• Gaza: UN staffer killed at UNOPS premises 
• Ukrainians tortured, raped, executed by Russian captors, Human Rights Council hears
• Belarus in spotlight at Human Rights Council 

Audio Credit: Daniel Johnson, UN News
Music composed and produced by Joachim Harris. All rights reserved 

UN News Today 19 March 2025 - UN staffer killed at UNOPS premises, Human Rights Council

From converting green spaces into tobacco-free areas to cutting out ultra-processed foods and sugary drinks from school lunches and promoting air quality, three cities on Thursday won awards for being some of the healthiest urban places on the planet.

Córdoba in Argentina, Fortaleza in Brazil and Manchester in the UK accepted prizes in Paris for their public health achievements, at the Partnership for Healthy Cities Summit, co-hosted by the UN World Health Organization (WHO), Bloomberg Philanthropies and Vital Strategies.

The city of Córdoba picked up an accolade for replacing sugary drinks with water, helping to lower obesity rates.

"We're seeing a lot of progress in local leadership and mayors from across the world taking on the fight and trying to lower rates of the world's biggest killers, heart disease, diabetes, cancers and respiratory diseases," said Jaimie Guerra, Communications Officer at WHO.

Three of world’s healthiest cities win awards for smoke-free parks, air quality, school lunches

Arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances continue to characterize life in Venezuela today, the UN deputy rights chief Nada Al-Nashif said on Thursday.

Conditions in captivity are also inhumane, she told the Human Rights Council. “At least three people with critical medical conditions have died in custody after being denied timely access to treatment,” the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights said, delivering a report on Venezuela to the Council.

The development comes amid continuing concerns from the UN human rights office, OHCHR, about reported widespread rights abuses in the country including torture at facilities including the Rodeo I detention centre.
“Arbitrary detentions are continuing, and legislation continues to be widely used to prosecute and detain people in violation of due process and fair trial,” Ms. Al-Nashif maintained.

Ms. Al-Nashif also underscored the need for constitutional reform pledges to be transparent and inclusive. “All Venezuelans from across society must have their voices heard,” she said.

Beyond these challenges, people face high inflation levels, leaving an estimated 7.6 million in need of humanitarian assistance.

Accessing health services and decent work also remains a significant problem – particularly for indigenous people who are more at risk from HIV, malaria and tuberculosis.
With most people being unable to cover the cost of drugs, “many are asked to bring their own medical supplies to surgeries,” Ms. Al-Nashif explained.

According to the Deputy High Commissioner, it is difficult to establish adequate prevention and response plans “due to a lack of transparency regarding mortality rates”.

Fear, intimidation and persecution in Venezuela, says UN deputy rights chief

International crimes have likely been happening in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) over several decades “and they continue to be committed,” said Nada Al-Nashif, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, on Thursday.

Presenting a new mandated report to the Council, Ms. Al-Nashif pointed out that despite these grave violations, “criminal accountability is completely absent”.

Citing hundreds of witness testimonies that contributed to the report, she explained that victims alleged imprisonment, torture, enslavement, forced labour overseas and trafficking.
Given the unwillingness or inability of DPRK to hold perpetrators accountable, “international accountability options must be considered, including referral of the situation to the International Criminal Court”, Ms. Al-Nashif insisted.

The Deputy High Commissioner welcomed ongoing international efforts to raise awareness and accountability, including the unveiling by South Korea of memorials to five high school students, reportedly abducted from the Seonyu and Hong islands in 1977 and 1978.

By acknowledging people’s pain and suffering and remembering victims, such initiatives “can be an essential part of strengthening the respect for human rights now and in the future,” Ms. Al-Nashif said. 

UN human rights deputy chief urges ICC referral for North Korea violations, impunity

Despite some gains, women remain significantly underrepresented in decision-making positions – especially at senior levels of the judiciary worldwide.

Judge Angela Attachie, from Ghana, is both a Circuit Court Judge and the Queen Mother of Ho Bankoe – a dual role that makes her as a key figure in community governance and social development.

Speaking to UN News’ Pia Blondel, she talks about her journey to the courtroom, her experience as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field, and what needs to change for more women to rise in leadership positions.

Audio Credit: Pia Blondel, UN News


Breaking barriers in law and beyond: Ghanaian judge champions women’s empowerment

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR is the latest aid body to face painful cutbacks in the field and at headquarters after the announcement of a drastic drawdown in US funding.

Several programmes will shut down, and operations will significantly downsize, the organization said on Friday.

"The biggest concern that we have is, of course, in all of this for refugees, for the displaced, they will be feeling the brunt of these cuts," said Matthew Saltmarsh, a spokesperson for UNHCR.

"In South Sudan, only 25 per cent of the dedicated spaces supported by UNHCR for women and girls at risk of violence are currently operational. That has left some 80,000 people without access to access to services like emergency psychosocial support and legal and medical assistance."

UN refugee agency on cutbacks

Ongoing hostilities and occupation of parts of Ukraine by Russia have caused large-scale human rights violations and inflicted unimaginable suffering on millions of children, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday.

“Their rights have been undermined in every aspect of life, leaving deep scars, both physical and psychosocial,” said Liz Throssell, OHCHR spokesperson.

Between 24 February 2022 and 31 December 2024, 669 children were killed and 1,833 injured, many from the extensive use of explosive weapons in populated areas. Of these, 521 have been confirmed killed and 1,529 injured in Ukraine and 148 were killed and 304 injured in territory occupied by Russia. The actual numbers are likely much higher.

“Vast areas of Ukraine are now littered with landmines and explosive remnants of war, posing long-term risks to children’s lives and safety,” she said.

“As of December 2024, an estimated 737,000 children had been internally displaced by the hostilities. A further 1.7 million were refugees, many of them separated from a parent, usually their father,” Ms. Throssell added.

'Children's rights undermined in every aspect of life in Ukraine,' says OHCHR

Children, refugees and displaced people are bearing the brunt of the funding crisis that have engulfed the international development sector, exacerbated by slashed U.S. support, UNICEF said on Friday.

In the region of Afar in northeastern Ethiopia, UNICEF supports 30 rudimentary mobile clinics.

The facilities, aimed at supporting poor pastoralist communities, provide pregnant and lactating mothers as well as children with “bare minimum” treatment and nutritional support, said Kitty van der Heijden, UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director.

Only seven out of these 30 clinics are now standing; the others have been shut by the wave of financial cutbacks.

“Without new funding, we will run out of our supply chain by May,” she said. “And that means that 70,000 children in Ethiopia who depend on this type of treatment cannot be served.”

UNICEF shuts clinics in Ethiopia over funding cuts

Child marriage remains a significant challenge in Nepal, impacting the lives of tens of thousands of young girls. While its prevalence has dropped from a staggering 60 per cent in 2006 to about 35 per cent in 2022, one in three girls is still married off before turning 18.

Economic hardship, lack of access to education, cultural norms and gender inequality continue to drive the practice, with devastating consequences for young girls. Boys are also affected, with one in 10 forced into early marriage.

UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has been working alongside the Government and partners in Nepal to combat the scourge. UN News’ Vibhu Mishra spoke to UNICEF Representative in Nepal, Alice Akunga.

Audio Credit Vibhu Mishra, UN News
Audio 10'46"
Photo Credit © UNICEF/Robic Upadhayay

‘We have to break the cycle’: Combating child marriage in Nepal

• Exhausted Gazans wake from another night of Israeli bombing 
• 2024 was deadliest year on record for migrants 
• Child rights in Ukraine under attack

Audio Credit: Daniel Johnson, UN News
Music composed and produced by Joachim Harris. All rights reserved.

UN News Today 21 March 2025 - Gaza update, migrants, child rights in Ukraine

سلام من الجنوب - أربعون عاماً على اليونيفيل
مع دخول العام الجديد تدخل اليونيفيل عامها الأربعين. إنها محطة مهمة لتقييم النجاحات والإخفاقات في مهمة حفظ السلام في جنوب لبنان. ولهذا السبب سيقوم راديو اليونيفيل بإعداد سلسلة من الحلقات المخصصة لهذه المناسبة. حلقة اليوم مكرسة للظروف التي استدعت تأسيس هذه البعثة والأشخاص الذين كانوا أول من خدم في صفوفها. 

Salam from the south - UNIFIL turns forty
This year UNIFIL is turning forty. It is an important milestone that offers a time for reflection on the highs and lows of the Peacekeeping mission in south Lebanon. UNIFIL Radio will look back over its history in a series of documentaries dedicated to the memorable date.  This “Salam from the South” episode is about the circumstances that called the Mission to existence and about people who were among the first to serve.

UNIFIL turns forty | أربعون عاماً على اليونيفيل

The official Soundcloud page of UNIFIL - The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL's Official Website: http://unifil.unmissions.org)

This page contains productions from UNIFIL Radio.

UNIFIL turns forty | أربعون عاماً على اليونيفيل

UNIFIL Radio

Related tracks