Prison breaks and renewed clashes raise alarm in northeast Syria

Secretary-General António Guterres is following the continuing violence “with great concern,” Deputy UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Tuesday in New York.  The Secretary-General called for full respect for international law and the protection of civilians while also stressing the importance of securing detention facilities.  He urged the parties to continue dialogue, move forward in good faith, and work together to secure the implementation of all agreements.  Fearing […]

Yemen: UN Sounds Alarm as Famine, Fighting, Detentions Exacerbate Crisis

Yemen: UN Sounds Alarm as Famine, Fighting, Detentions Exacerbate Crisis

UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg told the Security Council on Monday that the turmoil in Yemen cannot be seen in isolation. “Yemen is both a mirror and a magnifier of the region’s volatility,” he said, noting that progress toward peace is hampered by regional rivalries, cross-border dynamics, and internal divisions. Mr. Grundberg highlighted a dangerous […]

WHO sounds alarm as mental health conditions soar past one billion worldwide

WHO sounds alarm as mental health conditions soar past one billion worldwide

Disorders such as anxiety and depression are exacting a heavy toll on individuals, families and economies, yet most countries are failing to provide adequate support. Mental health problems are widespread across every society and age group and remain the second leading cause of long-term disability. They drive up healthcare costs for families and governments while […]

Gaza: Alarm over Israeli move to deregister NGOs

Gaza: Alarm over Israeli move to deregister NGOs

The development – which also applies to the occupied West Bank – is a result of the Israeli requirement introduced on 9 March impacting international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). “Unless urgent action is taken…most international NGO partners could be de-registered by 9 September or sooner – forcing them to withdraw all international staff and preventing them […]

Sudan: UN sounds the alarm as health and food crises worsen across the country

Sudan: UN sounds the alarm as health and food crises worsen across the country

As conflict between rival militaries rages on, millions of people keep on being displaced. While the UN and its partners continue to provide assistance to newly displaced families in North Darfur, “nearly 60 per cent of displaced families still lack adequate shelter support,” said Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, at a daily press […]

UN sounds alarm over Syria as sectarian clashes and Israeli strikes escalate

UN sounds alarm over Syria as sectarian clashes and Israeli strikes escalate

The Druze-majority Sweida governorate, long relatively insulated from earlier phases of Syria’s 14‑year conflict, has now become a flashpoint. Briefing an emergency meeting of the Security Council, UN Assistant Secretary‑General Khaled Khiari painted a grim picture: hundreds of casualties among soldiers and civilians –including women, children and the elderly – alongside reports of mass displacement, […]

UN rights office sounds the alarm over forced displacement in the West Bank

UN rights office sounds the alarm over forced displacement in the West Bank

Israeli authorities have stepped up measures to transfer large numbers of people from long-standing Palestinian towns and communities, according to OHCHR’s office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. On 18 June, the High Planning Council in the Israeli Civil Administration issued a directive to reject all building and planning permits submitted by Palestinians in Masafer Yatta, […]

World Environment Day: UN sounds alarm on plastic pollution crisis

World Environment Day: UN sounds alarm on plastic pollution crisis

Between 19 and 23 million tonnes of plastic waste leak into aquatic ecosystems annually, and without urgent action, this figure is expected to rise by 50 per cent by 2040. Plastic pollution is contaminating every corner of the planet, threatening ecosystems, wildlife, and human health. Microplastics are found in food, water and air, with the […]

Civilians ‘trapped and terrorised’: UN sounds alarm over collapse of critical protections

Civilians ‘trapped and terrorised’: UN sounds alarm over collapse of critical protections

Speaking at a high-level open debate in the Security Council on protection of civilians in armed conflict on Thursday, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher described a grim picture of accelerating harm, disintegrating norms and growing impunity. “The scaffolding built last century to protect us from inhumanity is crumbling,” he said. “Those who will die […]

90 days to economic collapse: UN and experts sound alarm over security at sea

90 days to economic collapse: UN and experts sound alarm over security at sea

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 […]

World News in Brief: Terror-crime link alarm, child detention in Australia, judiciary in Maldives, Protection of Civilians Week

World News in Brief: Terror-crime link alarm, child detention in Australia, judiciary in Maldives, Protection of Civilians Week

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 […]

‘On thin ice’: UN chief sounds alarm over rapid Himalayan glacier melt

‘On thin ice’: UN chief sounds alarm over rapid Himalayan glacier melt

António Guterres issued the warning in a video message to the inaugural Sagarmatha Sambaad, or “Everest Dialogue,” convened by the Government of Nepal in Kathmandu. “Record temperatures have meant record glacier melt,” he said. “Nepal today is on thin ice – losing close to one-third of its ice in just over thirty years. And your […]