It comes after Israeli authorities “stormed and demolished” buildings in the compound last week, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said. “Allowing this unprecedented destruction is the latest attack on the UN in the ongoing attempt to dismantle the status of Palestine Refugees in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and erase their history,” Mr. Lazzarini said. In a […]
Responding to the dramatic development, head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees Philippe Lazzarini described it as an “unprecedented attack” against the UN, whose premises are protected under international law. The move represents “a new level of open and deliberate defiance of international law, including of the privileges and immunities of the United Nations, […]
Briefing journalists by video link from Jeddah following an extensive visit to the region, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, said there has been an uptick in dangerous incidents involving peacekeepers and the fragile environment in which missions are operating. He added that UN missions are continuing to deliver on their mandates despite increasingly challenging conditions on the ground. […]
The UN Secretary-General has condemned an Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on Tuesday, while highlighting the “very positive role” played by the country in achieving a ceasefire in Gaza and securing the release of hostages. Source link
Despite diplomatic progress in recent months, with the United States brokering a peace agreement between the DRC and Rwanda, and Qatar facilitating a Declaration of Principles between the Congolese Government and M23 rebels, tensions remain high in the eastern DRC – where multiple armed groups operate. The Security Council has also sought to promote […]
The attacks, which took place between 9 and 16 August in the localities of Beni and Lubero territories, claimed the lives of at least 52 civilians, including eight women and two children, but peacekeepers on the ground say the death toll may very well rise. “These attacks targeting civilians, which add to the atrocities […]
The Security Council meets today for its quarterly open debate on the situation in the Middle East, with a focus on the worsening crisis in Gaza. UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari is expected to brief on the situation in the war-ravaged enclave where food entry and distribution remain severely restricted, malnutrition is rising, and fuel […]
Alarmingly, 110 million children in the region live in countries affected by war, with homes, schools and health facilities damaged or destroyed in fighting. “A child’s life is being turned upside down the equivalent of every five seconds due to the conflicts in the region,” said Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East […]
Since January, the region has seen a new escalation of violence as the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group launched an offensive in North and South Kivu provinces. While tensions persist in the DRC, both frontlines and negotiation positions are shifting, paving the way for peace, the Security Council heard this Friday. The path to lasting peace in the DRC requires […]
One week since the Israel-Iran conflict erupted, diplomatic efforts to end the war are ramping up in Geneva today as foreign ministers from France, Germany, the UK and the European Union prepare to meet their Iranian counterpart. In New York, meanwhile, the UN Security Council is also set to discuss this latest worrying escalation, against […]
After a weekend of massive strikes and counter-strikes between Tel Aviv and Tehran, the UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk on Monday condemned the violence and echoed wider calls for a negotiated end to the attacks. Meanwhile in Gaza, aid workers report that mobile communications networks continue to be cut in the shattered enclave. We’ll […]
According to the agency, heavily armed personnel entered the schools in Shu’fat refugee camp on Thursday while classes were in session, forcing more than 550 Palestinian girls and boys – some as young as six – out of their classrooms. One UNRWA staff member was detained, and all of the agency-run schools in East Jerusalem […]
“It’s a grave threat to the right of those children to education,” Roland Friedrich, Director of UNRWA Affairs for the West Bank, told UN News. The development follows two Israeli laws that went into effect in late January which ban UNRWA from operating in its territory and prohibit Israeli authorities from having any contact with […]
The Security Council will meet on Tuesday to discuss the situation in the Middle East, with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot presiding. The UN Secretary-General is expected to brief ambassadors as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens, with reports from the UN Palestine refugee relief agency (UNRWA) this morning that children are “going to bed […]