United Nations Radio

Citizens of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been given the opportunity to air their grievances directly to the most senior UN official in the country. A United Nations Mission, MONUSCO, has been present in the DRC for 15 years to help restore stability after decades of political unrest. The public on Thursday [...]

Mali needs to be on high alert all the time as long as there is Ebola in any neighbouring country, according to the UN Coordinator for Ebola Virus Disease. Dr David Nabarro was in Mali to meet with President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and discuss the country's efforts to ensure Ebola is contained. So far 6,070 [...]

People and the planet will be at the centre of global action in 2015, according to the UN Secretary-General. Ban Ki-moon on Thursday put forward his vision to the General Assembly on sustainable development goals that are expected to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), due to expire at the end of the 2015. The [...]

Sixty-four million dollars has been set as the target for a 72-hour fundraising campaign to help Syrian refugees. On Monday, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced that it was suspending the provision of food vouchers to nearly 1.7 million Syrian refugees due to a lack of funding. Those people fled Syria over the past [...]

An upsurge in heavy fighting has been reported in South Sudan between government and opposition forces. The UN mission in the country, UNMISS, said it had received reports of hostilities taking place in Fangak County in Jonglei State. South Sudan continues to suffer from instability after forces loyal to the deposed former Vice-President took up [...]

A terrorist attack in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, which killed and injured several people, has "outraged" the UN Secretary-General. Ban Ki-moon said there is no justification for terrorism or such attacks. Somalia is working to rebuild after enduring more than two decades of political instability and a series of droughts that has left the [...]

News and features from United Nations Radio.

A 72-hour social media campaign to raise US$64 million to reinstate Syrian refugees' food vouchers has been launched by the UN World Food Programme (WFP). Food assistance was suspended by WFP on Monday to nearly 1.7 million Syrian refugees due to a lack of funding. The three-day campaign starting on Wednesday asks members of the [...]

The world's largest humanitarian crisis underway in Syria is "falling off the map" according to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Daily life in the country is being described as "dire and tragic" as the three –year old conflict continues to claim people's lives. More than half of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance [...]

2014 could be the hottest year on record according to UN scientists who've just confirmed a "long-term warming trend" that's likely to cause more extreme weather conditions in future. Announcing the findings World Meteorological Organization (WMO) chief Michel Jarraud warned of unprecedented sea surface temperatures linked to extreme flooding and storms. He also said weather [...]

Efforts are being made to optimize the response of humanitarian agencies in emergencies, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). An annual global humanitarian policy forum is taking place at UN Headquarters on Wednesday, which OCHA organized as what it called a "dynamic discussion" between senior UN officials and the [...]

People with disabilities are not looking for charity but want to ensure that their rights are fully recognised. That's according to Catalina Devandas who is set to start her three-year mandate as the UN Human Rights Council's very first Special Rapporteur for people with disabilities. Despite being born with spina bifida, Ms Devandas says her [...]

A 10-year plan aimed at strengthening protection of people who have been forced to flee their homes across the Latin America and Caribbean regions is being mapped out in the city of Brasilia, in Brazil. Co-hosted by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Government of Brazil, the two-day meeting ending on Wednesday is commemorating [...]

An attack on civilians in north-eastern Kenya on Monday , which reportedly killed at least thirty-six people, has been condemned as "horrific" by the UN Secretary-General. The mass murder of quarry workers in Mandera, follows another attack outside the town just over a week ago in which 28 people were taken off a bus and [...]

A film looking at the provision of AIDS drugs to the world's poorest people has been described as an intricate tale of "medicine, monopoly and malice." In "Fire in the Blood" Indian filmmaker Dylan Mohan Gray, says that a lack of access to cheap medication has caused more than 10 million unnecessary deaths. The film [...]