The humanitarian situation in Gaza is now likely the worst it has been in the 18 months since the outbreak of hostilities, the UN relief coordination office, OCHA, reported on Monday.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is now likely the worst it has been in the 18 months since the outbreak of hostilities, the UN relief coordination office, OCHA, reported on Monday.
As Sudan’s devastating war enters its third year, UN rights investigators are warning that its “darkest chapters” may still lie ahead, following the massacre of more than 100 people at displacement camps in Darfur over the weekend.
A Gaza City hospital has been put out of action by an Israeli strike at the weekend, while a child patient with reported head trauma died while being evacuated, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.
Since April 2023, Sudan, the third-largest country in Africa, has been embroiled in war, as a brutal battle between government forces and a powerful paramilitary group has exacerbated the nation’s existing crises, including political instability and economic hardship.
The United Nations has condemned the Russian attack on the city of Sumy, Ukraine, on Sunday which reportedly killed at least 34 people, including two children, and injured more than 100 others.
Two years since Sudan’s brutal conflict began, UN agencies warned that famine is spreading and civilians of all ages continue to suffer shocking abuse, including rape and gang rape.
The UN human rights office said on Friday it fears that Israel may intend to permanently remove civilians in Gaza as part of an expanded buffer zone, amid evacuations orders and escalating bombardment.
Sexual violence against children in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reached staggering proportions, with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reporting thousands of new cases in just two months – evidence that it’s being used as a systemic weapon of war and deliberate terror tactic.
Monsieur Le President,
Membres du Conseil de Sécurité ,
Since the fall of the former Assad government on 8 December 2024, this Security Council has been regularly briefed on Israeli violations of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement between Israel and Syria, as you [will ] hear from Under Secretary General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre LaCroix. The Secretary-General has been clear in his condemnation of all actions that are inconsistent with the Agreement.
There have been hundreds of reported Israeli airstrikes across Syria since 8 December of last year, in the southwest, the Syrian coast, northeastern Syria, Damascus, Hama, and Homs. The IDF has publicly confirmed it has built multiple positions in the area of separation on the Golan. Israeli officials have also spoken about Israel’s intentions to stay in Syria “for the foreseeable future”. Such facts on the ground are not easily reversed. They do threaten Syria’s fragile political transition.
Most recently, as conveyed to this Council by the Syrian Permanent Mission on 7 April, at dawn on 3 April, there were reports that Israel carried out multiple airstrikes across Syria, including in Damascus, the Hama Military Airport, and the T4 military airport in Homs. Israeli simultaneous attacks in Daraa reportedly resulted in nine civilian casualties.
The Syrian interim authorities condemned these attacks, qualifying them as “a blatant violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty” and “an attempt to destabilize Syria”. Let me also recall earlier indications by the Damascus authorities, as had been published in numerous media outlets, of not presenting threats to its neighbours and seeking peace on their borders. The Israeli Defense Minister was quoted on 3 April as qualifying the recent airstrikes in Syria as “a warning for the future”, as he added that Israel would “not allow Syria to become a threat” to Israel’s security interests.
Considering these developments, let me recall this Council’s presidential statement of 14 March which reaffirmed strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria and called on all States to respect these principles and to refrain from any action or interference that may further destabilize Syria.
This Council’s commitment to Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity grows in importance by the day. Syria’s opportunity to stabilize after 14 years of conflict must be supported and protected, for Syrians and for Israelis. This is the only way regional peace and security can be realized.
Mr. President,
Let me conclude by recalling the statement made by Special Envoy Pedersen on 3 April, that “such [Israeli] actions undermine efforts to build a new Syria at peace with itself and the region and destabilize Syria at a sensitive time”. Syria is at a crossroads and deserves a chance to continue to work towards an inclusive political transition, where the Syrian people can overcome the conflict, revive their economy, realize their legitimate aspirations, and contribute to regional stability. Furthermore, short-term and tactical security actions and gains should not derail prospects for peace agreement between the two neighbors and long-term stability at their internationally recognized border.
Je vous remercie.
Recent military actions by Israel are undermining Syria’s political transition and the chances of a new security pact between the two countries, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Thursday.
The conflict in Sudan has become one of the worst humanitarian crises of the 21st century, leaving millions of women, children and displaced families suffering from violence, food insecurity and the collapse of essential services.
The United Nations is ramping up its response to Myanmar’s devastating earthquake, calling for increased funding and an immediate ceasefire to ensure more aid reaches those in desperate need.
As the brutal war in Sudan nears the two-year mark, thousands of people continue to flee into neighbouring countries, including Chad, UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said on Wednesday.
In Gaza, ongoing Israeli military operations and the aid blockade have continued to add to daily fears and hardships being faced by those about to give birth in the devastated enclave.
Hunger in South Sudan’s northeast has reached a critical tipping point, with nearly 7.7 million people facing severe food insecurity as conflict escalates, the UN’s emergency food relief agency warned on Wednesday.
More than three years on from the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian civilians continue to face the devastating consequences of war, with March 2025 proving to be another deadly month.
Six schools run by the UN Palestine refugee agency (UNRWA) in East Jerusalem have been issued “illegal closure orders” after being forcibly entered by Israeli security forces, according to the agency’s head Philippe Lazzarini.
In earthquake-shattered central Myanmar, people are sleeping in the streets in fear of buildings collapsing, facing early monsoon rains and the risk of waterborne diseases, the UN warned on Tuesday.
Kosovo’s recent parliamentary election – conducted peacefully and inclusively – marked a significant step in its democratic development, the UN’s top envoy said on Tuesday, noting gains in women’s representation.
Some 41,000 refugees have crossed from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) into Uganda since January, many of them having witnessed killings, “sexual violence and other traumatic experience during their flight,” said the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) on Tuesday.
Nearly 13 million people in Ukraine urgently need humanitarian aid as displacement, psychological trauma and the destruction of essential services continues to take a devastating toll, the UN relief chief warned on Tuesday.
Amid the ongoing Israeli aid blockade and bombardment of Gaza, aid teams warned on Monday that civilians trapped there face multiple daily challenges as relief supplies run critically low.
An estimated 100 million people in more than 60 countries and territories live under the threat of landmines and explosive ordnance – with war-torn Ukraine now the most heavily contaminated country in the world – the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) said on Monday.
The UN Secretary-General called on Monday for commitment to build a world of justice and dignity in honour of the victims and survivors of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
As ceasefires grow more fragile and conflicts more unpredictable, UN peacekeeping is having to adapt faster amid rising political tensions, disinformation and confusion over mandates.
UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, issued a statement on Monday following his latest “extensive discussions” with leader of the caretaker administration in Damascus, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Monday’s World Health Day highlights a critical issue for global health: the particular vulnerabilities faced by women and girls.
Monday’s World Health Day highlights a critical issue for global health: the particular vulnerabilities faced by women and girls.
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The Artificial Intelligence (AI) race needs to slow down and IT firms should instead be focusing on the bigger picture to ensure that the technology is not misused on the battlefield, UN disarmament experts and leaders of ‘big tech’ companies have insisted.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine has strongly condemned a missile strike in Kryvyi Rih on Friday which killed more than a dozen people, including at least nine children, and left several others injured.
