN reproductive health agency, UNFPA, more than 1.4 million people are now displaced across the country – over 20 per cent of the population – including an estimated 16,000 pregnant women. Meanwhile, damage to health facilities is limiting access to essential maternal and...

Funding cuts to health programmes are directly affecting women and girls in Yemen, according to the country head of the UN sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA). Francesco Galtieri has been visiting UN Headquarters in New York this week to plead the case for more funds, in a country where more than 60 per cent of health infrastructure has been destroyed during well over a decade of brutal...

Human rights are "part of our DNA," according to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, who is championing a new  Global Alliance at a time of rising conflicts, growing inequalities and mounting climate pressures. The initiative aims to bring together governments, civil society, businesses, academics and communities to place human rights at the centre of decision-making ahead of t...

Security personnel supporting UN operations in South Ukraine are navigating rapidly shifting frontlines and difficult choices to help humanitarians reach communities affected by the war – all while balancing operational risks with urgent needs on the ground. Olga Scripovscaia, Area Security Adviser with the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) based in Odesa, told UN News in an exclusive i...

Health workers responding to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are working closely with local communities, recognising that trust is as critical as testing and treatment, to stop the disease in its tracks. Dr Marie-Roseline Belizaire, Africa’s Emergencies Director for the World Health Organization (WHO) told UN News in an exclusive interview this week that response teams a...

Major Abhilasha Barak, an Indian peacekeeper serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), has been named this year’s Military Gender Advocate of the Year. She was recognised for her outstanding leadership in promoting gender-responsive peacekeeping and advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda during her deployment with the frontline mission since June 2025 – which has s...

Children in Ukraine have spent years living with air raid sirens, disrupted education and the daily uncertainty of war. Many are forced to learn online or in underground classrooms as communities adapt to the realities of a prolonged conflict. During recent visits to Ukraine and the Russian Federation, the UN’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Vanessa Frazier, met children,...

Each year, 52 million tonnes of plastic waste enter the ocean, contributing to an estimated 24 trillion microplastic particles, which have a devastating impact on the marine environment. They do not fully biodegrade, lingering indefinitely while causing deadly wildlife entanglement, toxic ingestion, and habitat destruction. Plastics also release harmful chemicals into the water, introduc...

Science Forward, the podcast of the UN Secretary-General’s Scientific Advisory Board, features world-leading scientists, and explores today’s challenges, from AI and biotechnology to climate and health. In the very first episode of Science Forward, Board member Yoshua Bengio and AI policy expert Charlotte Stix unpack the growing risks of deceptive AI with hosts Julia Bhattacharjee and Adam Day, to...

Over the weekend, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. As of Saturday, 16 May, health authorities had recorded eight laboratory-confirmed cases, 246 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths in Ituri province in eastern DRC. Uganda als...