Addressing the General Assembly, António Guterres said that the world is witnessing more armed conflicts than at any time since the end of the Second World War. “Too often, early warnings go unheeded, and alleged evidence of crimes committed by States and non-State actors are met with denial, indifference, or repression,” he told Member States […]
At least 24 people were reported killed and over 300 injured – including 32 children – when ballistic missiles struck Ukraine’s Dnipro and Odesa regions on Monday and Tuesday, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said on Wednesday. The attacks destroyed homes, schools, hospitals, and other civilian infrastructure, and left hundreds wounded. […]
“Israeli authorities continue to restrict the delivery of fuel into and throughout the Gaza Strip, effectively choking off life-saving services for deprived and starving people,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said during his regular press briefing in New York. Conditions in the enclave remain bleak, as Israeli operations continue to have a devastating impact on civilians, […]
“From that day on, our home became a travel bag and our path became that of displacement … My childhood was filled with fear and anxiety and people I was deprived of,” she said, speaking via videoconference from Syria. Seema Sen Gupta, director of child protection and migration at UNICEF, briefs the Security Council. […]
Rafael Mariano Grossi was speaking to reporters in Austria following a briefing to the Government in Vienna. Israel began launching air and missile strikes against Iranian military and nuclear sites nearly two weeks ago, and the United States carried out surprise bombing raids on three Iranian uranium enrichment facilities this past weekend. A ceasefire between […]
The informal meeting on the UN80 Initiative also provided a chance for ambassadors to share their views on the reform agenda, launched by Secretary-General António Guterres in March. UN80 is centred around three workstreams focused on efficiencies and improvements, a mandate implementation review, and structural changes and programme realignments across the entire UN system. Improving […]
Amid this relative calm, the United Nations has renewed its call for a diplomatic solution to the Iran nuclear issue, warning that the objectives of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – and the resolution that endorsed it – remain unmet. Addressing a planned Security Council meeting on Tuesday to try and revive the […]
Nearly 15 years after Gaddafi’s fall, Libya remains split between the internationally recognised Government of National Unity in Tripoli, and the rival Government of National Stability in Benghazi. Although a truce was reached on 14 May, the outbreak of fighting last month in the capital “temporarily disrupted UN development and humanitarian operations,” said top UN […]
The Security Council is meeting over the future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action put in place in 2015 to prevent Iran from weaponising its ambitious nuclear programme, which has been in effective limbo since the US withdrawal in 2018 and Iran’s rejection of parts of the deal. UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo […]
In the heart of Galmudug State, Somalia, the dream of two young women, Iftin and Aminaa, to attend university in Abudwaq was fraught with challenges. Frequent power cuts and a long, dark and possibly dangerous road between the campus and town made it nearly impossible for them and other girls to attend evening classes. Determined […]
Currently, she’s a qualified refugee and human rights lawyer in New Zealand – but on Tuesday she recalled becoming displaced aged 14 and described the harrowing limbo that followed. Invisible and alone “I grew up invisible to the world,” she said. “Without rights, opportunities, or safety.” That all changed in 2018, when her family was […]
“I welcome announcements on Iran situation. Resuming cooperation with [the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)] is key to a successful agreement,” said Rafael Grossi, Director General of the (IAEA). In a short online post on X, Mr. Grossi added that he had offered to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on working together, “stressing this […]
The alert comes nearly a month since the Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) started operating on 27 May in select hubs, bypassing the UN and other established NGOs. Its food distribution points have been associated frequently with confusion and shooting as desperate and hungry Gazans rush to fetch supplies, said UN human rights office spokesperson […]
Surely, you might think, we can just agree that one Earth time zone can be used for “Moon time”? Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), for example. How hard can it be? Unfortunately, this doesn’t work, for several reasons. Here on Earth, timekeeping is easy to take for granted: we divide our world into 24 time zones, […]
“This is a good time to take a look at ourselves and see how fit for purpose we are in a set of circumstances which, let’s be honest, are quite challenging for multilateralism and for the UN,” says Guy Ryder, Under-Secretary-General for Policy and chair of the UN80 Task Force. Known as the UN80 Initiative, […]
The UN Charter “is more than parchment and ink; it is a promise – of peace, dignity and cooperation among nations,” the Secretary-General said. Almost 80 years after it was signed, Mr. Guterres underlined that the Charter was just the beginning, enshrining ideas and principles which the world works to implement on a daily basis. […]
It comes in the wake of reports that Iran launched missiles at an American military base in Qatar in retaliation for the US bombing three of its nuclear facilities this past weekend. Iran reportedly fired seven missiles at Al Udeid Air Base, where some 10,000 troops reportedly are stationed. All but one were intercepted by […]
In neighbouring Chad, children make up 61 per cent of the 860,000 Sudanese refugees and a staggering 68 per cent of the 274,000 Chadian returnees – that’s over 700,000 young lives uprooted by violence. Chad, already one of the world’s poorest countries, has the fourth-highest child mortality rate in the world, despite significant progress in […]
Of the record 83 million people internally displaced worldwide, at least 1.2 million were displaced by crime-related violence in 2024 – more than double the 2023 figure – amid a global decline in support for international norms, human rights and the rule of law. The growing reach of organised crime in driving displacement and rights […]
Roza Otunbayeva, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said the ongoing missile attacks between Iran and Israel are already having a tangible impact. “This conflict is already having an effect in Afghanistan, disrupting trade and increasing the prices of basic goods and fuel, and prompting the return […]