Data covering all three areas revealed that more than one in two 15-year-olds experimented with alcohol, while one in five teenagers recently used e-cigarettes, the UN health agency said, in a call for urgent preventive measures. “The widespread use of harmful substances among children in many countries across the European Region – and beyond –…
According to UN estimates, the world is facing an annual financing gap of about $4 trillion to achieve sustainable development, leaving countries with hardly any resources to invest in better education, healthcare, renewable energy or social protection. “The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are hanging by a thread, and with them, the hopes and dreams of…
“Today, it pains me to note that all speeches and callings had not avoided that some of the worst scenarios for Haiti have become realities in recent months and weeks,” said Maria Isabel Salvador, who also heads the UN mission in Haiti, BINUH. Speaking from the capital, Port-au-Prince, she said it was impossible to overstate…
The huge central African nation has seen years of violence in the restive but resources-rich east, which have uprooted millions of people – some 2.7 million in North Kivu alone and more than seven million nationally. “What breaks my heart is to see a population exhausted by violence, exhausted by conflict, exhausted by the horrors…
As crises continue to unfold, there has been a lack of unity among world leaders in solving challenges for the “collective good”, the Youth Office said in a letter kickstarting the campaign. The office says it deems it important to have leaders and institutions include young people in roles where their voices can be heard,…
Addressing a high-level education on education convened by the European Union (EU) in Brussels, Amina Mohammed paid tribute in particular to the children of Gaza, who have had no education for over six months, and where there have been direct hits on 212 schools. “Today, the light for Gaza and the children of Gaza, is out….
In a resolution adopted by 28 votes in favour, six against and 13 abstentions, the 47-member Human Rights Council backed a call to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel, the occupying Power…to prevent further violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights”. …
Marking six months of war since the “abhorrent” Hamas-led terror attacks of 7 October, António Guterres told journalists at UN Headquarters in New York that nothing could justify the horror unleashed by Palestinian militants that day. “I once again utterly condemn the use of sexual violence, torture injuring and kidnapping of civilians, the firing of…
In February 2021 the military overthrew the elected Government in Myanmar arresting hundreds of officials, political leaders and activists, including President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. The takeover triggered an intensification of armed conflicts with separatists and opposition forces across the country, including indiscriminate air strikes which have killed numerous civilians. There have…
Calling for disarmament now, he urged States with nuclear arsenals to lead the way across six areas for action that include dialogue and accountability. “Nuclear weapons are the most destructive weapons ever invented, capable of eliminating all life on earth. Today, these weapons are growing in power, range and stealth. An accidental launch is one…
