Existing supplies of basic necessities have been running dangerously low and on Wednesday the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said that its nutrition stocks to prevent increasing malnutrition “are almost gone”. “Humanitarian assistance is being weaponised to serve and support political and military objectives,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. Speaking at […]
When they eventually did, her mother said to her, “If you are going to die anyway, better to be shot crossing the two-mile border than starve here.” Shortly thereafter they fled from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, more commonly known as North Korea. Ms. Kim gave testimony to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday […]
He stressed that the assistance must be delivered swiftly and directly to those most in need. He told journalists in New York that UN humanitarians were sending flour, medicines, nutrition supplies and other basic items through the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing – a day after they managed to bring in baby formula […]
The UN’s reproductive health agency, UNFPA, has been working to assess the impact of recent steep funding cuts, warning that from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Haiti, Sudan and beyond, a lack of funding for reproductive care or treatment to tackle gender-based violence, is causing untold suffering. Millions of them are already experiencing the […]
Addressing a high-level debate of the Security Council, António Guterres said that oceans and seas are “sending a clear SOS,” as maritime spaces face escalating pressure from both traditional threats and new dangers – including piracy, armed robbery, trafficking, terrorism, cyberattacks and territorial disputes. “From time immemorial, maritime routes have bound the world together,” he […]
One in four jobs worldwide is potentially exposed to what’s known as generative artificial intelligence – or Generative AI – according to a new joint study from the UN labour agency (ILO) and Poland’s National Research Institute. The study finds that transforming job descriptions, not widespread job loss, is the more likely result. Generative AI (GenAI) […]
Since September 2023, some three million Afghans have returned – many having been forcibly deported from neighbouring Pakistan and Iran. Often, they arrive exhausted, disoriented, and stripped of their belongings. “They return to a homeland that is dramatically unprepared to receive them,” warned Arafat Jamal, the UNHCR Representative in Afghanistan. UN agencies have stepped in […]
Criminal networks are increasingly seeking to gain control over extraction sites, trade routes, and refining infrastructure. According to a new report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), these groups have become deeply embedded in gold supply chains, drawn by the sector’s high profitability and rising gold prices. ‘Serious global threat’ Organized crime […]
The effects of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic are still being felt. Around seven million people died, health systems were overwhelmed, and the global economy was practically driven to a standstill. The global turmoil prompted a stunned international community to pursue an agreement aimed at preventing such a catastrophic event from happening again – and ensuring […]
“These ongoing attacks on critical infrastructure are putting lives at risk, worsening the humanitarian crisis, and violating basic human rights,” said Radhouane Nouicer, the designated expert on the human rights situation in Sudan, appointed by UN rights office OHCHR. Targeted sites include the city’s main electricity substation and fuel and gas storage facilities, leading to […]
In recent years, criminal and terrorist groups have seized “every” opportunity afforded by growing instability to “entrench, expand, and escalate,” said Ghada Waly, in her opening remarks to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, in Vienna. Challenges such as human and drug trafficking, smuggling of cultural and commercial goods, and environmental crimes are […]
Tom Fletcher said in a statement on Monday that nine UN trucks were cleared to enter the southern Kerem Shalom crossing earlier in the day. “But it is a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed…We have been reassured that our work will be facilitated through existing, proven mechanisms. I am grateful for […]
With a growing shortfall in contributions – $2.4 billion in unpaid regular budget dues and $2.7 billion in peacekeeping – the UN has been forced to cut spending, freeze hiring, and scale back some services. Officials warned that this risks eroding the UN’s credibility and its capacity to fulfil mandates entrusted to it by Member […]
Hopes rose last week in Damascus when fuel prices dropped instantly following Donald Trump’s move to end punitive sanctions. But after more than 13 years of civil war that ended with the fall of the Assad regime last December, ordinary Syrians face an exhausting list of other problems. These include an absence of housing – […]
In a statement on Monday, the prosecutors’ office confirmed that deputies Nazhat Shameem Khan and Mame Mandiaye Niang are taking the lead, ensuring continuity across all cases and operations. The transition follows Prosecutor Khan’s announcement on 16 May that he would temporarily step aside while the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) conducts an […]
“We have been approached by Israeli authorities to resume limited aid delivery, and we are in discussions with them now on how this would take place given the conditions on the ground,” OCHA said in a statement. It is now 11 weeks since the Israeli authorities closed off all food, fuel and medicines to Gaza. […]
António Guterres was speaking during a wreath-laying ceremony at a memorial in Baghdad to honour the victims of the 19 August 2003 Canal Hotel bombing – the worst terrorist attack in UN history. Twenty-two people were killed, including the then UN Special Representative for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. More than 100 others were injured, […]
António Guterres told leaders meeting in the Iraqi capital that “the region and the world face trials and tests on all fronts,” starting with the situation in Gaza. He reiterated that neither the atrocious 7 October 2023 terror attacks by Hamas nor the collective punishment of the Palestinian people can be justified. Permanent ceasefire now […]
No aid has entered the enclave since Israel implemented a ban on 2 March and the entire population, more than two million people, is at risk of famine. “As we demonstrated during the ceasefire this year – and every time we’ve been granted access – the United Nations and our humanitarian partners have the expertise, […]
At least nine people were killed and seven injured when a Russian drone struck a minibus near the town of Bilopillia in the Sumy region, according to local authorities. HRMMU monitors are in the process of gathering additional information on the circumstances of the attack and its victims. Preliminary reports suggest that the minibus was […]