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Note: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reported that the killings of journalists, media workers and social media producers engaged in journalistic activity rose by 20% to 189 during the period 2024-2025. Following is a press release from the Paris-based organization.

Paris, 2 November 2026 – Global impunity for journalist killings has risen for the first time since UNESCO began measuring it in 2012, according to the Organization’s latest report. Impunity increased in the 2024-2025 period to 86 per cent, from 85% in the previous biennium. This increase exacerbates the second finding of the UNESCO report, which reveals that 189 journalists were killed in 2024 and 2025, 20% more than during the previous biennium.

 Link to the report here. 

The Director-General’s Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity is published every two years by UNESCO to mark the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. 

Journalists are increasingly paying with their lives for reporting from the frontlines of war, and far too often those responsible for their killings are not held accountable. I reiterate my call for the respect of UN Security Council Resolution 2222 unanimously adopted in 2015 on the protection of journalists, media professionals and associated personnel as civilians in situations of conflict, a status reaffirmed in the Pact for the Future.

New military technologies are transforming the risks faced by war reporters 

The report identifies a disturbing new threat: the growing use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones to kill journalists. During the 2024-2025 biennium, 50 journalists, 40% of the total killed in conflict zones, were killed by drone strikes.

UNESCO also documented seven incidents in which several journalists were targeted and killed in a single attack, including strikes on media workplaces and temporary reporting centres. Fifteen journalists were reportedly killed while wearing press vests or in vehicles clearly marked ‘press’. 

Evidence of progress: in non-conflict countries, impunity has declined to 77%

The report’s findings draw a sharp contrast between trends conflict and non-conflict. While the global picture has deteriorated, impunity in non-conflict countries has continued to decline steadily, falling from 94% in 2012 to 77% in 2026, a drop of one percentage point per year. Journalist killings in non-conflict zones were also down – reaching 85 killings, the lowest number in eighteen years. This demonstrates that when governments invest in investigations, prosecutions and protections for journalists, progress is possible. 

Women journalists face particular risks, both in conflict zones and online.

Of the 14 women journalists killed during 2024–2025, 93% died while covering conflicts. Although women account for a relatively small proportion of journalists killed, they continue to face disproportionate levels of online and offline abuse and harassment. A 2025 study by UN Women and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) found that 75% of women journalists had been exposed to such abuse. The study also found that the proportion of women who reported experiencing offline violence as a result of online violence had doubled since last surveyed by UNESCO in 2020, from 20% to over 40% in 2025.

Notes to Editors

• UNESCO is the United Nations agency mandated to promote freedom of expression, press freedom and the safety of journalists.
• The Director-General’s Report on the Safety of Journalists and the Danger of Impunity is published every two years, coinciding with the commemoration of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists and presented at the IPDC’s Intergovernmental Council Session. The Session is an occasion for Member States to take stock of global developments and discuss challenges linked to promoting the safety of journalists and combatting impunity.

About UNESCO

With 194 Member States, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization contributes to peace and bringing people together by leading multilateral cooperation on education, science, culture, communication and information. Headquartered in Paris, UNESCO has offices in 53 countries and oversees more than 2260 World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves and Global Geoparks; networks of over 1500 Creative, Learning, Inclusive and Sustainable Cities; and more than 13 000 associated schools, university chairs, training and research institutions, with a global network of 200 National Commissions. Its Director-General is Khaled El-Enany.

“Since wars begin in the minds of people, it is in the minds of people that the defences of peace must be constructed” – UNESCO Constitution, 1945.

More information: www.unesco.org

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New York, 2 November 2026 – The United Nations has launched a first-of-its-kind insurance programme that could unlock up to US$40 million in additional funding to help reach people before they lose their homes, food or livelihoods when multiple disasters threaten at once, putting exceptional pressure on available resources, a press release said.

The initiative – led by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) – works as a financial safety net. OCHA will allocate money to help people when forecasts warn of an approaching disaster. If demand for that funding exceeds an agreed threshold, insurers will provide additional resources, allowing aid workers to reach more people in time to save lives. Gallagher Re structured and placed the coverage, with Liberty Mutual as lead insurer. The Centre for Disaster Protection provided independent technical advice.

“Disasters don’t wait for us to get our act together. We need to be ready before they strike,” said Tom Fletcher, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator. “This insurance gives us another line of defence against disaster so we can protect more people before the worst hits and make every dollar work harder.”

For families in the path of a disaster, that early help can make all the difference. In Bangladesh, Salma received cash assistance from WFP, funded by OCHA’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), 24 hours before floods hit in 2024. She bought dry food, candles and firewood, and raised her bed and livestock pens above the floodwater to protect her belongings and animals. “We managed to cook and eat, which brought us relief during the crisis,” she said.

 This is anticipatory action: a forecast triggers help, rather than families having to suffer first. Money arriving early gives people choices – to buy food, protect what they own or move to safety.

OCHA’s $150 million anticipatory action portfolio covers more than five million people. Insurance helps protect that commitment when several disasters threaten at once. By capping the amount OCHA needs for exceptionally difficult years, it can also help extend early assistance to more communities.

 UNICEF has taken out parallel cover for its contribution to the same work. The programme is designed so that more agencies and partners can join over time.

 Note to editors

• Coverage: CERF’s policy pays out when its cumulative anticipatory action allocations exceed $61.5 million during the policy period (a one-in-10-year event), with a maximum payout of $40 million directly to CERF. It protects pre-arranged humanitarian financing rather than compensating for physical damage. UNICEF’s parallel policy uses the same risk data, parameters and models, protecting its $5 million co-investment across 10 inter-agency anticipatory action frameworks.
• Partners: UNICEF’s and WFP’s specialist insurance teams have supported market engagement and placement processes for their respective policies.
• Support: The Global Shield Financing Facility; the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office; and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency provided pivotal support.

Media contacts:

OCHA: Marianna Palmini (marianna.palmini@un.org)

WFP: wfp.media@wfp.org

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Note: At least 25 women and girls are killed every day as civilian deaths mount, sexual violence rises, and women remain largely excluded from peace negotiations – according to the 2026 UN Secretary-General’s report on Women, Peace, and Security.  

Other key findings: Approximately 750 million women and girls now live within 50 kilometres of an active conflict, 40 million more than in 2024, and more than at any time since 1990.   Around 170 million women and girls live in both conflict zones and extreme poverty, surviving on less than USD 3 a day. 

In conflict-affected countries, women and girls spend five times as many hours on unpaid domestic and care work as men and boys, double the global average.   Global military expenditure hit a record USD 2.9 trillion in 2025, yet 40 per cent of women’s organizations keeping women alive in crisis-affected settings expect to shut down temporarily or permanently within the next year because of funding cuts. 

These impacts are compounded by changing warfare and declining respect for international law. The increasing use of drones and long-range weapons in populated areas, including deliberate attacks on schools, markets, and hospitals – central to women’s daily lives – raises further safety concerns. Emerging AI-enabled military technologies add to these risks, particularly for women and girls already facing violence, displacement, and insecurity. Following is a press release from UN Women.

New York, 26 October 2026 – More than 37,000 civilians were killed in conflict last year. Women and girls accounted for one in four of these deaths – double theirproportion in 2021 – according to the 2026 UN Secretary-General’s report on Women, Peace, and Security, released today.

Approximately 750 million women and girls now live within 50 kilometers of an active conflict, 40 million more than in 2024, and more than at any time since 1990.

“More women and girls are trapped in wars than at any point in decades. Yet military spending keeps rising and development assistance keeps falling, even as investing in women’s leadership, conflict prevention, and peacebuilding has never been more urgent”, said UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous.

For women and girls caught in war, the threat goes beyond bombs. Cases of conflict- related sexual violence verified by the United Nations nearly quadrupled between 2022 and 2025. War also drives women deeper into poverty and increases their unpaid care work.

Around 170 million women and girls live in both conflict zones and extreme poverty, surviving on less than USD 3 a day. They account for almost 40 per cent of all women and girls living in extreme poverty globally. In conflict-affected countries, women and girls spend five times as many hours on unpaid domestic and care work as men and boys, double the global average. These impacts are compounded by changing warfare and declining respect for

international law. The increasing use of drones and long-range weapons in populated areas, including deliberate attacks on schools, markets, and hospitals – central to women’s daily lives – raises further safety concerns. Emerging AI-enabled military technologies add to these risks, particularly for women and girls already facing violence, displacement, and insecurity.

Even amid these challenges, women are working to protect communities and build peace.

“Every day, women around the world are working to end wars and build peace – protecting survivors, keeping communities together, and stopping violence before it starts. Their work is one of the best investments the world can make in peace” , continued the UN Women Executive Director.

Despite these contributions, the report shows that in 2025, women made up only five per cent of negotiators across 57 peace processes worldwide, down from seven per cent the year before. Women’s exclusion from peace negotiations is compounded by a lack of investment in their work. Global military expenditure hit a record USD 2.9 trillion in 2025. Meanwhile, 40 per cent of women’s organizations in crisis-affected settings expect to shut down temporarily or permanently within the next year because of severe funding shortfalls.

Women’s organizations are the backbone of lasting peace. They mediate local tensions, shelter the displaced, support survivors, and hold communities together. Their survival is essential to sustaining that peace.

UN Women calls for the protection of all women and girls and their rights, their meaningful participation in peace and security, and sustained investment in women-led conflict prevention and peacebuilding. We call for international law to be upheld and for an end to impunity.

About the Report

coinciding with the UN Security Council Open Debate on resolution 1325. Resolution 1325, known as the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda calls for all parties to conflicts to ensure the safety of women and girls, and for women’s full involvement in peace processes.

About UN Women

UN Women exists to advance women’s rights, gender equality, and the empowerment of all women and girls. As the lead UN entity on gender equality, we shift laws, institutions, social behaviours, and services to close the gender gap and build an equal world for all women and girls. We keep the rights of women and girls at the centre of global progress – always, everywhere. Because gender equality is not just what we do. It is who we are.

 Media contact: Olga Anghel – Head of Media, UN Women, at olguta.anghel@unwomen.org; cell: +1 (929) 665-3868.

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Note: As governments gather in Yerevan, Armenia, this week for the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) is calling on governments to put the rights and leadership of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities at the center of global biodiversity action. RRI is urging governments to strengthen community land and resource rights, increase direct financing, and support community-led conservation. Through its #StopTheRollbacks campaign, the RRI coalition is also advocating for the protection of existing rights commitments during negotiations. Following is a press release from RRI.

Washington, D.C. October 20, 2026 — As governments gather in Yerevan, Armenia, for the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17), the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) coalition are calling for greater recognition and protection of the rights and leadership of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities in global biodiversity action.

The summit marks the first collective review of progress toward implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022. As countries assess their progress, the RRI coalition is urging governments to move beyond promises and take concrete steps to secure community land and resource rights, strengthen community-led conservation, and ensure that communities have a meaningful role in decision-making and access to direct financing.

At CBD COP17, RRI is advancing five essential interconnected priorities to achieving global biodiversity goals. These include strengthening community participation and decision-making power, recognizing community-led conservation, expanding equitable and direct financing, advancing gender justice, and protecting existing rights commitments while pushing for greater ambition.

“CBD COP17 is a critical test of whether governments are prepared to turn their biodiversity promises into meaningful action,” said Solange Bandiaky-Badji, president and coordinator of RRI. “Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities have protected their territories and ecosystems for generations, yet they continue to face barriers to securing their rights and accessing the resources they need. Governments must recognize their leadership in conservation efforts and ensure that global biodiversity commitments translate into real change on the ground.”

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework includes a commitment to conserve at least 30 percent of the world’s land and waters by 2030. The RRI coalition is calling on governments to ensure that efforts to achieve this target recognize Indigenous and Traditional Territories, respect community governance systems, and strengthen collective land and resource rights.

“States have an obligation to uphold international human rights obligations, including those agreed to in the context of the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework,” said Alain Frechette, RRI’s program director of Rights, Climate, and Conservation. “The prospect of diminished requirements to safeguard and prioritize the rights and contributions of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples and local communities in the voluntary guidelines for Targets 2 and 3 would put both communities and biodiversity at risk. CBD COP17 must reinforce, rather than undermine, the rights-based ambition of the KM-GBF.”

Beyond recognizing community rights, RRI is calling for changes in how biodiversity financing is distributed. The coalition is advocating for direct, inclusive, predictable, adequate, and flexible finance to Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities, and their women and youth, and supports their conservation priorities. RRI is also urging governments to advance gender justice through implementation of the CBD Gender Plan of Action, ensuring that women’s and girls’ rights and leadership are reflected in biodiversity policies and financing. These efforts include greater recognition of the contributions and rights of people of African descent embodying traditional lifestyles, including through implementation of CBD Decision 16/6.

Alongside these priorities, the RRI coalition and its allies are working to safeguard progress made in previous biodiversity negotiations through the #StopTheRollbacks campaign, which calls on governments to maintain existing rights protections. As part of the campaign, the coalition issued an open letter ahead of the summit outlining 10 requests for negotiators. These requests focus on reinforcing rights-based conservation commitments, securing equitable financing and benefit sharing from digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources, and ensuring meaningful participation in decision making for Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, and local communities.

“Governments have an opportunity at CBD COP17 to demonstrate that the commitments they made in 2022 were more than words on paper. That means recognizing our territories, respecting our right to make decisions about them, and ensuring that funding reaches the communities doing the work of protecting biodiversity. We are calling on negotiators to defend the progress already made and build on it,” said Clemencia Carabalí, president of the Association of Afro-descendant Women of Northern Cauca. 

Throughout CBD COP17, the RRI coalition will advocate for decisions that strengthen collective land and resource rights, integrate robust safeguards, expand access to financing, and support community-led conservation. As governments assess progress toward their 2030 biodiversity commitments, the RRI coalition is urging them to ensure that the people who have long cared for the world’s ecosystems have the rights, resources, and authority to continue doing so.

Learn more about RRI’s priorities at CBD COP17: https://rightsandresources.org/cbd-cop17/  

Learn more about the #StopTheRollbacks campaign: https://rightsandresources.org/campaign/stop-the-rollbacks/

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About Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI)

RRI is a global coalition working to advance the land, forest, and resource rights of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, local communities, and the women and youth within these communities. RRI supports data, analysis, and advocacy to promote rights-based approaches to climate, conservation, and sustainable development.

 Learn more: www.rightsandresources.org.

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A state of severe poverty in a no-win conflict erodes abilities of individuals and institutions to bounce back

Bangkok, 8 October 2026 – Years of conflict, economic disruption, displacement and repeated shocks are eroding the foundations that people across Myanmar rely on to survive, cope and recover, according to a new UNDP report released today. More than two in three people are now either living in multidimensional poverty or vulnerable to falling into it, leaving millions with little capacity to withstand further crises.

The report, Layers of Deprivation: Multidimensional Poverty in Myanmar, finds that overlapping deprivations in health, education and living standards now affect 68 percent of Myanmar’s population, with over 37 million people either living in multidimensional poverty or at risk of falling into it.

Using a multidimensional poverty methodology, the findings suggest that Myanmar is facing more than an income crisis. Many of the buffers that once helped families absorb shocks, such as savings, stable livelihoods, access to services and social support networks, are steadily disappearing.

Deficits in health and living standards account for more than 80 percent of multidimensional poverty, reflecting households’ challenges in accessing healthcare, adequate housing, clean water, sanitation and other essential services, particularly in conflict zones.

“Myanmar may no longer dominate international headlines, but the hardships facing millions of people continue to deepen,” said Kanni Wignaraja, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. “We are seeing a depth of poverty in Myanmar that is eroding human development itself. This is a no-win war. Everyone is losing. The core muscle of the country is being systematically eroded.”

The report finds that poverty looks different across the country. In some areas, conflict, displacement and restricted access to services are the primary drivers. In others, long-standing gaps in livelihoods, education, infrastructure and public services remain the dominant challenges.

Rakhine stands out as one of the country’s most severe multidimensional poverty hotspots. More than two-thirds of the population are multidimensionally poor and nearly one-third are severely poor.  The deprivation among some stateless and displaced populations, including Rohingya communities, may be understated because of limitations associated with phone-based data collection.

The findings also challenge assumptions that poverty is primarily rural. While Yangon records lower regional poverty rates than many conflict-affected states, it contains one of the country’s largest concentrations of multidimensionally poor people, reflecting deepening vulnerabilities among urban and peri-urban households.

The report comes at a time when households are confronting an accumulation of shocks. Climate-related shocks (at risk of floods, cyclones, droughts and landslides) affect around one in five households and are expected to intensify as a consequence of El Nino. At the end of August, an estimated 600,000 people were affected by flooding.

Recent external economic shocks have had a significant impact too. Rising fuel prices linked to the Gulf crisis, inflation and increasing food costs are placing additional strain on communities whose resilience has already been weakened by years of conflict and instability. Diesel and gasoline prices remain approximately at 87% and 85% above pre-crisis levels, and there are significant disparities by region, with prices in places like Chin, Rakhine, Kachin and Ayeyarwaddy two to four times higher than in Yangon.

“This global crisis layered itself on top of a local crisis, that was already on top of extreme climate events,” said Wignaraja. “Families may be able to cope with one lor two emergencies even with the little they have. Few can absorb conflict, displacement, illness, lost income and loss of crops and income occurring together or in close succession. Repeated shocks have exhausted the small buffers that communities rely on.”

Young people, who are coming of age amid conflict, insecurity, deep economic and social stresses, face particular strain. As opportunities shrink and uncertainty grows, many young people lose options on future pathways – on education, jobs, mobility and their futures. At least one million young people may have left Myanmar since 2021, one of the largest losses of human capital in the country’s recent history. At the same time, population is aging. As youth leave, the old are left carrying the care burden, keeping food on the table and ensuring family safety. These communities are now increasingly dependent on community support systems that are under severe strain.

Nearly half of households dependent on casual labour are multidimensionally poor. The analysis also shows that households that rely on casual labour, conflict-affected households, and migrant households face the highest poverty levels in the country.Without greater investment in decent livelihoods, education and essential services, these pressures risk pushing more people to pursue illegal activity or other desperate means

“The greatest risk facing Myanmar is not only the deepening of poverty today, but the narrowing of opportunities tomorrow,” said Wignaraja. “Myanmar remains one of the world’s most consequential crises. In many ways, the world can be losing the recovery of Myanmar. Societal recovery cannot wait for a conflict to end. Investing in livelihoods, education, healthcare, local markets and basic services remains essential to preserving the fundamental human capabilities the country will need to heal and move forward”.

Media contact: rbap.media@undp.org

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New York, 25 September 2026 – At a time of profound strain on the international legal order, the Republic of South Africa and Malaysia convened the High-Level Meeting in Defence of International Law at United Nations Headquarters.

The meeting brought together 40 States of The Hague Group, represented by Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Ministers of Justice and senior diplomats, alongside representatives of intergovernmental organisations and international legal experts, to consider a fundamental question: how can States act collectively to ensure that international law is not merely proclaimed, but enforced, and that the institutions entrusted with upholding it are protected from efforts to undermine their independence and effective functioning?

Concrete proposals – Participants advanced a series of concrete proposals to strengthen the implementation and enforcement of international law. These included consideration of a new United Nations mechanism, drawing upon the experience of the Special Committee against Apartheid, to monitor implementation, report on compliance and facilitate coordinated action among States; continued efforts towards a United Nations Security Council arms embargo on Israel; and coordinated measures to protect the International Criminal Court, its judges and officials from threats, sanctions and intimidation.

The Charter of the United Nations established an international order founded upon the sovereign equality of States, the peaceful settlement of disputes, respect for international law, and the equal rights of nations large and small. Eighty-one years later, these principles face profound challenges. Grave violations of international law continue in multiple contexts, while the institutions and individuals entrusted with upholding it face growing political, financial and coercive pressure.

Participants reaffirmed that the defence of international law cannot depend upon where violations occur, who commits them, or the political power of the States involved. The consistent application of international law is essential to the legitimacy and integrity of the multilateral system.

State representatives highlighted that the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, remains an urgent test of that system. International judicial bodies have made their determinations, including in the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of 19 July 2024. The General Assembly acted upon those determinations through resolution A/RES/ES-10/24. Yet grave violations continue, accountability remains elusive, and structures of illegality and impunity persist. The challenge before the international community is therefore not simply one of establishing legal norms. It is one of giving those norms practical effect.

Discussions at the High-Level Meeting focused on three interconnected priorities.

Towards a new multilateralism

Participants reaffirmed the sovereign equality of States and the need for a multilateral system capable of protecting the equal rights of nations large and small. Discussions emphasised the importance of strengthening cooperation among States in defence of the Charter and considered proposals for renewed multilateral mechanisms capable of responding to persistent and systematic violations of international law, including consideration of a United Nations mechanism drawing upon the experience of the 1962 Special Committee against Apartheid.

From complicity to compliance

Participants discussed the responsibility of States to give practical effect to their existing obligations under international law, including third-State obligations arising in situations of serious violations. Proposals included strengthening coordination across national and international mechanisms; sharing experiences concerning measures already adopted by States; and continuing efforts towards a United Nations Security Council arms embargo in relation to Israel.

Participants emphasised that legal obligations must be reflected in the practical decisions States take across their national systems and that greater coordination can strengthen the effectiveness of measures undertaken by individual States.

From impunity to accountability

Participants expressed concern regarding efforts to weaken or obstruct the institutions entrusted with upholding international law. They noted attempts to intimidate, sanction or otherwise undermine international courts, their judges and officials, United Nations mandate holders, human rights organisations and other actors carrying out mandates connected to the defence of international law.

Particular concern was expressed regarding intimidation, threats and sanctions directed at the International Criminal Court, its judges and officials. Participants considered measures through which States can collectively protect the independence and effective functioning of the Court and other international legal institutions, oppose retaliation against those carrying out their mandates, and support the implementation and enforcement of their decisions.

The meeting underscored that international institutions cannot defend the international legal order alone. Their decisions depend upon States for implementation, and their independence requires States to defend their ability to discharge their mandates without intimidation or retaliation.

Participants further emphasised the importance of greater coordination among States. Collective action can strengthen implementation, increase the effectiveness of measures taken at the national level, reduce fragmentation and support States facing threats or pressure for acting consistently with their international legal obligations.

We, the Meeting’s co-sponsors, welcome the perspectives and proposals advanced during today’s meeting and will continue consultations with participating States on avenues for practical cooperation emerging from these discussions.

We reaffirm our conviction that the authority of international law derives not merely from its proclamation, but from its enforcement.

We reaffirm the Charter of the United Nations and its promise of the equal rights and self-determination of peoples and of the equal rights of nations large and small.

We affirm that international law must apply equally and consistently; that international institutions must be able to fulfil their mandates independently and without intimidation or retaliation; that grave violations must carry consequences; and that States must cooperate to give practical effect to their international obligations. The alternative is an international order in which power determines which laws are respected, which judgments are implemented and whose rights are protected. That is not the international order promised by the Charter.

The defence of international law is therefore not the responsibility of any one State, region or institution. It is a common responsibility.

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Note: New global platform brings together researchers, governments, technology companies and women’s rights organizations to help shape AI and digital transformation in ways that advance gender equality and benefit women and girls.

New York, 25 September 2026 – Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping how people work, communicate, access public services, and exercise their rights. Yet women remain significantly underrepresented among those developing the technologies and making decisions about how they are governed and deployed: men hold nearly eight in 10 artificial intelligence jobs and almost nine in 10 senior leadership positions shaping the technology.

As world leaders gather in New York for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81), artificial intelligence is at the forefront of discussions on economic transformation, the future of work, development, warfare, and international peace and security. And still, women and girls, and the implications of these technological shifts on their rights and empowerment, remain largely absent from the debate.

“The artificial intelligence systems we build today will shape how we live and work tomorrow. If women are missing from their design and governance, we risk carrying the inequalities of the present into the future”, said Sima Bahous, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women.

Women are already experiencing the consequences of AI systems that fail to account for their realities. A global analysis of 133 AI systems found that 44 per cent demonstrated gender bias. Meanwhile, nearly one in four women human rights defenders, activists and journalists surveyed by UN Women reported experiencing AI-assisted online violence.

The Hub aims to change both who shapes technology and who it serves. It will bring together researchers, governments, technology companies, AI experts and women’s rights organizations to generate evidence on how emerging technologies affect women and girls. It will support Member States in developing gender-responsive digital and AI policies that benefit society as a whole, while working with technology companies to embed gender equality principles into the design and governance of technology.

The Hub will help ensure that gender equality is at the heart of AI and digital governance, strengthening the UN system’s capacity to act, while giving women and women’s rights organizations a stronger voice in shaping the policies, rules and technologies that will define the future of AI.

“AI can deepen gender inequality or help overcome it. That is a human choice – and those choices are being made now by engineers, companies, investors and governments”, said Sima Bahous, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women. At UNGA81, UN Women’s message is clear: equality is not only about representation. It is also about power. AI is already helping to reshape economic, social and political power. Women and girls, their rights, voices, needs and perspectives – must therefore be central to designing it and shaping its future.”

The Digital, Innovation and AI Hub forms part of UN Women’s broader work to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in the context of rapid technological change. Its work will contribute to international efforts to ensure that digital transformation and AI support inclusive and sustainable development and respect human rights.

About UN Women

UN Women exists to advance women’s rights, gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. As the lead UN entity on gender equality, we shift laws, institutions, social behaviours and services to close the gender gap and build an equal world for all women and girls. We keep the rights of women and girls at the centre of global progress – always, everywhere. Because gender equality is not just what we do. It is who we are.

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New York, 22 September 2026 – Government leaders attending the 81^st annual United Nations General Assembly session at the UN Headquarters used the unique opportunity to demand solutions for some of the biggest challenges facing the world, from reforming the powerful UN Security Council and preventing climate disasters to an AI technology with accountability.

Opening the session attended by representatives of the 193 UN member states, including more than 80 heads of states, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres pointed out the absence of permanent members from Africa in the powerful UN Security Council, which has 15 countries, five of which are permanent members: the US, Russia, United Kingdom, China and France. Those members can veto decisions by other council members.

“We must also reform the Security Council so that it reflects today’s world with the legitimacy and effectiveness that today’s challenges demand,” Guterres said. “The Security Council was designed in the aftermath of World War II. But the world has fundamentally changed since then. When the UN was founded, most of Africa was still under colonial rule. Today, Africa still has no permanent seat on the Council.

A 21st century Security Council without permanent African representation is unjust and indefensible.”

Guterres pointed out two challenges, saying that climate change is the “most profound intergenerational power imbalance,” warning of a near-certain breach of the 1.5°C threshold. He said polluters have to “pay” and for developed nations to triple adaptation funding. Turning to AI, Guterres warned that power is increasingly concentrated in data, computing capacity and algorithms, advancing faster than humanity’s capacity to govern it.

“The danger is not technology,” he said. “The danger is technology without accountability.”

“Life-and-death decisions must never be surrendered to machines. Killer robots must have no place in our future,” he said, adding that a multilateral AI risk management framework with independent oversight, stating firmly that children must never become test subjects for unregulated systems and that life-and-death decisions must never be surrendered to machines.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, told the high-level meeting that the UN has failed to rid humanity of the scourge of war and its credibility has never been lower.

“We are all held hostage by the inaction of the Security Council failing to fulfil its role,” he said, citing the high numbers of conflicts since the end of World War II and massive expenses for weapons.

US President Donald Trump said his administration has worked with many countries to implement “the most sweeping reform in UN history.” Trump said the UN budget was cut by 15 per cent in 2026 and over 4,000 positions were eliminated from its bureaucracy and added that while the world organization has “great potential”, it must “stop imposing the far-left agenda of globalist bureaucrats who nobody ever elected.”

“There is no global government, and while I am president, there will be no global taxes,” he said.  He also called on all States Parties to the International Criminal Court to formally withdraw from this “rogue institution.”

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Türkiye, said trust must be restored in the international organization and he welcomed the UN80 Initiative, which offers reform of the organization. He called for Security Council reform, noting that “the world is bigger than five,” referring to the five permanent council members. “Moreover, international law must not be applied differently for the strong than for the weak.”

He said that Gaza “has become the most inhumane and shameful concentration camp of our time,” Turning to recent settler violence in the West Bank, he said, “we are faced with a genocidal mindset that can never get enough of killing” and the situation is “shocking” while the UN has failed to fulfill its missions in crisis zones, including in Lebanon and Sudan.

Emmanuel Macron, President of France, said in his address, referring to current world situation: “Do we want to live under this state of affairs – with a return to the law of the jungle – or do we want to live in a civilized international society?”

He said France is committed to the United Nations, calling for a revival of multilateralism to “tackle common challenges together.” Enumerating crises and wars, he declared, “we will not yield to defeatism.” International law does not describe reality, but described the limits of countries, he said, adding the forgotten lessons of the 20th century, can be seen in industrialized warfare and a new era of barbaric acts.

“The Geneva convention is being dismantled,” citing El Fasher and Gaza, among other humanitarian crises. “There cannot be peace without justice,” though, and France will continue to support the International Court of Justice.   “We simply cannot accept this new order of impunity which some are trying to erect”, he said calling for the Security Council reform and specifying further that the council must be allowed to act in the face of atrocities. 

Lee Jae Myung, President of Republic of Korea – “Today, I stand here to make clear the Republic of Korea’s bold resolve to lead the effort to restore the spirit of the United Nations and reconnect the world, as a nation that has risen through the solidarity of the international community,” Lee said.

Turning to the fast-paced AI development, in which the UN has called for a global effort to set up technological accountability, Le said his government plan to build the Global AI Hub platform to benefit the international community with its technological progress.

On the decades-old situation on the Korean peninsula, Lee called for inclusive, stable, and responsible, peaceful coexistence between “the two Koreas”and for a resumption of dialogue between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the United States, and there must be an end to further advances in Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile capabilities, leading to an eventual nuclear weapons-free Peninsula.

“I am confident that the dialogue for establishing a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula can provide a valuable framework not only for normalizing relations among the parties concerned, but also for fostering shared growth through multilateral cooperation and promoting stability and cooperation in Northeast Asia,” he said.

(By J.Tuyet Nguyen)

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Halting this incident is no assurance that humans will keep control of more capable
Systems. Following is a press release from the panel.

New York, 21 September 2026 – The Independent International Scientific Panel on AI,
established by the UN General Assembly, released its first thematic brief, an assessment of the
breach of Hugging Face’s systems by AI agents under evaluation at OpenAI this summer. The Panel,
made up of 40 independent experts from all regions, is publishing it as an advance unedited version
as world leaders gather in New York for the Assembly’s High-Level Week.

“Researchers have long warned that three conditions could lead to loss of control: a misaligned goal,
the capability to pursue it, and an environment that allows it. This summer, all three came together
in a real system, not a laboratory. Since this is not an isolated observation of misaligned goals, this
raises serious questions about the way AI agents are currently trained.”

–Yoshua Bengio, Co-Chair of the Panel and Turing Award laureate

The Panel finds that stopping this incident is no assurance that humans can reliably keep AI agents
under control today, particularly as they become more capable, harder to monitor and better at
finding loopholes or hiding their activity. The default interpretation and immediate lesson is that
basic cybersecurity practices were overlooked, and safeguards are not advancing at the pace of
capabilities. The more insidious and grave concern is that current training methods can lead agents
to adopt goals of their own, knowingly violate safety instructions, and conceal their actions. This is
not only a question of speed. It leaves open whether safeguards designed today will work once
agents can understand them and plan around them. In simple terms, the traditional model of
safeguarding is unravelling.

The brief, AI Agents, Misalignment and the Risk of Losing Human Control: Evidence from the OpenAI-
Hugging Face Incident, sets those findings against wider research on agentic misalignment and AI
control. The brief defines loss of control as a situation in which humans cannot reliably direct,
constrain or stop an autonomous AI system. It separates what the 2026 incident shows from
possible future trajectories, examining how the same mechanisms could lead to more serious risks
in more capable AI agents. It does not predict severe loss of control, nor does it treat that uncertainty
as evidence that these systems will stay controllable.

The Panel also finds that the governance challenge is moving from AI models to AI agents. A local
failure could spread across organisational and national boundaries, and the brief suggests that AI
safety may be becoming a matter of collective security as well as corporate governance.
The brief also reviews practical approaches already in use in other high-risk sectors.

“We are not starting from zero. Aviation, medicine and cybersecurity learned to manage high-risk
systems through incident reporting, independent scrutiny, and layered safeguards. But those
practices may not be enough as AI agents become more capable, autonomous and difficult to
monitor. We need to adapt existing safeguards and develop new ones to provide system-level
assurance, covering both the AI itself and the system around it, and ensure these protections remain
effective as agents’ capabilities grow. We need to adapt existing safeguards and develop new ones
to provide system-level assurance, covering both the AI itself and the system around it.”
— Qinghua Lu, Member of the Panel and Expert in AI Engineering, AI Safety and Responsible AI

About the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence

The Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence was established by UN
General Assembly resolution A/RES/79/325 of 26 August 2025, building on the Global Digital
Compact. Its 40 members were appointed by the General Assembly and serve in their personal
capacity. The Panel produces annual policy-relevant but non-prescriptive reports on the
opportunities, risks and impacts of AI in the non-military domain, alongside thematic briefs on
emerging issues, to inform the Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance. Its first Co-
Chairs are Yoshua Bengio (Canada) and Maria Ressa (Philippines).

The Panel Secretariat is coordinated by Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy for Digital and
Emerging Technologies Amandeep Gill and the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies and
includes members from ITU and UNESCO while also drawing on other system-wide capacities. Its
role is enabling, including logistical, administrative, and other substantive support as requested by
the Panel. The Secretariat does not direct the Panel’s scientific work, and the Panel’s findings are not
subject to UN review or approval.

An advance unedited version is available here:
https://www.un.org/independent-international-scientific-panel-ai/en/thematic-briefs/ai-agents-
misalignment-risks

Select panel members are available for interviews during High-Level Week.

Media contacts
UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies (ODET)
Karoline Hassfurter, karoline.hassfurter@un.org ;
Anamika Madhuraj, anamika.madhuraj@un.org;
aiscientificpanel@un.org

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