The former United Nations chief reflects on the role of his former organisation in today’s world.
United Nations
![Myanmar's own envoy to the UN, Kyaw Moe Tun, voiced regret that it had taken three months for the Assembly to adopt the resolution and that it was not more explicit about an arms embargo [Stringer/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2021-03-27T071939Z_1885685666_RC2JJM9UQ0Q6_RTRMADP_3_MYANMAR-POLITICS-ARMY-ANNIVERSARY-1.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
UN special envoy Christine Schraner Burgener warns of risk of ‘large-scale civil war’ following February 1 coup.
![Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says he wants sanctions to be lifted by the administration of United States President Joe Biden - and foreign investments to flow in [File: Gaby Oraa/Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/maduro.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
Venezuela’s president hopes a US deal will open the floodgates to foreign investment and help create jobs.
![As secretary-general, Guterres has championed climate action, COVID-19 vaccines for all and digital cooperation [File: Michael Sohn/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/2020-12-17T153957Z_566327722_RC23PK9DB71Z_RTRMADP_3_GERMANY-UN.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
Guterres, the only candidate for the UN’s top post, said he was ‘humbled and energised’ by the support.
![The Singapore-registered container ship MV X-Press Pearl carrying hundreds of tonnes of chemicals and plastics, sinks after burning for almost two weeks, just outside Colombo's harbour on June 2 [File: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/000_9B943B-1.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Sinking container ship could take months to salvage because of rough monsoon seas, says Sri Lanka, as it seeks UN help.
![A US flag is lowered as American and Afghan soldiers attend a handover ceremony from the US Army to the Afghan National Army, at Camp Anthonic in Helmand province, Afghanistan last month [File: Afghan Ministry of Defence Press Office via AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/AP21124631465651.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
UNHCR chief says contingency plans be prepared for more displaced civilians amid fears of renewed violence.
![Rohingya refugees gather to mark the second anniversary of the exodus in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh [File: Rafiqur Rahman/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2019-08-25T000000Z_1765876615_RC1E6F0E33F0_RTRMADP_3_MYANMAR-ROHINGYA.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Rights group urges a probe into the UN sharing refugees’ data with Bangladesh, which passed it on to Myanmar.
![Health and anti-poverty campaigners said that, while donations were a step in the right direction, Western leaders had failed to grasp that exceptional efforts were needed to beat the virus [Kevin Lamarque/Pool via Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2021-06-11T140911Z_1604100049_RC2EYN9R2G7G_RTRMADP_3_G7-SUMMIT.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
UN chief warns virus could mutate and become resistant to the vaccines.
![Child labour is on the rise for the first time in nearly two decades, and the coronavirus crisis threatens to upend progress made to get kids into school, the United Nations warned this week [File: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/child.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
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![The economic crisis and school closures stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic have made millions of children more vulnerable to working longer hours, under worsening conditions and in dangerous jobs [File: Mohammad Ismail/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/afghan.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
‘We are losing ground in the fight against child labour,’ the United Nations Children’s Fund warns.
![UN says crisis in eastern Kayah State could push people across international borders seeking safety [AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/000_9B86NB.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
UN says people fleeing army’s ‘indiscriminate attacks’ in eastern Kayah State are in dire need of food and water.
![As secretary-general, Guterres has backed climate action, COVID-19 vaccines for all and digital cooperation [File: Carlo Allegri/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/SG.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Secretary-general says he would be ‘deeply humbled’ if the UN General Assembly were to approve a second term.
![Maldives' Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid [File: Alasdair Pal/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2020-01-16T130046Z_119852508_RC21HE9PT45P_RTRMADP_3_MALDIVES-CHINA-REPORT.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Abdulla Shahid defeats ex-Afghan Zalmai Rassoul in 143-48 vote by secret ballot, with two of 193 members not voting.
![IAEA chief Rafael Grossi also said it was becoming 'increasingly difficult' to extend a temporary inspections arrangement with Iran [File: Leonhard Foeger/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/4725eeb9641d4e10a18b9adf03feaca3_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
UN nuclear watchdog chief’s remarks come as Tehran and world powers try to salvage a 2015 agreement.