UN Interviews

Science Forward, the podcast of the UN Secretary-General’s Scientific Advisory Board, features world-leading scientists, and explores today’s challenges, from AI and biotechnology to climate and health.In the very first episode of Science Forward, Board member Yoshua Bengio and AI policy expert Charlotte Stix unpack the growing risks of deceptive AI with hosts Julia Bhattacharjee and Adam Day, to answer the question: What happens when AI learns to lie?

It’s hard to come up with new ways to describe the massive humanitarian emergency that is still unfolding in Sudan because of the war.A staggering 33 million people need help and later today, UN-backed food insecurity experts are expected to warn once again that hunger is on the rise again and famine is a real risk in 14 areas of the devastated country.Although it is extremely difficult and dangerous to access and report from Sudan’s east, photographer Giles Clarke has managed to do so, with the help of the UN aid coordination office, OCHA. The result is a memorable, harrowing photo-essay that features the stories of five civilians impacted by the conflict. It’s called Darfur’s Survivors. 

The United Nations Victims’ Rights Advocate, Najla Nassif Palma, has urged survivors of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN personnel to “come forward”, while calling for stronger action across the UN system and for Member States to put victims’ rights first.Her office works to ensure victims “have a voice, assistance and justice”. The mandate was established by Secretary-General António Guterres in 2017 as part of the UN’s strategy to combat sexual exploitation and abuse.Speaking to UN News’s Ana Carmo following the release of a new report, Ms. Nassif Palma highlighted progress in expanding access to medical, psychosocial and legal support, as well as education and livelihood assistance for children born as a result of exploitation. However, she warns that significant gaps remain.

NASA aerospace engineer Alinda Mashiku was born in New York then moved to Tanzania as a young girl, where she dreamed of becoming an astronaut – but reaching for the stars seemed almost an impossibility. Today, as a Program Manager with the US space agency, she helps ensure that satellites avoid collisions in orbit, contributing to the safety and sustainability of pioneering space missions such as the record-breaking Artemis II mission around the moon earlier this month.According to UN data, women make up only 35 per cent of science, tech, engineering and maths graduates (STEM) – figure that has not changed in the past decade.In an interview with UN News’s Anold Kayanda from our Swahili team, Ms. Mashiku explains why girls should place no limits on their ambitions to break the STEM glass ceiling, into the stratosphere. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

As Holocaust remembrance increasingly moves into digital spaces shaped by artificial intelligence, virtual worlds and interactive media, experts are calling for stronger global coordination to ensure ethical, sustainable and responsible memory work.Speaking at UN Headquarters around International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Professor Victoria Grace Richardson-Walden stressed that no single institution or sector can address these challenges alone. Policymakers, technology companies, museums, educators, researchers and digital creators must work together, she said, to avoid fragmented efforts that waste resources and risk losing vital historical material as technologies rapidly evolve.UN News’s Ana Carmo started by asking her why global collaboration is key for shaping the future of Holocaust memory in digital spaces.