UN Interviews

Education is not only a fundamental human right that must be protected and promoted, but also a cornerstone of sustainable development.Every dollar invested in education yields up to $15 in return. Meanwhile, the cost of inaction is staggering. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) estimates that children being out of school and a lack of relevant skills among today’s generation could cost the global economy $10 trillion over the next decade.Speaking at the Sustainable Development Conference in Sevilla, Spain, where global experts are discussing financing and reforming the international financial architecture, UNESCO emphasized that education must be recognized as a key driver of economic growth.That’s according to Stefania Giannini, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Education, who spoke with UN News’ Matt Wells in Sevilla about the transformative power of education around the world.

Spain’s head of international financing has told UN News that after deep uncertainty at the beginning of the year when power changed hands in Washington, the financing for development conference taking place in Sevilla has shown than multilateralism is “back on track.”Inés Carpio told Matt Wells in the southern Spanish city that she was very optimistic coming out of the conference, when a platform for action was a major part of the outcome document, adopted on day one.She explained how Spain and other countries were coming together to help relieve the developing world of its crushing debt burden and taking other immediate steps to accelerate action towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

Investing in the future of communities that are most likely to migrate to other countries is more effective than spending money on reinforcing border security according to Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).Ms. Pope was speaking on the sidelines of the UN’s Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development.  Taking place this week in Sevilla, the Conference is a crucial opportunity to push for financial reforms and boost investment in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 17 global goals adopted by all UN Member States to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure healthy lives for all by 2030, including Goal 10.7 on the orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people.UN News’ Matt Wells spoke to Ms. Pope and began by asking her how sustainable development is linked to migration issues.  Click here for UN News' Special Coverage of FFD4 Conference

Every day, buses arrive at the Afghanistan-Iran border, carrying exhausted and desperate Afghan refugee families with all their belongings. Many are returning to a country they barely know, forced to leave Iran after decades of living there.Following a recent visit to the Islam Qala border area, Arafat Jamal, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) Representative in Afghanistan, told UN News that the number of returnees has surged amid rising tensions following the recent Israel-Iran war.Together with its partners, the UN agency is working to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of returnees, providing food, water, shelter, protection, financial support, and access to health care, legal aid and reintegration services.However, severe funding cuts have had a “brutal impact” on these efforts. “The level of cash assistance has dropped dramatically, from $2,000 per family to just $156, making it far more difficult for people to rebuild their lives,” Mr. Jamal told UN News’ Sachin Gaur.

As the United Nations marks its 80th anniversary, the Organization is undertaking a wide-ranging reform effort aimed at strengthening how it delivers for people around the world. The UN80 Initiative seeks to make the UN more nimble, efficient and responsive — at a time when global needs are rising and trust in multilateral institutions is being tested.To better understand what’s behind the initiative and where it’s headed, UN News’ Laura Quiñones spoke with Guy Ryder, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Policy and Chair of the UN80 Task Force.

With over 5.5 billion people online - nearly all of them active on social media - digital platforms have become the main arena for public debate.But a steady rise in misogynistic content online is fuelling a toxic environment that not only silences women and girls but also reinforces harmful gender norms, the UN Agency for gender equality, UN Women, warns.Experts say that addressing this trend requires more than just protecting girls. It also means building a world where boys are free from the pressures of toxic masculinity and restrictive gender expectations.UN Women’s Kalliopi Mingeirou, who leads the effort to end violence against women and girls, outlined to UN News’s Ana Carmo the alarming spread of online misogyny – and what can be done to stop it.

Women’s rights in Afghanistan have taken a hard hit since the Taliban returned to power nearly four years ago.The country now has the second largest gender gap in the world, according to UN Women’s 2024 Afghanistan Gender Index, which shows a 76 per cent disparity between women and men when it comes to health, education, financial inclusion and decision-making.Afghan journalist Zahra Nader has been forced to flee her homeland twice to escape Taliban rule.She told UN News’s Nancy Sarkis that everyone has the responsibility to raise awareness about “the most severe women's rights crisis of our time” and to ensure that those living in “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan have a voice.

“Sevilla is a moment in time. It is really the beginning, not the end of the process,” says one of the senior UN officials helping Member States navigate high-stakes negotiations ahead of a landmark conference on sustainable development in Spain later this month.Shari Spiegel is Director of Financing for Sustainable Development at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).She told UN News’s Matt Wells that the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development aims to address a staggering $4 trillion gap in global financing. Countries reached agreement this week on an outcome document that sets out critical reforms.

Since civil war erupted in April 2023 in Sudan, vast areas of the country have been devastated, fuelling the world’s largest displacement crisis. Over 12 million people have been forced on the run – mostly women and children.Amid this deepening emergency, women-led organizations remain on the frontlines, continuing to deliver life-saving support.Backed by UN Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund, these grassroots groups are helping communities cope with the trauma and violence. UN News’ Nathalie Minard spoke to a representative from one such group, who asked us not to use her real name.

Over two years after civil war erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and their former allies-turned rival militia, the RSF, Sudan is now the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with nearly 13 million displaced.  Rape used as a weapon of war, together with other sexual violence, has disproportionately shattered the lives of women and girls. Today, gender agency UN Women estimates that 12.1 million people – 25 per cent of the population – is at risk.  Just ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, UN News’s Emma Trager-Lewis spoke to Esméralda Alabre, who leads the UN reproductive health agency UNFPA’s work to counter gender based-violence in Sudan.