UN Interviews
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UN News interviews a wide range of people from senior news-making officials at Headquarters in New York, to advocates and beneficiaries from across the world who have a stake in helping the UN go about its often life-saving work in the field.
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A massive wave of Israeli airstrikes struck Lebanon on Wednesday – despite the US-Iran ceasefire declared hours earlier – killing 254 people and injuring 1,165 others, according to local authorities. Strikes hit densely populated areas, including Beirut, with no warning, leaving many still trapped under rubble. Hospitals are overwhelmed, facing mass casualties and critical shortages of supplies. The UN World Health Organization is working tirelessly to provide support across the country, while dozens of medical workers have been killed and injured in recent weeks. UN News’ Nancy Sarkis spoke on Thursday to the WHO’s Representative in Lebanon, Dr. Abdinasir Abubakar, who witnessed 10 different strikes on Beirut during the horrifying bombardment.
The ceasefire between the US and Iran has brought no respite to civilians in Lebanon, where deadly Israeli strikes intensified across the country on Wednesday, dramatically worsening the humanitarian situation. Repeated escalations in violence over recent weeks have significantly increased humanitarian needs, raising concerns about whether aid agencies can keep up with demand.Blerta Aliko, the senior UN Development Programme official in Lebanon, was in the middle of updating UN News’s Ezzat El-Ferri, when heavy bombing began near her location in Beirut.Later, speaking from the safety of the basement at UN House, Ms. Aliko said the situation had now become critical.
For over three decades Rwanda has been recovering from the almost unimaginable horror of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.On Tuesday the UN commemorated the systematic crimes committed there – in which more than one million people were killed – with ceremonies held at several of its offices around the world.The event was attended by survivors of the massacre, senior UN officials and representatives of the Rwandan authorities including Karoli Martin Ngoga, Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the United Nations.He sat down with UN News’s Assumpta Massoi and explained the significance of the ceremony held at UN headquarters in New York.
More than 130,000 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory are believed to have been contaminated by landmines and unexploded ordnance since the full-scale Russian invasion of the country in 2022.As the Government, with the support of the United Nations, attempts to clear the land, fresh mines continue to be laid in the shifting frontline regions.Ahead of the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, which is marked on 4 April, UN News’s Nargiz Shekinskaya spoke to Ben Lark, Ukraine Mine Action Program Manager at the UN Development Programme.He told her that the UN is focusing on training Ukrainian mine clearers, improving Government coordination and taking advantage of the latest AI-based technology to make the task more effective.
Over 20 per cent of Ukraine is contaminated by landmines, which are becoming more dangerous and more difficult to clear.Anti-personnel mines are now being deployed remotely by artillery, rockets, helicopters and drones, while some of the most sophisticated devices can launch projectiles at targets after detecting movement. Paul Heslop, head of the UN Mine Action Service in Ukraine, is warning that the biggest challenge facing mine action today is that contamination is increasing faster than it is being cleared, making it vital to adopt new technology quickly.Edouard de Bray from UN News asked Mr. Heslop how the latest tech is making landmines more deadly.
The United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) has warned of a sharp rise in the eviction of Palestinian families, particularly around Jerusalem’s Old City.According to Ajith Sunghay, OHCHR’s top official in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, evictions have intensified since the 7 October attacks of 2023, shifting from isolated incidents to more coordinated actions – some reportedly organized via WhatsApp and social media – targeting Palestinian communities and property.In an interview with UN News’ Reem Abaza, he added that tensions have escalated further in recent months, with nearly 36,000 Palestinians forcibly displaced in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, over the past year.
A UN peacekeeper has been killed, and another critically injured after a projectile hit the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) base near Adchit Al Qusayer in southern Lebanon on Sunday.The mission’s spokesperson Kandice Ardiel spoke to UN News’ Nancy Sarkis and said an investigation is underway, with no confirmed responsibility so far.The incident comes amid escalating violence along the Blue Line of separation, with reported Israeli incursions and continued exchanges of fire. UN Peacekeepers remain in position despite the dangerous conditions, supporting civilians in line with their Security Council mandate.
There is no escaping the fact that the war in the Middle East has triggered a global energy crisis.But could it also spark a water crisis? After fuel, water is emerging as a strategic and critical target.The Middle East is one of the driest regions in the world and desalination – turning seawater into drinking water – is vital for people and agriculture across Israel and the Gulf countries. Any attack on this infrastructure could have serious consequences.To understand what is at stake, UN News’s Nathalie Minard spoke to Ziad Khayat, who is a senior official specialising in sustainable development with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.
Ongoing war in the Middle East, along with ongoing attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, has underscored just how vulnerable maritime routes are – and the potentially deadly consequences for those needing lifesaving assistance, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.Trade and energy markets are already feeling the strain, with potentially severe consequences - particularly for developing countries. There are growing concerns that continued escalation could trigger the largest disruption in the history of the global oil market.UN News’ Nancy Sarkis spoke with Frida Youssef, Chief of the Transport Section at the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), about the crisis in the Gulf.
As the world marks the International Day of Happiness on 20 March, researchers warn that in an increasingly digital and uncertain world, young people’s well-being is shaped as much by social connection as by the economic headwinds they face. Dr Robert Waldinger of Harvard University – who leads one of the longest-running studies in history focused on human well-being – emphasises that while pleasure matters, lasting happiness comes from meaning, relationships and a sense of belonging. In an interview with UN News’ Nargiz Shekinskaya, Dr Waldinger urges people to engage more authentically online and offline. Stronger human connections remain key to improving well-being for the generations to come, he says.
How is the Middle East crisis affecting countries far beyond the region?In Nepal, more than 1.7 million migrant workers are employed across Gulf countries, and remittances form a vital part of the economy. Disruptions to travel, rising costs and growing insecurity are already having a major impact.UN News’s Vibhu Mishra spoke with Numan Özcan, the International Labour Organization (ILO) Country Director for Nepal, who explained the dangers facing workers and their families.
Afghans are being pushed from crisis to crisis as instability across the region deepens an already severe humanitarian emergency, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has warned.In an interview with UN News, spokesperson Babar Baloch said many returning from neighbouring countries are not finding safety, but instead facing bombardment from Pakistan, displacement and growing hunger.Women and girls are among the hardest hit, while funding shortages are limiting the humanitarian response.Stressing that “this is not the time to look away”, Mr. Baloch spoke to our producer Anshu Sharma who’s based in Delhi, calling for urgent international support to meet rising needs and prevent further suffering.
After three weeks of escalating violence in Lebanon, children are paying the highest price. More than 830,000 people have been displaced – including around 290,000 children – with many forced to flee their homes in panic as Israeli airstrikes continue.According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), many families fled with nothing - no clothes, toys or schoolbooks - spending hours trapped in traffic while explosions echoed around them.Despite the mounting challenges, UN agencies are scaling up emergency assistance.Christophe Boulierac, UNICEF Lebanon’s Chief of Advocacy and Communication, told UN News’ Nancy Sarkis that many youngsters are showing signs of severe anxiety after years of repeated crises.
Rising Islamophobia is a serious global concern that requires a collective international response focused on education and combating misinformation about Islam, says the UN Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia. Speaking to UN News ahead of the International Day to counter the scourge marked on 15 March, Miguel Moratinos warned that incidents are increasing in several regions, particularly in Europe, but also in Asia, Africa and the Sahel. The trend, he said, reflects growing polarisation and the politicisation of Muslim communities in some countries.Mr. Moratinos – who also serves as High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilizations – told UN News’s Khaled Mohamed that respecting religious diversity and combating discrimination are essential to fostering peaceful coexistence.
Lebanon is facing a “perfect storm of unpredictable challenges” as escalating conflict, mass displacement and shrinking humanitarian resources collide, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the country, Imran Riza, told UN News. Mr. Riza described a rapidly deteriorating situation in which civilians, particularly children, are paying the highest price.In just over a week, around 700,000 people have registered as displaced through Lebanon’s Ministry of Social Affairs, while schools across the country have been turned into shelters, disrupting education for thousands of children.Speaking to UN News’ Reem Abaza, he warned that the humanitarian response is struggling to keep pace as funding declines and regional support weakens.
The UN World Food Programme – WFP – has spoken of its relief that the closure of a key crossing point for aid and commercial supplies to Gaza has reopened after being shut, when Israeli and US bombs began hitting Iran.Speaking from Jerusalem, WFP’s Country Director in Palestine, Shaun Hughes, described how chronic constraints on aid delivery have kept humanitarian assistance at a “hand-to-mouth” level across the war-shattered enclave.To illustrate that point, Mr. Hughes explained that WFP has just two weeks’ worth of half rations available for 1.5 million Gazans, after being forced to cut the full ration in January. “We'd like to get [rations] back up to 75 per cent, but with the level of food that we're getting in at the moment, that seems unlikely,” he told UN News’s Daniel Johnson.
The crucial Strait of Hormuz global shipping corridor marking the entrance to the Persian Gulf, is essentially closed due to the threat of strikes from Iran and elsewhere After a tugboat assisting another vessel in the strait this morning was struck killing at least four seafarers, the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Arsenio Dominguez, told UN News on Friday that the situation was “deteriorating” and urged ships to avoid navigating in the region. The international shipping and seafarer security chief told Edouard de Bray that Member States need to “find solutions through dialogue in order to de-escalate” to restore free and safe passage.
UN agencies are preparing to support Afghans who may return from Iran in the coming months amid rising regional tensions, a senior UN official has told UN News.Georgette Gagnon, Officer-in-Charge of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said agencies including the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and the International Organization for Migration, IOM, are preparing assistance at border crossings and in communities across Afghanistan expected to host returnees.The border crisis will be on the agenda next Monday when Ms. Gagnon is due to brief the Security Council in New York. She sat down with UN News’s Liudmila Blagonravova who began by asking how UNAMA’s preparing to support potential returnees.
Deadly violence has erupted once again across Lebanon and Israel, following the bombing of Iran by Israeli and US forces.Mass displacement in Lebanon has resulted, as thousands of people in Beirut and elsewhere flee airstrikes targeting Hezbollah militants, according to the UN peacekeeping mission in the country (UNIFIL). Speaking from southern Lebanon, UNIFIL’s Tilak Pokharel said families, including women and children, have been leaving the area in large numbers since hostilities intensified last weekend. Videos posted on social media showed heavily congested roads as residents attempted to escape airstrikes and ongoing military activity.UN peacekeepers have been assisting civilians who were unable to leave conflict-affected areas, transporting them to locations they consider safer, and facilitating humanitarian access, including supporting requests from the Lebanese Red Cross to reach injured people and displaced populations. While warning that the situation remains “very fragile”, Mr. Pokharel told UN News’s Nancy Sarkis that the escalation risks “spiralling out of control”, unless the parties halt the fighting.
As Ukraine entered its fifth year of full-scale invasion, millions of people are struggling every day to keep the lights on, cook and heat their homes amid extreme winter conditions.This fourth winter has been particularly harsh with 65 per cent of Ukraine's energy generation capacity methodically destroyed.Women and children are bearing the brunt of energy blackouts, which undermine their safety, protection, and economic security, according to gender agency, UN Women.Halyna Skipalska who runs the Ukrainian Foundation for Public Health spoke to UN News’s Nathalie Minard about the growing impact of war on women and children’s mental health.
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