UN News - Global perspective Human stories

• South Sudan: ‘All the conditions for a human catastrophe are present’
  Military tensions in South Sudan are “rapidly expanding” between Government forces and opposition militia as fighting continues in restive Jonglei state.
• World News in Brief: Syria ceasefire welcomed, ‘Olympic truce’, Ukraine’s freezing children
  The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria has welcomed a ceasefire agreement between the Syrian Government and the mainly-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), urging all parties to seize the moment to protect civilians and prevent further violations in the country’s northeast. 
• UN watchdog warns Ukraine war remains world’s biggest threat to nuclear safety
  The war in Ukraine remains the world’s biggest threat to nuclear safety as a fifth year of combat looms, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog warned on Friday, citing continued risks to power supplies at nuclear sites vulnerable to fighting nearby.
• Reaching a child in Darfur is ‘hard-won and fragile’, says UNICEF
  Reaching a single child in Sudan’s Darfur region can take days of negotiations, security clearances and travel across sandy roads that cut through shifting frontlines, UNICEF warned Friday – as children live “on the brink” of survival.
• UN chief ‘deeply concerned’ by escalation of violence in South Sudan
  The world's youngest country, South Sudan, is facing continued instability and violence as military escalation looms, following reports earlier this week that a senior army commander had called on troops to inflict indiscriminate violence against civilians in Jonglei state.
• Violence roiling Nigeria extends beyond religious lines, amid a deepening humanitarian crisis
  When the United States ordered airstrikes on Christmas Day against Islamist militants in northern Nigeria, officials in Washington said the action was aimed at protecting Christians facing threats of violence. 
• World News in Brief: IOM warning for Sudan returnees, Nipah virus alert for India, food security in Afghanistan
  In Sudan, where the devastating conflict between the Sudanese army and rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces is nearing the end of its third year, more than three million people have returned to their areas of origin, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced on Thursday.
• Choose peace over chaos, Guterres urges as he sets out final-year priorities
  With global tensions rising and “reckless actions” triggering dangerous consequences, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday called for renewed efforts on peace, justice and sustainable development as he outlined his priorities for 2026 – the final year of his tenure.
• Potential turning point for Gaza as peace plan enters second phase: UN envoy
  The start of a second phase of a stabilisation plan for Gaza offers a potential turning point for the war-ravaged enclave, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Wednesday.
• ‘We children saw things that no one should ever have to see’ Holocaust survivor tells the UN
  Holocaust survivor Marion Blumenthal Lazan, gave a harrowing and heart-rendering account of her childhood under Nazi persecution during Tuesday’s Holocaust Memorial event in New York, urging citizens worldwide to push back against ‘negativity’ by choosing “love, respect and compassion” in how they treat one another.
• World News in Brief: UN Support Office in Haiti, Goodwill Ambassador Theo James in Syria, urgent appeal for millions in DR Congo
  The Security Council-endorsed UN Support Office in Haiti is on track to deliver on behalf of the Haitian people, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Wednesday.
• Security Council LIVE: Ambassadors debate as Middle East crises mount
  The UN Security Council held a high-level open debate on the Middle East on Wednesday focusing on the Gaza peace plan – including the role of President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace – the continuing humanitarian crisis in the enclave and turmoil in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, following the demolition of UNRWA’s headquarters there. Follow live coverage below, and UN News app users can click here. For full and comprehensive UN meetings coverage, go here.
• Yemen: Security Council votes on final extension of Hudaydah Mission
  The Security Council adopted a resolution on Tuesday that renews the mandate of the UN Mission in the Yemeni port city of Hudaydah for a final two-month period through 31 March of this year. 
• From lunch tray to lifelong health: WHO sets global standards for school meals
  For the first time ever, the World Health Organization (WHO) is providing recommendations for healthy and nutritious food in schools around the world.
• UN says Gaza crisis remains dire, children hardest hit
  Despite a modest increase in humanitarian assistance, the situation in Gaza remains “dire”, with children among the hardest hit by shortages of shelter, basic services and education, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
• Remembering the Holocaust: ‘You are here because you choose hope over hate’
  The Holocaust is a warning, that hatred “can consume everything” – a message that feels more urgent than ever, the UN chief said on Tuesday, as antisemitism rages worldwide.
• Independent experts alarmed by child rights violations in US immigration procedures
  UN-appointed independent human rights experts have raised alarm over violations of children’s rights during US immigration procedures, nearly a year after federal funding for legal representation for unaccompanied minors was terminated. 
• ‘We must stand up for our shared humanity - each and every day’: UN human rights chief
  On the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called on the global community to “not only to look at our past, but to reflect on our present, and to safeguard our future.”
• Gaza ceasefire improves aid access, but children still face deadly conditions
  The fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is making a difference to the lives of over a million children, and improving overall access to food - but more aid still needs to enter. 
• World News in Brief: Deadly shipwrecks in the Mediterranean, Duterte trial update, final hostage remains recovered in Gaza, FAO boosts farming in Haiti
  The UN migration agency, IOM, expressed deep concern on Monday over multiple deadly shipwrecks that are believed to have taken place over the past ten days across the Central Mediterranean.
• Between fear and survival: Women and girls flee violence in northern Syria
  When fighting recently intensified near her neighbourhood in Aleppo, in northern Syria, Fatima and her family had to run. 
• UN chief warns ‘law of the jungle’ is replacing rule of law
  Warning that the “rule of law is being replaced by the law of the jungle,” the UN Secretary-General on Monday urged world powers to recommit to international law as the foundation of peace, justice and multilateral cooperation.
• South Sudan: UN and rights experts warn against risk of mass violence in Jonglei
  The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is sounding the alarm over the threat of escalating violence in Jonglei state which is putting lives at risk and further weakening prospects for peace. 
• A new blow for UNRWA as headquarters in East Jerusalem 'set on fire'
  The head of embattled UN relief agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, has condemned reports that its headquarters in East Jerusalem have been set alight deliberately.
• From deepfakes to grooming: UN warns of escalating AI threats to children
  The staggering amount of harmful AI-generated online content has prompted an urgent call from across the UN system for a raft of measures to protect children from abuse, exploitation and mental trauma.