Advertise on podcast: UN Interviews

Afghanistan is seeing a sharp rise in refugees heading home, with more than 2.8 million people coming back from Iran and Pakistan in 2025 alone, according to UN estimates. That brings the total number of returnees since September 2023 to over three million. The surge has seen the population rise by more than 10 per cent, adding pressure to already limited infrastructure and fragile public services. UN News’s Nancy Sarkis spoke to Stephanie Loose, Country Programme Manager at UN-Habitat Afghanistan, about why sustainable reintegration depends on better access to housing and essential services.

Tuvalu, a low-lying Pacific island nation, is on the frontline of the climate crisis, with rising sea levels threatening to submerge much of its territory by the end of the century. Many of its citizens are already planning for an uncertain future. In 2025, more than 90 per cent applied for a visa pathway offering residency in Australia.  Earlier, in 2022, the government launched a “digital nation” initiative in the metaverse to help preserve Tuvalu’s statehood, identity and culture if its land is lost. Backed by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and partners, Tuvalu’s government is trying to protect its most heavily populated islands by creating raised land banks. UN News’s Edouard de Bray asked Tuya Altangerel, a senior UNDP official in the Pacific region,  how rising sea levels are already affecting communities. 

Unless a solution can be found immediately to allow fertilizers through the Strait of Hormuz in time for planting season, there’s going to be a “very significant and severe” food crisis which will hit the poorest countries and their citizens hardest. That’s according to Jorge Moreira da Silva, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), which provides infrastructure, procurement and project management services around the world. He told Reem Abaza of UN News that the UN task force he is leading will be able to get its “one stop platform” up and running in just seven days, if combatants blocking the strait allow fertilizers and other raw material through, to benefit the world’s most vulnerable.

Since the outbreak of the Middle East war on 28 February, sites of major cultural importance across Israel, Iran and Lebanon have come under threat. At the request of the Lebanese Government, the UN education and cultural agency, UNESCO, has placed 39 World Heritage sites under so-called “enhanced protection”- a special status aimed at safeguarding cultural heritage during times of conflict. To explain what this means in practice, UN News’s Nancy Sarkis spoke to Krista Pikkat, who leads UNESCO’s Culture and Emergencies Unit.

Syria has made “remarkable progress” on transitional justice in just one year, says one UN legal expert, raising hope, while also warning that powerful social stigma continues to prevent many survivors of conflict-related sexual violence from coming forward. Sofia Candeias, from the UN Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict, told UN News that new institutions and reforms mark a significant step forward following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. But the true scale of abuse may never be known, as stigma at personal, community and societal levels remains “the largest obstacle” to reporting and access to support. Calling on the international community to step up, Ms. Candeias told UN News’s Ana Carmo that sustained support is critical to ensure survivors can safely access justice and care.

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.