As the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza passes the dark milestone of 40,000, UN rights chief Volker Türk called on Thursday for an end to the killing “once and for all” and the release of all hostages while negotiators prepared to meet in Qatar to renew efforts to halt the conflict and avert a wider war.
Ansar Allah in Yemen must immediately release 13 UN staff and dozens of personnel from civil society, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other entities, who have been arbitrarily detained for more than two months, two senior officials told the Security Council on Thursday.
Bombing which devastated a school and market in the Sudanese city of El Obeid on Wednesday has left five girls dead and 20 children injured according to the UN Children’s Fund’s Sudan Representative.
The killing, injury and displacement of Palestinians continues in the West Back against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, now in its 10th month, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in an update issued on Wednesday.
The risk of polio spreading in Gaza remains high unless there is an urgent and comprehensive response to the serious health threat, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday.
The UN continues to support an enabling environment for general elections in South Sudan, but the date remains elusive, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the country told the Security Council on Wednesday.
Mr. President, Members of the Security Council,
Once again, the Council is coming together to discuss alarming developments and increasing tensions in the Middle East. The devastating Israeli attack on the al-Tabeen school in Gaza City, which prompted this meeting, points once again to the desperate need to reach a ceasefire, free the hostages and scale up humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) airstrike in the al-Tabeen school compound took place early on 10 August. It killed dozens of Palestinians and wounded many others, including women and children, according to local Palestinian sources.
The Secretary-General condemned the continued loss of life in Gaza following another attack on a school sheltering hundreds of displaced Palestinian families.
According to Israel, the IDF targeted a Hamas command centre in a mosque inside the school compound and killed at least 31 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters.
As the Secretary-General underlined yesterday, international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack, must be upheld at all times.
Also yesterday, Hamas announced the killing of a hostage and serious injury of two others by Hamas militants while in captivity in Gaza. Both sides have stated they are looking into the incidents.
Mr. President,
With hostilities continuing across the Strip, including in the north around Gaza City, in the middle area in Khan Younis, and in and around Rafah, the situation remains catastrophic for civilians.
No place is safe in Gaza, yet civilians continue to be ordered to evacuate to ever shrinking areas. My colleague, Director Doughten from OCHA, will brief you shortly in more detail regarding the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
Ten months since the start of the war, the threat of further regional escalation is more palpable, and chilling, than ever. Exchanges of fire across the Blue Line have continued nearly daily.
Since I last briefed on 31 July, numerous projectiles have been fired from Lebanon across the Blue Line, causing damage to buildings and bushfires in open areas. The IDF has responded with strikes across the Blue Line into southern Lebanon.
Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) crossing the Blue Line from southern Lebanon have also continued. An IDF base was hit across the Blue Line, while another base was hit near Nahariya in northern Israel. An open area in Nahariya City was also struck.
Mr. President,
I urge continued attention to the worsening situation and ongoing violence in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. On 3 August, the IDF said it conducted two airstrikes on a Hamas cell in Tulkarem, killing nine Palestinians who the IDF said were planning to conduct an attack inside Israel.
Separate IDF operations in Jenin and Tubas early last week also killed another 16 Palestinians. On 11 August, a shooting attack claimed by Hamas killed one Israeli civilian and wounded another in the northern Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank.
Another Palestinian shooting attack near Qalqilia reportedly injured one Israeli and two Palestinians. The assailant, who was claimed by Hamas as an al-Qassam Brigades commander, was subsequently killed by ISF.
Mr. President,
If the slide towards an even greater catastrophe is to be halted, the parties must end all escalatory rhetoric and actions. I reiterate the Secretary General’s call for all to work vigorously towards regional de-escalation in the interest of long-term peace and stability.
I welcome efforts by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States to bring both sides to conclude a deal to bring about a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and desperately needed humanitarian relief.
As the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and the United States emphasized in their joint statement on 8 August, and I quote, “there is no further time to waste, nor excuses from any party for further delay” (end quote).
Their call for immediate relief to the people of Gaza and the hostages and their families must be heeded. I urge all parties to prioritize the protection of civilians and promptly conclude this deal as endorsed by the Security Council in resolution 2735 (2024).
The United Nations is committed to supporting all efforts towards this goal and remains in close contact with the relevant parties.
Mr. President,
The killing, destruction and suffering in Gaza must end. The hostages must be reunited with their families.
But even as efforts to achieve these goals continue, we cannot lose sight of what we consider indisputable: in the absence of a clear path towards a future in which Israelis see their legitimate needs for security materialize and Palestinians see their legitimate aspirations for a fully independent, viable and sovereign State realized, lasting peace in the Middle East will remain elusive.
Thank you, Mr. President.
As civilian suffering intensifies in war-ravaged Gaza, senior UN officials on Tuesday called once more for an immediate ceasefire and conditions which would allow full humanitarian access, following Saturday’s deadly Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter.
Sudan’s deepening humanitarian crisis caused by nearly 16 months of war has left countless women and girls subject to sexual violence and rape and tens of thousands of children at risk of death from hunger, UN aid teams said on Tuesday.
The UN Secretary-General has welcomed efforts to restore calm and hold fresh parliamentary elections in Bangladesh, urging the interim Government to be inclusive as the country moves towards restoring democratic rule.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday called for urgent reform of the Security Council, criticizing its outdated structure and lack of representation for Africa, which he argued undermines the body’s credibility and global legitimacy.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has deplored a deadly weekend attack on a Gaza school-turned-shelter, his Office said on Monday.
An attack on a UN facility for displaced people in Sudan has left two dead and at least eight others injured, humanitarians have reported.
The UN on Monday condemned the ongoing escalation of violence in Myanmar that has led to heavy civilian casualties in recent weeks, including children and families.
Secretary-General António Guterres expressed deep alarm at the evolving situation in El Fasher in North Darfur, Sudan, where fierce fighting in the famine-stricken area has been reported, his deputy spokesperson said late Sunday.
The UN Human Rights Office condemned on Saturday the increasing frequency of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) strikes on schools, where hundreds of thousands of forcibly displaced Palestinians have sought shelter, with the latest attacks killing dozens at a Gaza City school.
Millions of displaced people in Sudan, already suffering from the devastating impact of a nearly 16-month-long war, are now grappling with worsening conditions due to heavy seasonal rains and flooding, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Friday.
The outgoing UN senior humanitarian official in Ukraine condemned a deadly Russian attack on Friday that killed and injured dozens in the eastern town of Kostiantynivka, in the Donetsk region.
Islamic State (ISIL/Da’esh) and its affiliates have expanded their activities and finances in several parts of Africa, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, resulting in a major spike in attacks and civilian fatalities, a senior UN counter-terrorism official warned the Security Council on Thursday.
Thousands of people in Gaza have been fleeing west toward Al Mawasi after the Israel military issued a new evacuation order on Thursday, UN humanitarian partners on the ground have reported.
As the UN Security Council meets on Thursday to discuss the threat the ISIL/Da’esh terrorist group poses, a specialised UN agency has been helping nations on the ground to prepare for chemical terrorism attacks.
The recent surge in violence and attacks in the Middle East is taking a shocking toll on young lives in the region, a senior official with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday in an appeal for de-escalation.
Madam President
I am most grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this important debate. I join my colleague, the Executive Director of UN Women, and express appreciation to Sierra Leone for bringing this issue to the floor.
Madam President and Distinguished Members of the Security Council
Consolidating peace dividends and gains is one of the fundamental concerns and objectives during transitions and drawdowns of peace operations. A key area where gains must be preserved is on Women, Peace and Security, in line with our shared commitments under resolution 1325.
Indeed as indicated by the Executive Director, peace operations have become instrumental in facilitating and promoting women’s leadership and agency; ensuring women’s meaningful participation in political and peace processes; and protecting women and girls from human rights abuses and violations. Missions’ transitions present challenges but also opportunities for stakeholders to consolidate gains in these critical areas and to sustain peace.
Since 2014, the UN has managed at least ten transitions in politically and operationally complex settings. In the last few years, UN peace operations have drawn down at an accelerated pace from Mali and Sudan. A phased disengagement from the Democratic Republic of the Congo is underway. In all these transition settings, the implementation of the WPS agenda has proved to be challenging.
Madam President,
Rushing through a transition process against a background of a tense political climate, persisting security threats and protection concerns, can jeopardize hard-won peace gains, including progress on gender equality. Indeed, national stakeholders could be unprepared to shoulder additional responsibilities, while support from international partners may not be readily available.
Unless transitions are well-structured, adequately-resourced and gender-responsive, women and girls will be at risk of setbacks. These could include losing access to essential services, being excluded from new decision-making processes, and becoming vulnerable to waves of fresh violence and insecurity, including conflict related sexual violence. Permit me to share a few examples:
Madam President,
To achieve more successful transitions, a forward-looking approach rooted in joint planning --involving national authorities, local civil society organizations, the United Nations peace operations and the Country Team, international partners and Council members -- is vital. Establishing a shared vision on Women Peace and Security can help prioritize United Nations support and direct capacity and resources in the right direction. In this regard:
Madam President,
In all ongoing and upcoming transitions – whether in the DRC, Iraq or Somalia, we must act early to ensure our planning, coordination and engagement with partners address the full range of Women, Peace and Security work.
United Nations peace operations and country teams, national governments, regional organizations, and civil society partners, and women networks need to specifically ensure that: i/ gender analysis is part of transition processes from inception to completion; and ii/ necessary gender expertise capacity and resources exist to sustain gains. Furthermore, Security Council periodic visiting missions must systematically engage with national authorities and partners on WPS agenda, particularly in transition contexts.
We must continue to do our utmost to support and enable women and girls to take the rightful place in their communities and to shaping in equal measure the destinies of their country.
I thank you for your kind attention.
Recent developments in Gaza, the wider Middle East, and Sudan, have highlighted the complexities of emergencies in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) vast Eastern Mediterranean region, officials from the UN agency said during a virtual media briefing on Wednesday.
With famine confirmed in the Zamzam displacement camp in Sudan’s North Darfur, there are growing concerns that similar crises may be unfolding in other nearby camps, an official with the UN emergency food relief agency (WFP) said on Wednesday, in an interview with UN News.
Senior UN officials on Wednesday warned of the consequences for protection of women and their rights in conflict zones, amid recent decisions to close or shrink peacekeeping and special political missions.
The resignation and departure of the Bangladeshi Prime Minister after weeks of bloody protests has been met with “euphoria” alongside some concern over the government’s transition, the UN’s top official in Bangladesh said in an interview with UN News on Tuesday.
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, has expressed horror at the escalating pattern of Israeli Defence Force (IDF) strikes on schools in Gaza, which have killed at least 163 internally displaced Palestinians, including children and women, in the past month.
The UN Secretary-General called for nuclear disarmament on Tuesday as the world marked 79 years since the bombing of Hiroshima, promising that the UN will “spare no effort to ensure the horrors of that day are never repeated.”
The UN said on Monday that nine staff working for its Palestine refugee agency UNRWA will be sacked because they may have been involved in the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks against Israel.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Monday for an urgent de-escalation in the Middle East as tensions mount in the wake of recent deadly attacks linked to the war in Gaza, which is about to enter its 10th month.
The UN said on Monday that nine staff working for its Palestine refugee agency UNRWA will be sacked because they may have been involved in the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks against Israel.
The United Nations has strongly condemned a suicide attack at a popular beachfront in the capital, Mogadishu, that claimed dozens of civilian lives.
The UN envoy for Somalia has strongly condemned a suicide attack on a popular beachfront in the capital, Mogadishu, that claimed dozens of civilian lives.
