UN releases roadmap for AI-tools that are safe for children

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.