UN Interviews

The head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, has renewed his urgent call for a ceasefire in Gaza, warning that civilians face death not only from bombardment but also from mass starvation and lack of aid.Despite severe restrictions on humanitarian access, UNRWA continues to provide medical care, clean water, and shelter to hundreds of thousands. But Israel continues to severely impede food distribution – despite international food experts’ assessment that famine will spread.“Every hour today counts, the more we wait, the more people will die,” the UNRWA Commissioner-General said in an interview with UN News’s Daniel Johnson.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, has operated since the late 1970s, tasked with monitoring the demilitarisation of the south of the country, supporting the Lebanese army, and ensuring that humanitarian aid reaches civilians in need.Every year, the mandate has to be renewed by the Security Council, but powerful voices have been raised against extending it, which could spell either its closure, or lead to budget cuts that reduce its ability to operate effectively.With the Security Council deadline just a few days away, Nancy Sarkis from UN News spoke to Andrea Tenenti, UNIFIL’s long-time spokesperson, and began by asking him to explain why it’s still needed.

An education specialist who left Somalia as a child when the civil war broke out in 1991 has now returned to support the Ministry of Education as they expand national testing.  The programme which enabled this specialist, named Shire Salad, to return — Migration for Development in Africa or MIDA — is run by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and recruits diaspora experts who have  a “personal desire to give back."MIDA then pairs these experts with local professionals who work together to advance the development of hospitals, schools and other institutions. While the diaspora experts ultimately leave, the hope is that their skills will remain.  UN News’ Naima Sawaya spoke with Mr. Salad about his experience returning to Somalia after so many years.

People in Haiti are living through “hell on earth,” according to William O’Neill, the UN’s designated expert on human rights in Haiti.  Armed gangs – predominantly in the capital Port-au-Prince – are parasitically extracting financial resources from the population and perpetrating horrific acts of violence, he says – but they’re just one cog in a larger cycle of impunity, corruption and violence.Following the release of the most recent report on human rights in Haiti, UN News’ Naima Sawaya spoke to Mr. O’Neill about whether a path forward to peace even exists. She began by asking if he had ever met a gang leader. 

In Gaza, women and girls have been bearing the brunt of the catastrophic humanitarian situation for the past 22 months.  In addition to the constant threat of sexual violence, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers in the enclave face a daily struggle to get the help they need.  Despite the continuing devastation – as Israel moves to assert more military control over the enclave – the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and partners are mobilised and working around the clock to provide life-saving services on the ground, as UN News’s Nathalie Minard has been hearing from Laila Baker, Regional Director for Arab States for UNFPA.  

In Sudan, as violent conflict between forces of the Sudanese military and their rival Rapid Support Forces militia rages for its third year, women are facing the brunt of the humanitarian crisis.Female-led households struggle to access food, girls and women face high risks of exploitation and abuse when trying to access humanitarian aid, and all the while, A accessible women-run organizations are vastly under-resourced.Salvator Nkurunziza, the UN Women representative in Sudan, sat down with UN News’s Abdelmonem Makki to discuss the struggles women face in Sudan and the solutions that should be implemented.

Some 1.3 million people displaced. 5.7 million people not getting enough food. How do you even begin to conceive of the magnitude of Haiti’s crisis, borne from years of political insecurity, gang violence and climate shocks? And how do you begin to feed the country?For Pierre Vauthier, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative in Haiti, hope lies in smaller, locally-driven solutions which empower communities to take control of their own food production.  A school feeding programme, for example, which instead of financing imported food, uses funds to expand the capacities of local farmers, not only feeds children but also generates rural self-sufficiency.UN News’ Naima Sawaya spoke with Mr. Vauthier to learn more about FAO’s work in Haiti and why he remains hopeful for Haiti’s future.  

More than 30 landlocked developing countries – from Bolivia to Bhutan and Burkina Faso – face some of the world’s highest trading costs, deepest poverty and weakest investment flows.Rebeca Grynspan, head of the UN’s trade and development agency, UNCTAD, has told UN News that they are "invisible to much of the world", prisoners of outdated structural constraints.Speaking on the sidelines of the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries, in Awaza, Turkmenistan, she explained to Nargiz Shekinskaya why digital trade, regional integration and long-term investment are critical to unlocking their potential.

If ever the world needed to agree on stopping plastic pollution, it’s now, supporters of a deal say.According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), plastic production and waste is due to triple by 2060.In Geneva, where international talks are underway this week for a legally binding deal to stop plastic pollution, campaigners are also having their say.They include Shellan Saling, from California, who’s the interim chair of the Youth Plastic Action Network (YPAN). Achieving an ambitious treaty is critical today because plastic impacts everything from climate change to people’s health and much more besides, she explains.

Human trafficking is a global threat driven by organised crime and each year, more and more women, children and men are being exploited, including for forced labour and sex.That’s according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) which works to provide humanitarian, legal and economic assistance to survivors.  Through the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons (UNVTF), the UN prioritises working with grassroot organisations carrying out survivor-led initiatives, facilitating on-the-ground assistance and protection to victims of trafficking.On the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, UN News’s Emma Trager-Lewis met with Mira Sorvino, Oscar-winning actress and UNODC’s Goodwill Ambassador for the global fight against human trafficking.