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The gap between rich and poor nations is growing even wider as actions agreed to by many countries last year, including overhauling the major global financial institutions, remain unfulfilled promises, a UN report concluded. The report assessing the blueprint adopted in Seville, Spain, last June to narrow the gap and achieve UN development goals for 2030 was issued ahead of next week's spring meetings in Washington of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the main global financial institutions promoting economic growth. The managing director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, said it had been prepared to upgrade global growth, but the Iran war has now darkened the outlook for the world economy. Li Junhua, the UN undersecretary-general for economic and social affairs, said the geopolitical tensions were compounding the struggles of developing countries to attract financing. "This is an extremely perilous time for international cooperation, as geopolitical ...
More than 1,000 humanitarian workers have been killed across the globe in the past three years, nearly triple the death count in the previous three years, the UN said on Wednesday. "This is not an accidental escalation it is the collapse of protection," UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the UN Security Council. Of the more than 1,010 humanitarian workers killed from 2023 to 2025, he said, over 560 were in Gaza and the West Bank, 130 in Sudan, 60 in South Sudan, 25 in Ukraine and 25 in Congo. That compares with 377 killed from 2020 to 2022. The surge in deaths occurred during the war between Israel and Hamas, which began in October 2023. A ceasefire has been in effect since October 2025, although shootings and airstrikes have persisted. Last year alone, Fletcher said, at least 326 aid workers were recorded as killed in 21 countries. In 2024, a record 383 were killed in global hotspots while distributing food, water, shelter and medicine. "They died in clearly marked convoys
India has been elected to various subsidiary bodies at the UN Economic and Social Council, one of the six main organs of the United Nations. The Permanent Mission of India to the UN said on Wednesday that India has been elected by acclamation to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) subsidiary bodies, including Commission on Science and Technology for Development (2027-2030); Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations (2027-2030); and the Committee for Programme and Coordination (2027-2029). Indian Ambassador Preeti Saran has been re-elected to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2027-2030). The UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) holds an annual intergovernmental forum for discussion on issues affecting science, technology and development. The Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations is a standing committee of the ECOSOC, and among its main tasks are consideration of applications for consultative status and reques
Russia and China on Tuesday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz that had been repeatedly watered down in hopes those two countries would abstain. The vote - 11 in favour, two against and two abstentions - took place just hours before an 8 pm Eastern deadline set by US President Donald Trump for Iran to open the strategic waterway or face attacks on its power plants and bridges. One-fifth of the world's oil typically passes through the strait, and Iran's stranglehold during the war has sent energy prices soaring. It's doubtful the resolution, even if it had been adopted, would have impacted the war, now in its fifth week, because it was been significantly weakened to try to get Russia and China to abstain rather than veto it. The initial Bahrain proposal would have authorised countries to use "all necessary means" - UN wording that would include military action - to ensure transit through the Strait of Hormuz and deter attempts to close ...
Two women leaders are in the fray to become the next Secretary General of the UN, nominated along with two male candidates, amid a growing call for the first female to be elected as head of the global organisation in its 80-year-old history. The process to elect the next Secretary General of the United Nations gets underway this month with the four nominated candidates for the post participating in interactive dialogues scheduled to be held at the UN Headquarters on April 21 and 22. UN chief Antonio Guterres, the former Prime Minister of Portugal and former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, will complete his second five-year term as head of the global organisation in December 2026. He had assumed office in 2017 as the ninth Secretary General of the UN, an organisation that has never seen a female leader at its helm in 80 years of its existence. Vying for the top job at the UN are former Chilean President and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle ..
The UN Security Council is scheduled to vote Friday on a proposal to secure the Strait of Hormuz after it was significantly watered down in the face of opposition from China and Russia about allowing force to reopen the critical waterway that Iran has largely cut off to global shipping. The final draft of Bahrain's resolution, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, authorises the use of defensive - but not offensive - action to ensure vessels can safely transit the strait. One-fifth of the world's oil typically passes through the waterway where Iran's stranglehold during the war has sent energy prices soaring. Bahrain's initial draft resolution would have allowed countries "to use all necessary means" - UN language that would include possible military action - "in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman" to secure passage and deter attempts to interfere with navigation. Russia, China and France, all veto-wielding countries of the 15-member Security Council, had ...
An Iranian envoy says Tehran will "facilitate and expedite" humanitarian aid through the Strait of Hormuz. Ali Bahreini, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said Friday that Tehran has accepted a request from the world body to allow the safe passage of humanitarian aid and agriculture shipments through the critical waterway. "This measure reflects Iran's continued commitment to supporting humanitarian efforts and ensuring that essential aid reaches those in need without delay," Bahreini said in a post on X. The statement comes hours after the UN announced a task force to address the ripple effects the Iran war has had on the passage of aid.
In a sharp critique, UN chief Antonio Guterres said there is a need to recognise "we have a problem with the Security Council", which does not reflect the current world and is not allowed to stop conflicts because of the use of veto by its permanent members. "I think we need to recognise that we have a problem with the Security Council. The Security Council today no longer represents the world as the world exists. It represents the world after 1945," Guterres said at a press conference in Beirut on Saturday in response to a question. He pointed out that three permanent members of the 15-nation Council are from Europe, one from Asia, and one is the United States, while there are no permanent members from Africa or Latin America. Even from Asia, that "obviously is a continent with an enormous weight in global population and global wealth", there is just one permanent member - China. "And so, the Council has a problem of legitimacy and a problem of efficiency because of the vetoes. An
Apparent fire from a heavy machine gun sparked a blaze at the UN peacekeeping force position near the village of Mais al-Jabal when a UN peacekeeper was hurt on his way to a shelter in Lebanon. Kandice Ardiel, a spokeswoman for the UNIFIL peacekeeping force, said it launched an investigation and reminds all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of peacekeepers at all times. UN positions in southern Lebanon have been hit several times during exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah, including on March 6 when three peacekeepers were wounded at a UNIFIL base.
Climate change has serious impacts from a gender perspective, yet the capital flowing toward supporting women affected by it represents only a small fraction of what is required, a top representative of the United Nations Global Compact Network India (UNGCNI) said. In an interview with PTI Videos, Vaishali Nigam Sinha, president of UNGCNI, emphasised the need to recognise the vital role women play in climate-related disaster management and to reduce the impacts of climate change on their lives through targeted investment. "During climate-related disasters, women are significantly more likely to be affected. It is important to protect and support women when addressing climate-related impacts. However, when we look at the capital flowing toward helping women affected by climate change, it is only a small fraction of what is required -- about 10 per cent," Sinha told PTI. In 2025, a UN women report warned that under a worst-case climate scenario, up to 158.3 million more women and girl
US first lady Melania Trump presided over a UN Security Council meeting on Monday focusing on children in conflict, one of her signature issues, at a turbulent time as the United States has joined Israel in attacking Iran. She was the first spouse of a world leader to take the president's seat at the United Nations' most powerful body, which is charged with ensuring global peace and security, according to the UN. The wife of President Donald Trump was given the opportunity as the United States takes over the council presidency for the month of March. In the past, presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers have often wielded the gavel. The first lady arrived at UN headquarters in a motorcade and was greeted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. She shook hands with each of the 15 Security Council members and posed for a group photo. The rotating president of the council gets to choose the subject and participants for some meetings. Monday's meeting, which was scheduled .
Iran has not allowed the United Nations nuclear watchdog to access nuclear facilities affected by the 12-day war in June, according to a confidential report by the UN nuclear watchdog circulated to member states and seen Friday by The Associated Press. The report stressed that therefore the agency "cannot verify whether Iran has suspended all enrichment-related activities," or the "size of Iran's uranium stockpile at the affected nuclear facilities.
A new penal code issued by decree in Afghanistan sets harsher punishments for the mistreatment of animals than for domestic violence against women and solidifies into law inequality based on gender and social status. The decree, which was signed by Afghanistan's Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada in January, "defines several crimes and punishments that contravene Afghanistan's international legal obligations," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said Thursday in remarks to the Human Rights Council in Geneva. He urged Afghan authorities to rescind the decree. Comprised of 119 articles, the 60-page Decree No. 12 lays out penalties for women who visit their relatives without their husband's permission, and allows husbands and the heads of households to determine and mete out punishment in their own homes. "It provides for the use of corporal punishment for numerous offences, including in the home, legitimising violence against women and children," Turk said. "And it ..