Yvonne Murray

in New York

UN delegates observe a minute of silence to honour humanitarian workers killed in Gaza

Why Palestine's bid for UN membership will fail

The Palestinian Observer Mission to the United Nations has requested the Security Council consider its bid for full membership again but the US has indicated it will block the move.

Analysis and Comment • 18 Apr 24

A child is treated for malnutrition in Darfur

Sudan is starving, but the world isn't helping

One year since a power struggle between two generals plunged Sudan into violent chaos, the UN and other aid organisations say they do not have the funds to respond to the crisis as famine descends.

World • 14 Apr 24

Delegates at the Human Rights Council in Geneva in February

What powers does the UN Human Rights Council have?

The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution calling for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, although Israel dismissed it as a "distorted text".

Middle East • 05 Apr 24

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hugs US President Joe Biden, Tel Aviv, October 18, 2023. (Photo:Getty)

How the UN got caught between the US and Israel

For the first time in the nearly six months of the Israel-Hamas war, the US stood by as the UN Security Council demanded a ceasefire. The US needs the UN to keep its ally in check. But pressure is building for more action.

World • 30 Mar 24

The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Has the US abandoned Israel at the United Nations?

If there's one thing Israel has been able to count on at the UN, it's the US using its veto to block Security Council action.

Analysis and Comment • 26 Mar 24

Prof Nick Maynard (R) treats an injured child at Al Aqsa Hospital, Gaza, in January

'I saw appalling atrocities', say medics who were in Gaza

An international delegation of doctors who volunteered in Gaza, is in the United States to press for urgent action to bring the war to an end.

World • 20 Mar 24

Palestinian residents leave the area with a few items after the Israeli army forces besiege the Al-Shifa hospital with tanks and heavy gunfire in Gaza City

'Horrifying levels of hunger' in Gaza, says Guterres

The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has said the latest report on food insecurity in Gaza was "an appalling indictment of conditions on the ground for civilians".

Middle East • 18 Mar 24

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar made the comments in a keynote speech delivered to the John F Kennedy Presidential Library last night in Boston

Childhood in Gaza 'a death sentence' for many - Varadkar

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has arrived in the United States to begin the usual week of meetings and events ahead of St Patrick's Day.

Ireland • 12 Mar 24

Taliban security personnel stand guard as an Afghan burqa-clad woman walks along a street at a market in the Baharak district of Badakhshan province (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)

Activists call for 'gender apartheid' law in Afghanistan

Rights groups have called for the Taliban's policies restricting rights and movement of women in Afghanistan to be declared a "gender apartheid" under international law.

World • 08 Mar 24

Sudanese families in South Sudan after fleeing the Sudan civil war

Sudan risks becoming 'world's largest hunger crisis' - UN

Sudan risks becoming the "world's largest hunger crisis," the head of the UN's World Food Programme has warned.

World • 06 Mar 24