UN Interviews United Nations

Intense heatwaves like the one that blasted the US Midwest and northeast recently are likely to be increasingly common because of human-induced climate change, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
As if that warning wasn’t bad enough, climate scientist Alvaro Silva at the WMO told me that dangerous pollutants like ozone are also common features of extended periods of heat.
Here he is now, discussing the recent heat alert in the US, as well as the scorching temperatures in the Middle East that caused so many reported deaths at the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths told UN News in an exclusive interview on Wednesday that UN humanitarians remain deeply committed to delivering aid across war-torn Gaza, despite speculation that operations could be suspended due to safety concerns.
The UN relief chief denied that any “ultimatum” had been given by the Israeli military, telling Daniel Johnson the UN would continue negotiating with all combatants to get aid to those in need, safely and securely.

The Colombian peace process ended decades of conflict with the FARC, but one unintended consequence may have been an increase in cocaine production.
According to the 2024 World Drug Report, a major annual study from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, prices dropped as more groups became involved in the cocaine trade, and the post-war environment helped make it possible to industrialize production.
Angela Me, head of social affairs at the Office on Drugs and Crime, told Conor Lennon from UN News about the surge in cocaine demand and the impacts of cannabis legislation.

The UN independent expert on torture said on Monday that the reported plea deal with the United States that has led to the release of Julian Assange “is a very good outcome” to the long running case.
The WikiLeaks founder and whistleblower has been fighting extradition from the United Kingdom to the US for the past five years and has reportedly agreed to plead guilty to one count of violating the US Espionage Act, without serving additional prison time.
UN News’s Anton Uspensky asked Special Rapporteur Alice Jill Edwards for her reaction to his release from prison in the UK. 

Around four in 10 countries where conflicts have ended return to a state of war within a decade, which is why investing in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration is crucial to sustaining peace.
That was one of the key messages from the UN Department of Peace Operations (DPO) and UN Development Programme (UNDP) at this year’s Symposium on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration which was held in Geneva.
To find out more, UN News’ Nathalie Minard spoke to Thomas Kontogeorgos, an expert on the issue based at DPO. 
She asked him about the situation in Haiti, DRC, Mali and Sudan – and what support the UN still provides to countries once peacekeeping missions come to an end.

When the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), released its annual report on global trends in June, it showed, for the twelfth year in a row, record numbers of displacement, around 120 million people.
Conflict remains the key factor behind the figures, and the report noted that the climate crisis is often a driver of that conflict.
On the ground, in the countries particularly affected, the UN is working closely with governments and civil society to support development, in the face of these problems, so that people can lead peaceful lives and no longer need to leave home.
Conor Lennon from UN News spoke to Mohamed Fall, the UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, about the deep impact the climate crisis is making on the population.