UN News - Global perspective Human stories

•    Strait of Hormuz impact still expanding, warns UNCTAD •    UNICEF aid convoy reaches southern Lebanon communities in need•    WMO warns of record ‘climate imbalance’ 

UN chief Guterres urges end to war as regional crisis threatens to spiralHuman rights defenders in Colombia face relentless violence: OHCHRWomen and girls bear brunt of global water crisis UNESCO report finds

Plight of Strait of Hormuz seafarers in spotlight at IMO meetingYemen appeal seeks $2 billion for 12 million people in need Forests hailed as renewable source of economic prosperity: FAO, UNDP

Mid-East war prompts risk of most severe aid disruption since COVID - WFPLebanon’s displaced fear ‘targeted assassinations’, warns top aid official Afghanistan drug rehabilitation centre blast reaction from OHCHR

Combating Islamophobia is about overcoming bigotry, says UN chiefMiddle East war: UN human rights office condemns killing of Palestinian Killing of Palestinians condemned in Gaza and occupied West Bank 

UN chief launches $308 million appeal for strife-hit LebanonMiddle East war: Women in Lebanon forced to give birth on roadsideSyria rights probe warns of ongoing serious violations across country

UN maritime agency to hold emergency session on Gulf crisis: IMOIOM condemns deadly strike on Lebanon shelterUkraine: child deportations by Russia are crimes against humanity, says Human Rights Council independent probe

Aid chief condemns use of drones in $1 billion-a-day Middle East war: OCHALebanon: UN ‘blue helmets’ are staying, says peacekeeping chiefUNICEF worker confirmed killed in DR Congo 

‘Black rain’ alert after oil depot strikes across Middle East: WHO, OHCHRGazans still forced to live hand-to-mouth, warns WFPUN rights chief issues South Sudan ceasefire call amid atrocities

Middle East strikes on Iranian petrol stores prompts WHO alertCondemnation for latest occupied West Bank killings: UN rights officeRefugee women’s rights trail far behind men’s, warns UNHCR

UN rights chief urges de-escalation as Middle East war spreadsLebanon suffering in spotlight amid Israeli evacuation ordersLifesaving relief for Gaza, Sudan, held up by supply chain crisis: WHO

UN rights chief warns global inequality is deepeningObesity is ‘one of the greatest health problems of our time,’ says TedrosDomicide on the increase as conflicts proliferate, warns top rights expert

Lebanon: families fleeing Israeli airstrikes have almost nothing - UNICEFNeeds remain immense in Gaza, warns OCHA Iran’s protesters face expedited death penalty, say independent rights experts

Iran war: Emergency protocols in place amid supply chain slowdown - WFPRelief as key Gaza crossing set to reopen, aid teams say Afghanistan braces for further returns influx from Iran and Pakistan UNHCR

Iran crisis: Nuclear watchdog urges restraint amid ongoing strikesCondemnation for Strait of Hormuz shipping attacksAfghanistan’s quake survivors still vulnerable, warns OCHA 

Epstein scandal highlights how women and girls are silenced: UN Human Rights chief Fears grow for Afghan civilians after reported Pakistan air strikesDenmark eradicates mother-to-child transmission of syphilis, HIV

Afghanistan-Pakistan tensions: UN Human Rights chief urges talks Further risk of genocidal acts in Sudan, top rights probe warnsGaza suffering enormous, Türk tells Human Rights Council

Organized crime and poor regulation to blame for toxic pollution scourge Ukraine war with Russia now driving school closures even far from front linesGeopolitical tensions hinder economic growth in Arab nations pursuing green energy shift

Ukraine wakes to more violence as Russia’s full-scale invasion enters fifth yearSomalia alert as acute hunger doubles in a yearGaza’s children refuse to give up on their future

Human Rights Council must resist geopolitical uncertainty: GuterresEnd the targeting of civilians in South Sudan violence, insists UN aid chiefDuterte pre-trial hearings underway at International Criminal Court

Ukraine: Women continue to bear the brunt of the ongoing war Child trafficking by gangs severely threatens Haiti’s future Somalia: WFP warns funding cuts could stop food aid within weeks 

Sudan: UN fact-finding mission finds ‘Hallmarks of Genocide’ in El Fasher Gaza: OHCHR warns of possible ethnic cleansing South Sudan: WFP scales up aid as conflict deepens hunger crisis 

Sudan: deadly drone strikes killed dozensAsia-Pacific: falling behind 88 per cent of their SDG targets by 2030UN plays tribute to civil rights icon the Reverend Jesse Jackson who passed away on Tuesday

Conflict and instability are making pregnancy increasingly dangerous worldwide, warns WHOUkraine: Civilians face ongoing attacks as bitter winter conditions deepen sufferingUN Secretary-General’s message for Lunar New Year

Ukraine: Millions face worsening conditions amid freezing temperatures, power outages - UN migration agency WHO confirms two cases of a newly combined mpox strain in India and the United Kingdom.In Ramadan message, Guterres calls on people worldwide to embrace peace, compassion, and solidarity

Madagascar: Back-to-back cyclones leave hundreds of thousands in urgent needUNHCR warns of mounting hardship facing Afghan returnees UN rights office concerned over deepening socio-economic crisis in Cuba 

Ukraine war: UN rights chief Türk slams relentless attacks by Russia Gaza: Israeli forces demolish UN school behind ‘Yellow Line’ - UNRWACholera surging again in DR Congo: OCHA

Daily life in Gaza: airstrikes, shelling and aid restrictions - OCHAThe vital task of helping Sudan’s survivors of sexual violence - UNICEFMeasles risk increases across Europe: WHO 

Ethiopia: UN rights chief issues alert over ‘precarious’ situation in Tigray In Sudan, sick and starving children are ‘wasting away’: UNICEF, WHOCrypto is in but Least Developed Countries are missing out: UNCTAD

Sudan war crimes in spotlight at Human Rights Council53 migrants die in latest shipwreck tragedy off Libya coastChild labour scourge still impacting 138 million children

Concerns persist over chemical spraying incident on Lebanon's Blue Line Occupied West Bank settlement expansion is making a Palestinian state unviable: OHCHR After START, new nuclear threats under spotlight at UN disarmament talks

Human rights chief issues $400 million appeal to ensure most vulnerable are protectedOccupied West Bank attacks on Palestinians record huge spike since 2021: OCHAUN aid flights to resume to Yemen’s opposition-held capital 

Intensifying ISIL threat highlights need for continued counter-terrorism effortsWFP halts humanitarian operations in northern South Sudan regionNearly 40 per cent of cancer cases could be prevented

UNICEF delivers generators and aid amid ongoing attacks in Ukraine First medical evacuations begin as Rafah crossing reopens after a yearStudent-built satellite from Mexico deployed from the International Space Station, widening space participation 

Rafah border reopens as UN officials warn of ongoing violence in GazaRussian attack in Ukraine killed and injured mine workers commuting to work Global space leaders convene in Vienna to tackle the future of outer space

Darfur’s children living on a thin line between abandonment and hopeMyanmar: Türk says military-run elections have exacerbated violence, social divisionUNICEF steps up winter response to protect children and families amid Ukraine’s harsh cold

IOM warns of deepening needs as millions of people return to Sudan WHO: India on alert with two cases of Nipah virus in JanuaryFAO’s new 100 million initiative with ADB plans to strengthen food security for around one million Afghans 

Humanitarians continue to face impediments to aid delivery in GazaGaza at potential ‘turning point’, top UN official saysDR Congo: $1.4 billion appeal amid immense needs, limited resources

UN chief calls for hope and solidarity on Holocaust Remembrance DayGaza: Restoring shattered education system must be a prioritySyria sees returns despite fresh displacement

Haiti crisis: FAO leads 90-day planting project to boost resilienceUNRWA chief condemns blaze at East Jerusalem HQTens of thousands may have been killed in Iran: independent rights expert

Iran: UN rights chief warns over execution uncertainty for protestersGaza: Never mind reconstruction, people desperately need more help, say aid agenciesIsraeli push against UNRWA in Occupied West Bank heightens Palestinian suffering, agency reports

Gaza: As Board of Peace launches, Human Rights Council probe pledges to continue seeking justice Ukraine: UNICEF mourns killing of 17-year-old in Odesa attacksNigeria: Emergency food assistance cuts expected within weeks, warns WFP

Haiti emergency: More than 8,000 confirmed killings in 2025: GuterresOccupied West Bank’s historic settlements “systematically emptied”, reports UN human rights officeGlobal investment saw 14 per cent spike in 2025: UNCTAD

Sudan war: UN rights chief Türk warns of spiralling Kordofan escalationUNRWA headquarters bulldozed in occupied East JerusalemMozambique flooding emergency prompts crocodile alert – OCHA

In Sudan, UN rights chief Türk highlights plight of people uprooted by warIn Yemen, children are dying and it’s going to get worse, warns OCHAMyanmar rejects accusations of genocide at UN’s top court 

In Sudan, UN rights chief Türk highlights plight of people uprooted by warUkrainian families in ‘survival mode’ amid Russian strikes and -18°C temperatures - UNICEFCentral and West Africa: Famine and malnutrition “mean that people are dying” - WFP

In Gaza, 800,000 people now live in dangerous locations prone to flooding: OCHASudanese pushed to the brink amid war and famine: WFPRohingya faced longstanding discrimination and hate speech ahead of genocide, ICJ hears 

Condemnation as Israeli authorities shut down UNRWA healthcare facilitySyria: Aleppo violence uproots 120,000 as aid teams push for access: OCHA2025 one of the three warmest years on record: WMO

Iran crisis: UN human rights chief urges dialogue as authorities mull death penalty for protestersUkraine: amid reports of another deadly night of Russian strikes, OCHA launches $2.3 billion aid appealGaza: UNICEF condemns further deaths of children despite ongoing ceasefire