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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The Acting Head of the UN peacekeeping force in the disputed territory of Abyei (UNISFA), Major General Robert Yaw Affram, has underscored the fragile security situation in the disputed Abyei region bordering Sudan and South Sudan, describing it as “volatile” and lacking State institutions, while stressing the stabilising role played by UN peacekeepers.Speaking to UN News’s Khaled Mohamed, Major General Affram – who’s also been serving as Force Commander – recalled the 13 December drone strike that killed six peacekeepers in the Sudanese city of Kadugli, highlighting the huge dangers faced by UN ‘blue helmets’.Despite these challenges, UNISFA continues to increase ground patrols and air surveillance, while engaging regularly with locals to help prevent intercommunal violence.
A new UN report on global climate finance highlights a stark mismatch: trillions of dollars support activities that harm nature, while only a small share goes to initiatives that protect and restore it. The study argues that investing in nature makes strong economic sense, given the mounting risks of a rapidly warming planet.In Brazil, one promising example is the rise of UN Environment Programme-backed “agrihoods” – neighbourhoods designed to work with natural ecosystems rather than against them.Marcia Maika leads the initiative, and she’s been telling Conor Lennon from UN News that business attitudes are changing.
During his three-and-a-half-year tenure leading the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Force Commander Lieutenant General Mohan Subramanian has overseen efforts that have helped save an estimated 162,000 lives.The mission tackles a wide range of issues – from armed insurgency and the impacts of climate change, to economic insecurity and other pressing humanitarian concerns.While challenges remain and reforms are needed, M. Subramanian emphasises that without UNMISS, the situation in South Sudan would be far bleaker. In an exit interview with UN News, Sachin Gaur began by asking him how the UN mission contributed to the lives of local communities in the world’s youngest country.
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, the UN in New York marked a historic first, with the presentation of testimony from a Ukrainian Roma researcher and advocate during the annual commemoration.Nataliia Tomenko is a youth advocate and expert on Romani history, and Deputy Director of Ukraine’s Youth Agency for the Advocacy of Roma Culture.She presented a video account by her grandmother, Halyna Tomenko, a Holocaust survivor whose story reflects the persecution endured by Roma families across Eastern Europe. Too frail to travel from Ukraine, her testimony was shared on her behalf.Speaking to UN News’s Evgeniya Kleshcheva, Ms. Tomenko reflects on her grandmother’s extraordinary story and on how young people can turn remembrance into action.
Predictions that artificial intelligence will largely replace teachers in classrooms are proving to be overstated, according to the UN education agency, UNESCO.In fact, UNESCO estimates that an additional 44 million teachers will be needed worldwide by 2030.That does not mean the agency dismisses the potential of AI. On the contrary, it says the advanced technology could help transform education systems, freeing up time for students to develop critical thinking and other skills that cannot be automated.Evgeniya Kleshcheva from UN News spoke to Shafika Isaacs, Chief of UNESCO’s Section for Technology and AI in Education, who says one of the biggest misconceptions is that education systems are so broken that only algorithms can fix them.
After more than a decade of war, Syria is witnessing significant refugee and internal displacement returns – even as renewed hostilities in parts of the country force others to flee once again.Nearly 1.4 million refugees have returned from neighbouring countries since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. Almost two million internally displaced Syrians have also headed home to their places of origin.But fresh fighting in Aleppo and the northeast in recent weeks has triggered new displacement, while harsh winter conditions are compounding humanitarian needs.To explain what’s driving these movements and how UN agencies are responding on the ground, UN News’s Nancy Sarkis has been speaking to Céline Schmitt, spokesperson for the UN refugee agency in Syria:
The severity of online child abuse has prompted the UN and partners from the private sector, civil society and government, to commit to working together to ensure AI-tools benefit children, rather than endangering them.A joint statement was released earlier this week by the UN’s International Telecommunications Union (ITU), children’s agency, UNICEF, and offices across the UN system involved in safeguarding children.It is hoped the new shared commitment will lead to a clear roadmap for protecting youngsters worldwide.Cosmas Zavazava, the Director of the ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau. told UN News’s Conor Lennon from UN News about the many threats children face, and how UN is working with the tech companies to boost protection.
After more than 1,000 days of conflict, Sudan’s education system is in crisis, with an estimated eight million children currently out of school, the UN child rights agency, UNICEF, warned ahead of the International Day of Education marked on 24 January.According to its Sudan spokesperson, Eva Hinds, one in three schools has been damaged or destroyed, nearly 6,400 are closed nationwide, and around half of all school buildings are no longer functioning as classrooms, many having been repurposed as shelters for the displaced. Prolonged absence from school exposes children to heightened risks of child labour, exploitation and early marriage, particularly for girls. Ms. Hinds told UN News’s Abdelmonem Makki from N’Djamena, Chad – after wrapping up a 10-day visit to Darfur – that denying education to so many threatens an entire generation and could undermine Sudan’s recovery for decades to come.
The war that erupted in Sudan in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has killed thousands of civilians and caused devastation, mass displacement and famine.The conflict is a major preoccupation of UN human rights chief Volker Türk, who is just back from visiting the country. There, he met victims of terrible sexual violence, including escapees from the besieged city of El Fasher. With more details about the situation in Sudan and voicing concerns that what happened in El Fasher risks being repeated in South Kordofan’s Kadugli and Dilling, the High Commissioner’s spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani, joins UN News’s Daniel Johnson.
More than two years into the conflict, Sudan is facing one of the world’s most serious and complex health emergencies, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The fighting, which began in April 2023, has forced millions of people from their homes, deepened hunger and left much of the country’s health system barely functioning, said Dr Shible Sahbani, WHO Representative in Sudan, in an interview with UN News. Disease outbreaks are spreading as access to health care continues to shrink. Cholera, dengue and malaria are widespread, while measles and polio are re-emerging as routine immunisation coverage falls to record lows.Speaking to UN News’s Abdelmonem Makki, Dr Sahbani stressed the urgent need for sustained funding, safe humanitarian access and protection for health workers and facilities, as attacks on health care continue. Above all, he appealed to the international community not to forget Sudan.
Created in 1966 to boost development within newly independent countries from the Global South, the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has stayed true to its founding mission, in a world that has been transformed over the past six decades.At UNIDO’s Global Industry Summit, held in Riyadh this November, the agency’s Member States reaffirmed their commitment to help developing countries grow their economies sustainably, minimising harm to the environment and improving the lives of their citizens.Conor Lennon was in Riyadh for UN News and spoke to Fatou Haidara, UNIDO’s ? Managing Director of Global Partnerships and External Relations, about the ways that the agency has adapted to the changing priorities of its Member States, and why it continues to be a central pillar of sustainable industrialisation.
Europe’s influenza season has arrived earlier than expected this year, raising concerns about pressure on health systems as respiratory illnesses circulate during the winter months. While the surge has prompted questions about vaccine effectiveness and vulnerable groups, health experts say the situation remains manageable – if people take the right precautions.Speaking with UN News’s Vibhu Mishra, Marc-Alain Widdowson, who leads pandemic threat and communicable disease work at the World Health Organization’s European Regional Office, explains what’s driving this year’s flu season, who is most at risk, and why it’s still not too late to get vaccinated.
For the second time since its launch in 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Summit on Traditional Medicine took place in India, bringing attention to the role of natural and cultural remedies around the world, as well as the science behind them. On the sidelines of the summit in New Delhi, UN News’s Anshu Sharma spoke with Sung Chol Kim of WHO’s Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine unit, about advances in the field.Mr. Kim outlined what traditional medicine is, the WHO’s role in advancing evidence-based traditional medicine, and the progress made so far.He also explained how traditional medicine differs from biomedicine. Its focus on prevention is just one of those ways.
As the world debates how technology is shaping societies, actor and filmmaker Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been sharing why people and purpose must remain at the heart of the digital future.UN News’ Vibhu Mishra spoke with him on the sidelines of a high-level UN meeting marking 20 years of global cooperation on the internet and digital technologies.Mr. Gordon-Levitt reflected on creativity, inclusion and the responsibility that comes with powerful digital tools, especially as technology becomes more embedded in everyday life.He said he was inspired by people working not just for profit, but to make the world better – even when the challenge feels like a “David and Goliath” battle.
Mass atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region show alarming indicators associated with the risk of genocide, according to the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Chaloka Beyani, who has completed a mission to Kenya.Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), alongside other armed groups, has plunged large parts of Sudan into a deepening humanitarian and protection crisis since April 2023.More than 11 million people are now internally displaced, while up to four million have fled to neighbouring countries and beyond.Mr. Beyani has completed a mission to Kenya and spoke to UN News’s Stella Vuzo in Nairobi, where he met several Sudanese refugees. She began by asking about his main message to the Sudanese people.
An independent journalist is warning against the unchecked rise of artificial intelligence (AI), comparing the public to “guinea pigs” in a global experiment.Atif Rashid, Editor in Chief of Analyst News – a non-profit international news website – was a panelist in the thematic session held during the UN Alliance of Civilizations Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 14-15 December.Speaking to UN News’s Reem Abaza, he urged governments and tech companies to slow down, protect children, and treat AI with the same caution as they would untested medications.
Africa doesn’t have a million problems. It has one: a mindset problem, according to the UN Special Adviser on Africa Cristina Duarte.Research suggests that nearly two-thirds of Africans believe their countries are currently heading in the wrong direction.Speaking after the UN Academic Conference on Africa held earlier this month, Ms. Duarte emphasised that by transforming this mindset and recognising the value of African knowledge, the continent’s future could be completely reshaped.UN News’s Ben Malor sat down with Ms. Duarte and began by asking for her top three takeaways from the thought-provoking gathering.
After more than 22 years at the heart of Iraq’s political transition and post-war recovery, the UN will close its political mission in the country at the end of 2025.Established in 2003, the mission (UNAMI) has played a central role in supporting inclusive political dialogue, national reconciliation, credible elections and the protection of human rights.UN News’s Reem Abaza spoke to the mission chief and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Mohamed Al Hassan, about what’s been achieved – and the challenges ahead.
Financing and climate solutions have become an increasingly important focus for the UN’s work worldwide. Taking place this year in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, the UN Environment Assembly is advancing sustainable solutions for all.Richard Munang, Africa climate change coordinator for UN Environment Programme, UNEP, spoke to UN News’s Stella Vuzo in Nairobi about financing in Africa and the significance of the 10th anniversary on Friday of the landmark Paris Agreement on Climate Change.With the continent warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, finding solutions to reduce carbon emissions is an urgent task, he told us.
Living heritage gives people a sense of meaning and belonging, connecting individuals and communities across generations.On Thursday, the UN culture agency, UNESCO’s committee which safeguards living cultural traditions worldwide, added 67 new living heritage elements to UNESCO’s extensive lists.UN News’s Anshu Sharma in the Indian capital, New Delhi, spoke to Tim Curtis, Director of the UNESCO office there and the agency’s Representative to India, Bhutan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka, about the significance of recognising and safeguarding intangible cultural heritage.
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