Pilgrims at a festival at Lalish in Dohuk Governorate, Kurdistan region of Iraq, on the day of the Yazidi New Year, 18 April 2017.  Levi Clancy, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Nazila Ghanea

Making Freedom of Religion or Belief a Lived Reality: Threats and Opportunities

Direct violence against marginalized religious or belief communities often goes hand in hand with, and is facilitated by, legally mandated discrimination at the national level and/or unchecked and widespread prejudicial and discriminatory attitudes.

Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya (center) in Marib City, Yemen. October 2022.
Joyce Msuya

World Humanitarian Day: Honouring Our Commitments to the People We Serve, and to the Humanitarians Who Serve Them

Year after year, the humanitarian community has risen to the challenge. Humanitarian operations have expanded, and more and more humanitarians have rallied to the cause. 

The United Nations Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology, Under-Secretary-General Amandeep Gill.

Chronicle Conversation with United Nations Under-Secretary-General Amandeep Gill, 20 July 2023

Under-Secretary-General Amandeep Gill, the Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology, discusses the state of artificial intelligence (AI), its potential use by the United Nations to address global problems, and the need for international AI governance. 

Photo courtesy by Pexels/Nila Racigan
Amal Omer-Salim

Breastfeeding and Work: A Balancing Act

Women continue to face the challenge of balancing breastfeeding and work.

Photo courtesy by Pexels/Pixabay
Juliette Biao Koudenoukpo

As Wildfires Increase, Integrated Strategies for Forests, Climate and Sustainability Are Ever More Urgent

Restoring our balance with nature is possible if we choose to invest significant political and financial capital in wildfire prevention, preparedness and recovery. 

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash
Heather Komenda

Despite Progress, More Needs to Be Done to Address the Crime of Trafficking in Persons

New and emerging issues continue to cause vulnerability to trafficking, to facilitate it, or to complicate responses to this problem.

Amandeep Singh Gill addresses the United Nations AI for Good Global Summit as Co-Lead of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, Geneva, 17 May 2018. ITU Pictures from Geneva, Switzerland, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Jeongki Lim

Generative Artificial Intelligence: What It Is, What It Is Not and What It Can Be for the United Nations

It is one thing to utilize AI to draft memos or automate workflow in a company, but the work of United Nations professionals involves engaging in policy and operational decision-making that has tangible human consequences on the societal and everyday levels at a global scale.

John Wilmoth, Clare Menozzi, Lina Bassarsky and Danan Gu

As the World's Population Surpasses 8 Billion, What Are the Implications for Planetary Health and Sustainability?

Ultimately, planetary health and the sustainability of our economic system will depend on the social, demographic, economic and environmental choices that we make. 

Photo by Luke Paris on Unsplash
Sooyeon Laura Jin and Nancy Aburto

Healthy Forests Are Vital to Human Health and Sustainable Development

The global community, and national policymakers in particular, need to adopt a multifaceted “One Health” approach that views human, plant and animal health as intertwined and codependent.

Rwanda: Agnes Mukamushinja Nova coffee1 - Agnes Mukamushinja
Pamela Coke-Hamilton

Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Are Key to an Inclusive and Sustainable Future

Micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are engines of economic growth and employment, accounting for 90 per cent of businesses, up to 70 per cent of all jobs and 50 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) at the global level.  

United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed addresses the event “Her Land. Her Rights: Advancing Gender Equality and Land Restoration Goals” in the General Assembly Hall on June 2023. UN Photo/Manuel Elías.
Amina J. Mohammed

The Future We Want Requires More Women in Diplomacy

At the United Nations, we, the women working in diplomacy, along with our feminist male allies, have an opportunity to drive forward the change we need. 

4.	Growing Hope Across Borders: The Great Green Wall, Africa's Epic Response to Global Challenges Led by Senegalese Women. ©Makewaves – UNCCD
Tarja Halonen

Securing Women’s Land Rights for Increased Gender Equality, Food Security and Economic Empowerment

This World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, governments must immediately eliminate legal barriers to women and girls’ ownership or inheritance of land. 

Rose Tonga married at 18 years, suffered obstetric fistula for 21 years. She has now received treatment and regained her dignity, thanks to UNFPA and partners. ©UNFPA South Sudan
Bridget Asiamah

Twenty Years of Progress Is Not Enough: We Must Act Now to End Obstetric Fistula

Obstetric fistula can be prevented when there is access to quality, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services and information. 

Forest biodiversity in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, Ecuador, 28 February 2019. Fährtenleser, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Edward Norton

Protecting the Tree of Life: The Path Forward

Though we humans share the earth with the rest of its life forms, and we are an integrated part of its biodiversity, we have an outsized impact on the health of the planet. 

Bryan Stevenson

Countering the Legacy of Enslavement with Hope and Justice

As the world’s preeminent international organization, the United Nations is the only institution that can connect the multiple players and partners implicated in the global tragedy of the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans.