Melissa Fleming
@melissafleming.un.org
I lead communications at the United Nations. I promote peace, human rights & a healthy planet and advocate for humane information ecosystems.
Author: A Hope More Powerful than the Sea.
Podcast host: Awake at Night.
Author: A Hope More Powerful than the Sea.
Podcast host: Awake at Night.
On Wednesday, at UN Headquarters in Geneva, I had the pleasure to meet this year’s Young Activist Summit laureates — Salvino, Rena, Dev, Aminata, and Marina.
These remarkable young changemakers are showing us all that a better world is already taking shape.
These remarkable young changemakers are showing us all that a better world is already taking shape.
November 20, 2025 at 2:25 AM
On Wednesday, at UN Headquarters in Geneva, I had the pleasure to meet this year’s Young Activist Summit laureates — Salvino, Rena, Dev, Aminata, and Marina.
These remarkable young changemakers are showing us all that a better world is already taking shape.
These remarkable young changemakers are showing us all that a better world is already taking shape.
The senseless #Sudan war has created the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis. Egypt has become the largest refuge for those escaping.
I met refugees at UNHCR Egypt. Safe here, but still shaken with trauma, broken dreams & new worries.
Impressed how UNHCR registers & supports them.
I met refugees at UNHCR Egypt. Safe here, but still shaken with trauma, broken dreams & new worries.
Impressed how UNHCR registers & supports them.
November 11, 2025 at 8:39 PM
The senseless #Sudan war has created the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis. Egypt has become the largest refuge for those escaping.
I met refugees at UNHCR Egypt. Safe here, but still shaken with trauma, broken dreams & new worries.
Impressed how UNHCR registers & supports them.
I met refugees at UNHCR Egypt. Safe here, but still shaken with trauma, broken dreams & new worries.
Impressed how UNHCR registers & supports them.
As we celebrate UN Day and our 80th anniversary, let us reaffirm our commitment to one of the most ambitious undertakings in human history:
The decision - despite our differences - to solve problems together.
To work sincerely, creatively & humbly.
For a better future for all.
The decision - despite our differences - to solve problems together.
To work sincerely, creatively & humbly.
For a better future for all.
October 24, 2025 at 5:29 PM
As we celebrate UN Day and our 80th anniversary, let us reaffirm our commitment to one of the most ambitious undertakings in human history:
The decision - despite our differences - to solve problems together.
To work sincerely, creatively & humbly.
For a better future for all.
The decision - despite our differences - to solve problems together.
To work sincerely, creatively & humbly.
For a better future for all.
The International Justice Court delivered an Advisory Opinion concluding that Israel is required to:
"ensure that the population of the Occupied Palestinian Territory has the essential supplies of daily life, including food, water, clothing, bedding, shelter, fuel, medical supplies and services.”
"ensure that the population of the Occupied Palestinian Territory has the essential supplies of daily life, including food, water, clothing, bedding, shelter, fuel, medical supplies and services.”
Israel is obliged to let aid flow into Occupied Palestinian Territory, says World Court
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) says that Israel must uphold its responsibilities as the “occupying power” by ensuring aid can flow freely and by respecting the rights of the UN and other hum...
news.un.org
October 23, 2025 at 3:09 AM
The International Justice Court delivered an Advisory Opinion concluding that Israel is required to:
"ensure that the population of the Occupied Palestinian Territory has the essential supplies of daily life, including food, water, clothing, bedding, shelter, fuel, medical supplies and services.”
"ensure that the population of the Occupied Palestinian Territory has the essential supplies of daily life, including food, water, clothing, bedding, shelter, fuel, medical supplies and services.”
Very happy to be invited to speak at the
Publish Her Lounge at the @buchmesse.de on Women in Executive Leadership with a panel of incredible women!
We will discuss what true influence looks like, in publishing & beyond.
October 16th, 10 am CEST: womeninpublishing.org/events/frank...
Publish Her Lounge at the @buchmesse.de on Women in Executive Leadership with a panel of incredible women!
We will discuss what true influence looks like, in publishing & beyond.
October 16th, 10 am CEST: womeninpublishing.org/events/frank...
October 10, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Very happy to be invited to speak at the
Publish Her Lounge at the @buchmesse.de on Women in Executive Leadership with a panel of incredible women!
We will discuss what true influence looks like, in publishing & beyond.
October 16th, 10 am CEST: womeninpublishing.org/events/frank...
Publish Her Lounge at the @buchmesse.de on Women in Executive Leadership with a panel of incredible women!
We will discuss what true influence looks like, in publishing & beyond.
October 16th, 10 am CEST: womeninpublishing.org/events/frank...
Gaza’s health system is near collapse and is struggling to treat the nearly 42,000 people with life-changing war injuries.
This includes 10,000 kids.
The @who.int is appealing to bring in more medical supplies and assistive devices.
This includes 10,000 kids.
The @who.int is appealing to bring in more medical supplies and assistive devices.
October 4, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Gaza’s health system is near collapse and is struggling to treat the nearly 42,000 people with life-changing war injuries.
This includes 10,000 kids.
The @who.int is appealing to bring in more medical supplies and assistive devices.
This includes 10,000 kids.
The @who.int is appealing to bring in more medical supplies and assistive devices.
The 80th session of #UNGA is about to start at United Nations Headquarters in New York!
Tune in and watch the live on UN Web TV: webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1n...
Tune in and watch the live on UN Web TV: webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1n...
September 23, 2025 at 12:49 PM
The 80th session of #UNGA is about to start at United Nations Headquarters in New York!
Tune in and watch the live on UN Web TV: webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1n...
Tune in and watch the live on UN Web TV: webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1n...
As we gear up for the #UNGA, I got to interview my boss - UN Secretary-General António Guterres on what he expects from world leaders here - in “our house”, at UN Headquarters in New York, next week.
September 21, 2025 at 3:02 AM
As we gear up for the #UNGA, I got to interview my boss - UN Secretary-General António Guterres on what he expects from world leaders here - in “our house”, at UN Headquarters in New York, next week.
I am so proud of my fantastic UN Department of Global Communications team for all their hard work ahead of the the General Assembly.
As world leaders and change makers gather here in New York, we will be streaming, photographing, live blogging, interviewing, posting and hosting events and panels.
As world leaders and change makers gather here in New York, we will be streaming, photographing, live blogging, interviewing, posting and hosting events and panels.
September 19, 2025 at 8:20 PM
I am so proud of my fantastic UN Department of Global Communications team for all their hard work ahead of the the General Assembly.
As world leaders and change makers gather here in New York, we will be streaming, photographing, live blogging, interviewing, posting and hosting events and panels.
As world leaders and change makers gather here in New York, we will be streaming, photographing, live blogging, interviewing, posting and hosting events and panels.
Inspiring moment at UN Headquarters in New York today as the 80th session of the General Assembly opened under the theme “Better Together”.
September 10, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Inspiring moment at UN Headquarters in New York today as the 80th session of the General Assembly opened under the theme “Better Together”.
One of my latest guests on Awake At Night, Yacoub El Hillo, spent much of his career helping refugees & displaced people.
But, when cataclysmic war erupted in his home country, Sudan, he had to help his own family flee.
Find out more on his story: bit.ly/4mOLvNo
But, when cataclysmic war erupted in his home country, Sudan, he had to help his own family flee.
Find out more on his story: bit.ly/4mOLvNo
September 5, 2025 at 2:54 AM
One of my latest guests on Awake At Night, Yacoub El Hillo, spent much of his career helping refugees & displaced people.
But, when cataclysmic war erupted in his home country, Sudan, he had to help his own family flee.
Find out more on his story: bit.ly/4mOLvNo
But, when cataclysmic war erupted in his home country, Sudan, he had to help his own family flee.
Find out more on his story: bit.ly/4mOLvNo
Monday marked 8 years since over 700,000 Rohingya were forced by unimaginable violence & brutality to flee their homes in Myanmar.
Every year as we approach this tragic anniversary, I cannot stop thinking of the traumatized refugees I met in Cox’s Bazar, the biggest, most congested camp on earth.
Every year as we approach this tragic anniversary, I cannot stop thinking of the traumatized refugees I met in Cox’s Bazar, the biggest, most congested camp on earth.
August 25, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Monday marked 8 years since over 700,000 Rohingya were forced by unimaginable violence & brutality to flee their homes in Myanmar.
Every year as we approach this tragic anniversary, I cannot stop thinking of the traumatized refugees I met in Cox’s Bazar, the biggest, most congested camp on earth.
Every year as we approach this tragic anniversary, I cannot stop thinking of the traumatized refugees I met in Cox’s Bazar, the biggest, most congested camp on earth.
Famine confirmed for first time in #Gaza
@fao.org @unicef.org @wfp.org & @who.int call for an immediate & full-scale humanitarian response given the escalating hunger-related deaths, rapidly worsening levels of acute malnutrition & plummeting levels of food consumption.
www.fao.org/newsroom/det...
@fao.org @unicef.org @wfp.org & @who.int call for an immediate & full-scale humanitarian response given the escalating hunger-related deaths, rapidly worsening levels of acute malnutrition & plummeting levels of food consumption.
www.fao.org/newsroom/det...
Famine confirmed for first time in Gaza
FAO, UNICEF, WFP and WHO reiterate call for immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access to curb deaths from hunger and malnutrition.
www.fao.org
August 22, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Famine confirmed for first time in #Gaza
@fao.org @unicef.org @wfp.org & @who.int call for an immediate & full-scale humanitarian response given the escalating hunger-related deaths, rapidly worsening levels of acute malnutrition & plummeting levels of food consumption.
www.fao.org/newsroom/det...
@fao.org @unicef.org @wfp.org & @who.int call for an immediate & full-scale humanitarian response given the escalating hunger-related deaths, rapidly worsening levels of acute malnutrition & plummeting levels of food consumption.
www.fao.org/newsroom/det...
Hundreds of thousands of people still trapped in Sudan's besieged city of El Fasher face starvation, as the city remains cut off from humanitarian access.
WFP is ready with trucks full of food aid to send into El Fasher but urgently needs guarantees of safe passage.
So many lives are at stake.
WFP is ready with trucks full of food aid to send into El Fasher but urgently needs guarantees of safe passage.
So many lives are at stake.
August 14, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Hundreds of thousands of people still trapped in Sudan's besieged city of El Fasher face starvation, as the city remains cut off from humanitarian access.
WFP is ready with trucks full of food aid to send into El Fasher but urgently needs guarantees of safe passage.
So many lives are at stake.
WFP is ready with trucks full of food aid to send into El Fasher but urgently needs guarantees of safe passage.
So many lives are at stake.
Shocking news that the Israeli military killed 5 @aljazeera.com journalists in #Gaza by targeting their tent.
More than 240 Palestinian journalists met the same terrible fate since the war began, silencing their voices.
Journalists are protected under international humanitarian law.
More than 240 Palestinian journalists met the same terrible fate since the war began, silencing their voices.
Journalists are protected under international humanitarian law.
August 11, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Shocking news that the Israeli military killed 5 @aljazeera.com journalists in #Gaza by targeting their tent.
More than 240 Palestinian journalists met the same terrible fate since the war began, silencing their voices.
Journalists are protected under international humanitarian law.
More than 240 Palestinian journalists met the same terrible fate since the war began, silencing their voices.
Journalists are protected under international humanitarian law.
@nytimes.com: Starvation has gripped #Gaza, which the United Nations says is on the brink of famine.
“I’ve worked in some of the harshest places you can imagine. I have never, ever seen this in my whole career.”
-Antoine Renard @wfp.org www.nytimes.com/2025/08/05/w...
“I’ve worked in some of the harshest places you can imagine. I have never, ever seen this in my whole career.”
-Antoine Renard @wfp.org www.nytimes.com/2025/08/05/w...
Israel, Facing Anger Over Starvation in Gaza, Tries to Shift the Focus
www.nytimes.com
August 6, 2025 at 4:59 PM
@nytimes.com: Starvation has gripped #Gaza, which the United Nations says is on the brink of famine.
“I’ve worked in some of the harshest places you can imagine. I have never, ever seen this in my whole career.”
-Antoine Renard @wfp.org www.nytimes.com/2025/08/05/w...
“I’ve worked in some of the harshest places you can imagine. I have never, ever seen this in my whole career.”
-Antoine Renard @wfp.org www.nytimes.com/2025/08/05/w...
Today, The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification issued a red alert:
“The worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.”
news.un.org/en/story/202...
“The worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.”
news.un.org/en/story/202...
July 29, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Today, The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification issued a red alert:
“The worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.”
news.un.org/en/story/202...
“The worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.”
news.un.org/en/story/202...
“Unless the crossings are opened and food and baby formula are allowed in for this vulnerable segment of Palestinian society, we will witness unprecedented numbers of deaths,” apnews.com/article/gaza...
The latest child to starve to death in Gaza weighed less than when she was born
The latest child to starve to death in Gaza weighed less than when she was born. The body of 5-month-old Zainab Abu Halib arrived at a hospital in southern Gaza on Friday and her family buried her on ...
apnews.com
July 26, 2025 at 8:31 PM
“Unless the crossings are opened and food and baby formula are allowed in for this vulnerable segment of Palestinian society, we will witness unprecedented numbers of deaths,” apnews.com/article/gaza...
There are simply no words left.
Heartbreaking photos from our UNRWA colleagues in Gaza where conditions reached an unspeakable level of devastation with children paying the highest price.
Starvation is widespread and people are dying.
Parents are too hungry to care for their children.
Heartbreaking photos from our UNRWA colleagues in Gaza where conditions reached an unspeakable level of devastation with children paying the highest price.
Starvation is widespread and people are dying.
Parents are too hungry to care for their children.
July 25, 2025 at 9:37 PM
There are simply no words left.
Heartbreaking photos from our UNRWA colleagues in Gaza where conditions reached an unspeakable level of devastation with children paying the highest price.
Starvation is widespread and people are dying.
Parents are too hungry to care for their children.
Heartbreaking photos from our UNRWA colleagues in Gaza where conditions reached an unspeakable level of devastation with children paying the highest price.
Starvation is widespread and people are dying.
Parents are too hungry to care for their children.
The UN’s principal judicial body ruled that States have an obligation to protect the environment from greenhouse gas emissions.
"This is a victory for our planet, for climate justice, and for the power of young people to make a difference."
news.un.org/en/story/202...
"This is a victory for our planet, for climate justice, and for the power of young people to make a difference."
news.un.org/en/story/202...
World Court says countries are legally obligated to curb emissions, protect climate
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, Netherlands, issued its advisory opinion on the obligations of states in respect of climate change, read out by the President of the Court, Judge...
news.un.org
July 23, 2025 at 7:49 PM
The UN’s principal judicial body ruled that States have an obligation to protect the environment from greenhouse gas emissions.
"This is a victory for our planet, for climate justice, and for the power of young people to make a difference."
news.un.org/en/story/202...
"This is a victory for our planet, for climate justice, and for the power of young people to make a difference."
news.un.org/en/story/202...
Gaza: The hunger crisis has reached new & astonishing levels of desperation- with 1/3 of the population not eating for multiple days in a row & 1/4 of the population facing famine-like conditions.
- Ross Smith @wfp.org
news.un.org/en/story/202...
- Ross Smith @wfp.org
news.un.org/en/story/202...
People dying from lack of aid every day in Gaza: WFP official
The hunger crisis in Gaza has reached new and astonishing levels of desperation, with a third of the population not eating for multiple days in a row, a senior official with the UN World Food Programm...
news.un.org
July 21, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Gaza: The hunger crisis has reached new & astonishing levels of desperation- with 1/3 of the population not eating for multiple days in a row & 1/4 of the population facing famine-like conditions.
- Ross Smith @wfp.org
news.un.org/en/story/202...
- Ross Smith @wfp.org
news.un.org/en/story/202...
Some great examples in this @apnews.com piece on the under-recognized, but highly impactful work of the United Nations:
Recent U.S. cuts to foreign assistance and the reevaluation of humanitarian contributions by other countries have forced a reckoning for the U.N.
Recent U.S. cuts to foreign assistance and the reevaluation of humanitarian contributions by other countries have forced a reckoning for the U.N.
July 18, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Some great examples in this @apnews.com piece on the under-recognized, but highly impactful work of the United Nations:
Recent U.S. cuts to foreign assistance and the reevaluation of humanitarian contributions by other countries have forced a reckoning for the U.N.
Recent U.S. cuts to foreign assistance and the reevaluation of humanitarian contributions by other countries have forced a reckoning for the U.N.
Nearly 900 desperate and hungry Gazans have been killed in recent weeks trying to fetch food, with most deaths linked to private aid hubs run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Gaza: 875 people confirmed dead trying to source food in recent weeks
Nearly 900 desperate and hungry Gazans have been killed in recent weeks trying to fetch food, with most deaths linked to private aid hubs run by the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the U...
news.un.org
July 15, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Nearly 900 desperate and hungry Gazans have been killed in recent weeks trying to fetch food, with most deaths linked to private aid hubs run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
30 years ago, in July 1995, over 8,000 Bosnian men and boys were systematically separated from their families, executed, and buried in mass graves.
Thousands of women, children and older persons were forcibly displaced.
An entire generation was lost.
Thousands of women, children and older persons were forcibly displaced.
An entire generation was lost.
July 11, 2025 at 7:05 AM
30 years ago, in July 1995, over 8,000 Bosnian men and boys were systematically separated from their families, executed, and buried in mass graves.
Thousands of women, children and older persons were forcibly displaced.
An entire generation was lost.
Thousands of women, children and older persons were forcibly displaced.
An entire generation was lost.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres is appalled by the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and renews his call for an immediate permanent ceasefire and for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
July 3, 2025 at 8:35 PM
UN Secretary-General António Guterres is appalled by the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and renews his call for an immediate permanent ceasefire and for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.