Glaciers in many regions will not survive the 21st century if they keep melting at the current rate, potentially jeopardising hundreds of millions of people living downstream, UN climate experts said on the first World Day for Glaciers.

Silence is not an option in the fight for human rights – that was the message on Thursday at an event honouring the legacy of the women who have shaped the United Nations’ commitment to gender equality.

The legacy of the Syrian conflict, which saw the overthrow of the Assad regime in December last year, is that 16.5 million people are in dire need of assistance, making it one of the largest humanitarian crises globally, a senior UN humanitarian said on Thursday.

Respect for human rights is not only a moral obligation but a necessity for economic stability, the UN’s top human rights official said on Thursday, during a visit to the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan.

Dozens of civilians, including local humanitarian volunteers, have been killed by artillery shelling and aerial bombardment in the eastern part of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) reported on Thursday.

A senior UN political affairs official called for Israel and Hamas to restore the shattered ceasefire in Gaza on Thursday and release all remaining hostages, while one of those freed told the Security Council of his 500-day ordeal in captivity.