United Nations

World News

Meet The 15-Year-Old From Rural Guatemala Who Addressed The U.N.

9:19am March 16, 2015

by Diane Cole

Back in 2012, Emelin asked the mayor to help the girls of her town. He laughed in her face. But she didn't give up. This week, she told the U.N. General Assembly about her efforts.

Girls carrying school bags provided by UNICEF walk past destroyed buildings on their way home from school on March 7 in the rebel-held al-Shaar neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. So many people have fled the city and so much of its infrastructure has been des

World News

Drawn-Out Syrian Civil War Spawns A Literal Dark Age

11:26am March 12, 2015

by Michele Kelemen

Once, Syria was a modern nation. Today, after five years of brutal conflict, 83 percent of the country's lights are out and life expectancies are 20 years shorter.

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Migrants who survived a shipwreck are escorted as they arrive at the Lampedusa harbor on Wednesday. Some 300 others drowned in the latest such disaster triggered by people fleeing conflicts in North Africa.

World News

U.N. Calls On EU To Expand Rescue Of Migrants In Mediterranean

12:19pm February 12, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The High Commissioner for Refugees wants the European Union to expand its Operation Triton to intercept and rescue would-be migrants, most of them trying to reach Italy.

Survey teams are part of the Ebola army: They determine who's sick and send out burial teams when needed. Here, Osman Sow talks with Kadiatu, who is eight months pregnant and suspected of having the virus, as she waits at a health center in Freetown, Sier

To Get To Zero Ebola Cases, It'll Cost A Lot: Roughly $1.5 Billion

10:34am February 09, 2015

by Linda Poon

A new U.N. report lays out how much money is needed and where it should go — everything from transportation for contact tracers to cash incentives for health care workers.

Anthony Banbury (second from left) just completed his final tour of West Africa before stepping down as the head of U.N.'s Ebola mission.

U.N.'s Anthony Banbury: Zero Cases Of Ebola Is The Only Option

11:59am January 03, 2015

by NPR Staff

Anthony Banbury is stepping down as the head of the U.N.'s Ebola mission. He says the Ebola can't become entrenched in West Africa. And he thinks the fight is heading in the right direction.

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Manuel Pulgar-Vidal (center), Peru's environment minister, applauds on Saturday after delegates to the Lima climate conference agreed on a deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Nations Salvage Deal To Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions

3:07pm December 14, 2014

by Scott Neuman

The deal is the first-ever to require all nations to reduce emissions, but it doesn't include a mechanism to monitor compliance.

Edet Belzberg's other films include the documentaries Children Underground and The Recruiter.

Arts

The Man Who Coined 'Genocide' Spent His Life Trying To Stop It

7:40pm October 18, 2014

by NPR Staff

Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin coined the word in 1943, as part of his lifelong campaign to make the world acknowledge and prosecute the crime. A new documentary, Watchers of the Sky, tells his story.

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U.N. representatives for Venezuela, including Foreign Minister Rafael Ramirez, right, celebrate after being elected to a two year term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council on Thursday.

Venezuela, A Diplomatic Rival For U.S., Wins Seat On U.N. Security Council

4:46pm October 16, 2014

by Eyder Peralta

The last time Venezuela tried for a seat in 2006, the United States successfully lobbied against it. The U.S. expressed disappointment about Venezuela's inclusion.

Islamic State flags on the Mullah Abdullah bridge in southern Kirkuk earlier this week. A U.N. report says the extremist group has perpetrated possible war crimes and crimes against humanity.

World News

U.N. Report Details Possible War Crimes By Islamic State Militants

10:27am October 02, 2014

by Scott Neuman

The High Commissioner for Human Rights says mass executions, forcing women and girls into sex slavery and the use of child soldiers may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.

A United Nations helicopter flies overhead as a burial team collects the body of a woman suspected of dying of Ebola in Monrovia, Liberia, in August.

Promised Help To Fight Ebola Arriving At 'Speed Of A Turtle'

7:17am September 26, 2014

by Michele Kelemen

The head of a leading aid group warned the United Nations that the situation in West Africa is desperate. U.N. officials said they're getting help on the ground as quickly as possible.

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