United Nations | DD News

January 22, 2026 4:17 PM

Trump launches Board of Peace that some fear rivals UN

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday launched his Board of Peace, originally intended to help end the Gaza war but which he now sees having a wider role that Europe and some others fear will rival or undermine the United Nations. Trump appeared to touch on those concerns in his opening remarks at a signing ceremony for the board, saying the new board would work with the U.N. as he listed other major diplomatic issues around the region and worldwide. "Well, this is a very exciting day, long ...

January 20, 2026 2:56 PM

UN development programme to move 400 New York-based staff to Europe

The United Nations Development Programme will move close to 400 staff from its New York headquarters to Germany and Spain, it said late on Monday, following funding cuts by the United States. "The move is part of an ongoing effort to adapt to an evolving financial and development landscape, strengthen partnerships, and maximize UNDP's ability to support the world's most vulnerable people," the organisation said. Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in a separate release that the mov...

January 19, 2026 10:04 PM

Yemen humanitarian crisis to worsen in 2026 as funding cut, says UN

The U.N. warned on Monday that the humanitarian situation in Yemen is worsening and that gains made to tackle malnutrition and health would go into reverse due to funding cuts. "We are expecting things to be much worse in 2026," Julien Harneis, U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, told reporters in Geneva. Some 21 million people will need humanitarian assistance this year, an increase from 19.5 million the previous year, according to the U.N. The situation has been aggravated ...

January 18, 2026 8:01 PM

UN biodiversity treaty enters into force, aims to protect 30% of oceans by 2030

A landmark global treaty to safeguard biodiversity in the high seas came into effect on Saturday, providing countries with a legally binding framework to tackle threats such as overfishing and meet a target to protect 30% of the ocean environment by 2030. The U.N. treaty, also known as Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), was finalised in March 2023 after 15 years of negotiations, and will allow the creation of a global network of "marine protected areas" in vast and previously unr...

January 16, 2026 9:25 PM

Nigeria’s northeast faces worst hunger in a decade as aid cuts hit region, UN says

Thousands of people in Nigeria's strife-torn northeast are facing the risk of catastrophic food shortages for the first time in nearly a decade, as aid cuts deepen malnutrition across the region, the U.N. World Food Programme warned on Friday. Around 15,000 people are at risk in Borno state, the agency said, an area already struggling with years of militant unrest. Across West and Central Africa, 55 million people are facing severe food shortages, with more than three quarters of the people af...

January 15, 2026 10:49 PM

How will the next UN chief be chosen and who wants the job?

A new United Nations secretary-general will be elected this year for a five-year term starting on January 1, 2027. The president of the 193-member General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, asked countries on Wednesday to nominate candidates by April 1, so they are able to take part in so-called interactive dialogues the week of April 20, which will be broadcast online. At these meetings candidates will be able to present their vision statement and U.N. member states will be able to ask questions. ...

January 4, 2026 10:53 AM

UN Security Council to meet Monday over US action in Venezuela

The United Nations Security Council is due to meet on Monday after the U.S. attacked Venezuela and deposed its long-serving autocratic President Nicolas Maduro, a move that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres views as setting "a dangerous precedent." Colombia, backed by Russia and China, requested the meeting of the 15-member council, diplomats said. The U.N. Security Council has met twice - in October and December - over the escalating tensions between the United States and Venezuela. U.S...

January 1, 2026 10:05 AM

UN begins 2026 with reduced $3.45 billion budget, 19% job cuts

Facing a severe cash crunch, the United Nations has begun 2026 with a reduced budget of $3.45 billion and plans to cut 19 per cent of its workforce. The General Assembly adopted a budget that broadly reflects Secretary-General António Guterres’ proposal, though it is higher than the $3.238 billion he had initially sought. The approved budget is about $270 million, or 7.25 per cent, lower than the $3.72 billion budget for 2025. The allocation covers only the UN’s regular operations. Budget...

December 23, 2025 12:56 PM

UN chief Antonio Guterres calls for ensuring minorities’ safety in Bangladesh

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep concern over the recent surge in violence in Bangladesh, stressing that minorities must feel safe in the country, his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said. “We’re very concerned about the violence we’ve seen in Bangladesh,” Dujarric told reporters when asked about attacks on minorities, including recent incidents of lynching targeting Hindus. “All Bangladeshis need to feel safe.” Emphasising the rights of minority...

December 10, 2025 4:50 PM

UN human rights office in ‘survival mode’ amid major funding cuts

United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said on Wednesday that his office was in "survival mode" due to major funding cuts from global donors, while rights violations and needs in conflict-affected areas surge. "Our resources have been slashed, along with funding for human rights organisations - including at the grassroots level - around the world. We are in survival mode," the high commissioner for the U.N. human rights office (OHCHR) told reporters. OHCHR has $90 million less in fundin...