After ten days of airstrikes initiated by Israel aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear programme which have led to deadly daily exchanges of missile fire between Tehran and Tel Aviv, the UN chief said that diplomacy must now prevail. “We now risk descending into a rathole of retaliation after retaliation,” he said, responding to the US […]
The UN Secretary-General told the Security Council on Sunday that the bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites by the United States marks a “perilous turn”, warning that the region cannot endure yet another “cycle of destruction.” António Guterres said the must be an immediate ceasefire and returned to “serious, sustained negotiations.” We’ll have live updates from […]
The ambush took place on Friday along the Birao-Am Dafock axis in the volatile Vakaga Prefecture, in northeastern CAR, close to the border with conflict-hit Sudan. According to the stabilization mission, MINUSCA, the patrol was targeted by “unidentified armed elements” in the locality of Am-Sissia. Attack may be a war crime In a statement released […]
Ambassadors met to debate how poverty, inequality, and underdevelopment are fuelling conflict and instability, at a time when hostilities are increasing and demand for humanitarian aid is rising as resources dwindle. Every dollar spent on prevention could save up to $103 in conflict-related costs, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Sustainable development critical Conflicts […]
“I reiterate my call for immediate de-escalation leading to a ceasefire,” Mr. Guterres said in a statement in which he strongly appealled against any further internationalization of the conflict. “Any additional military interventions could have enormous consequences, not only for those involved but for the whole region and for international peace and security at large,” […]
“It is an alarm bell: the louder it rings, the greater the threat of genocide,” he warned. As part of its core mission to combat hatred, discrimination, racism and inequality, the UN is stepping up efforts to challenge hate speech wherever it arises. “Hate speech is poison in the well of society. It has paved […]
António Guterres announced the move in a statement issued on Monday, in response to plans by several UN Member States to withdraw from the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. The 1997 treaty, also known as the Ottawa Convention, prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of these weapons. Landmark global agreeement Since then, it “has led […]
“The ocean is the ultimate shared resource,” he told delegates gathered at the port of Nice. “But we are failing it.” Oceans, he warned, are absorbing 90 per cent of the excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions and buckling under the strain: overfishing, rising temperatures, plastic pollution, acidification. Coral reefs are dying. Fish stocks are […]
Ahead of a memorial service at Headquarters in New York, Secretary-General António Guterres told journalists that the men and women being honoured “were not just names on a list” but “extraordinary individuals – each one a story of courage, compassion, and service.” “They were driven by the pursuit of peace. By the urgency to ease […]
A man was arrested in Boulder after reportedly using a flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to set people on fire at an event in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza on Sunday. The suspect reportedly yelled “Free Palestine” during the attack and now faces federal hate crime charges along with multiple felonies. The attack injured at […]
More than 30 people were killed and over 100 wounded while waiting in the early morning to get food from two sites in Rafah and Middle Gaza run by the newly established Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), according to media reports. The organization is backed by Israel and the United States and uses private US security […]
“Africa is a continent of boundless energy and possibility. But for too long, the colossal injustices inflicted by enslavement, the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism have been left unacknowledged and unaddressed,” he said. The United Nations has repeatedly said that slavery and the transatlantic slave trade constituted crimes against humanity, and the Secretary-General has repeatedly […]
Addressing reporters outside the Security Council, António Guterres called once again for a permanent ceasefire to end the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and full humanitarian access so aid can flow in following nearly 80 days of Israeli blockade. ‘Cruellest phase’ He said Palestinians in […]
The diplomats were gunned down on Wednesday night as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in central Washington DC, where the American Jewish Committee was hosting a reception. They were identified as Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, who were about to be engaged, according to officials and family members. A […]
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 […]
Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old American-Israeli national and soldier with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), had been held by Hamas since the brutal 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel in which roughly 1,200 people were killed and another 250 taken hostage. He is believed to be the last living American held by militants in Gaza, according […]
The UN chief’s statement, released on Saturday, came shortly after news broke of a decision by the two countries to de-escalate a situation that has caused widespread alarm in recent days. Tensions had been steadily raising, after a group of gunmen fired on tourists visiting Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April, killing at least 26 […]
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV – born Robert Francis Prevost – is the first person from the United States to lead the Catholic Church, although he also holds Peruvian citizenship after working in the Latin American country for many years. He was selected by cardinals voting at the Vatican and later greeted thousands gathered in […]
“This will inevitably lead to countless more civilians killed and the further destruction of Gaza,” said UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq, responding to a journalist’s question during the regular media briefing in New York. “What’s imperative now is an end to the violence, not more civilian deaths and destruction. Gaza is, and must remain, an […]