Israeli bombardments continued across Gaza on Wednesday, killing hundreds more people – many of them women and children – and leaving widespread destruction in its wake, according to local authorities.
Israeli bombardments continued across Gaza on Wednesday, killing hundreds more people – many of them women and children – and leaving widespread destruction in its wake, according to local authorities.
An increase in attacks on media outlets in Haiti by armed gangs which control most of the capital Port-au-Prince is intended to intimidate journalists and instill chaos according to the UN agency for culture, UNESCO.
The UN Security Council met in New York on Tuesday on the Middle East crisis, exactly two months since the start of the fragile Gaza ceasefire and hostages deal came into effect. That's been shattered by deadly Israeli airstrikes overnight following a two-week aid blockade which has strained critical supplies. Well over 400 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more injured, according to local authorities. We'll have reaction from across the UN and agencies on the ground. UN News app users follow live here.
UN-led efforts to kick-start talks on the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus have resulted in agreements on new trust-building measures.
The UN Secretary-General on Tuesday spoke of new “intolerable” suffering for Gazans following the resumption of deadly Israeli airstrikes, underscoring three immediate needs: a renewed ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access and the unconditional release of hostages.
The UN Security Council meets at 10 AM in New York to discuss the situation in Middle East, as heavy Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza and a two-week aid blockade strains critical supplies. Over 400 people have reportedly been killed. Stay tuned for updates.
A relative of two Syrians tortured and murdered by the Assad regime has spoken of the anguish caused by their enforced disappearance during the country’s civil war.
The Security Council on Monday extended the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for another year, as UN agencies reported sharp declines in resources for lifesaving aid.
Fourteen years of war have left Syria’s people in desperate need – but international support is dwindling, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Monday, calling for urgent investment in the country’s recovery.
The UN on Monday expressed concern over the continued threat posed to shipping in the Red Sea by Houthi attacks from their bases in Yemen as well as recent airstrikes by the United States which have left over 50 reportedly dead.
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On a visit to Bangladesh, UN Secretary-General António Guterres underscored the pivotal moment the country is facing as it navigates a period of significant transition and reform.
For Waad Al-Kateab, the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime in Syria in December 2024 felt almost unreal. “I thought the ending of my story was dying in exile,” she told UN News. “And it just happened out of the blue.”
Marking 14 years since the start of the Syrian conflict, top UN officials raised alarm over renewed violence and growing instability, warning that without urgent action, Syria’s fragile transition could be at risk.
Fresh fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has displaced tens of thousands of families, with children particularly at risk, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday.
The UN Secretary-General has urged everyone to speak out against xenophobia and discrimination to combat a “disturbing rise” in anti-Muslim bigotry.
Indigenous Peoples are among those most affected by climate-related risks. But they remain under-represented in the forums and processes where these issues are addressed, despite their knowledge and expertise.
Last December, the UN General Assembly called for Indigenous Peoples’ participation in peace negotiations, transitional justice, mediation, and conflict resolution. The decision aims to redress the historical exclusion of Indigenous Peoples from peace efforts affecting them. In the wake of the Assembly vote, on 7 February 2025, DPPA’s Policy and Mediation Division (PMD), as a member of the Climate Security Mechanism (CSM), together with the DPPA-DPO Americas Division invited two Indigenous women leaders — Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, and Binalakshmi Nepram, UN Member States and practitioners for a UN Community of Practice on Climate, Peace & Security (CPS) meeting to discuss Indigenous Peoples’ peacebuilding in climate and conflict hotspots.
From concern to inclusion: Indigenous Peoples as partners in peace
At the meeting, participants discussed how building a better planet entails shifting mindsets about Indigenous Peoples and decision-making processes. “Please don’t worry about us, just include us” said Binalakshmi Nepram, Fellow at the Asia Centre, Havard University and Founder-President, Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples, Gender Justice and Peace.
According to a report authored by UNEP-WCMC and ICCA Consortium, Indigenous Peoples manage around 25% of the world’s land and safeguard 80% of the world’s biodiversity, yet they experience higher rates of landlessness and forced displacement than other groups. Violence against and criminalization of environmental defenders represent additional challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples and peacebuilders in a climate changing world. Throughout the meeting, participants sought to better understand these challenges while also reflecting on examples of climate-informed peacebuilding efforts driven by actors from Indigenous Peoples, such as 3D participatory mapping exercises in Chad that aided mediation between farmers and pastoralists and also improved environmental sustainability. Indigenous Peoples mapped and documented their ancestral nomadic corridors, food, and medicines, bringing conflicting communities together around shared resources.
The environmental knowledge of Indigenous Peoples does not only contribute to climate adaptation, but also to conflict resolution and peacebuilding efforts. Participants at the meeting explored two implications of a recent study that found that 80% of armed conflicts between 1950 and 2000 occurred in biodiversity hotspots covering 2.4% of the Earth’s land mass. Most of these conflicts were on Indigenous Peoples’ land, yet the anthropogenic and environmental impacts of conflict were lower on Indigenous Peoples’ land than non-Indigenous land.
Participants observed that correlative evidence suggested that Indigenous Peoples were better positioned to steward and sustainably manage their land, even during conflict, demonstrating the need to integrate Indigenous Peoples peace and reconciliation practices into climate-informed peacebuilding. Second, conflicts stemming from resource exploitation — such as critical mineral mining — in biodiversity hotspots can be better prevented by including Indigenous Peoples in decision making about just transition and by codifying Indigenous Peoples rights in legislation. As tensions over critical minerals continue to rise, the absence of meaningful engagement between Indigenous Peoples and the private sector was also recognized as a critical gap to be addressed. Other suggestions stemming from the discussion included recognizing past harms to begin healing processes and engaging in good faith dialogues between government representatives and Indigenous Peoples.
Looking Ahead: Climate Change, Indigenous Peoples’ Peacebuilding, and the UN System
Within the multilateral system, international climate funds could create channels for Indigenous Peoples to directly access financing, strengthening their ability to manage their ecosystems on their own terms. The conversation then explored potential avenues to improve Indigenous People’s participation within the UN’s peacebuilding architecture and for Member States and UN entities to jointly advance the implementation of the previously mentioned resolution A/RES/79/159 on Indigenous Peoples in peacebuilding, including the possibility of dedicated a UN Peacebuilding Commission meeting on Indigenous Peoples peacebuilding in 2025.
Throughout the discussion, participants emphasized the need to ensure that Indigenous Peoples peacebuilders are meaningfully integrated into Climate, Peace and Security frameworks, decision-making, and peace processes. Doing so fosters more just, inclusive, contextually relevant, and sustainable solutions to the complex peace and security challenges linked to climate change. Alexandra Fong, Chief for Policy and Guidance at DPPA’s Policy and Mediation Division, stressed that, “Indigenous Peoples have a vital role, and DPPA and the CSM are committed to ensuring their inclusion in our climate, peace and security work.”
Sudan is now the world’s largest and most devastating humanitarian crisis, the head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Thursday. After two years of war, over 30 million people – more than half of them children – are living in the grip of mass atrocities, famine and deadly disease.
The UN Secretary-General warmly welcomed the presidential signing of the State Border Treaty by Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on Thursday following decades-long negotiations.
The Constitutional Declaration issued by Syria’s caretaker authorities marks a pivotal moment in the country’s turbulent transition, with UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen expressing cautious optimism about its potential to fill a legal vacuum and pave the way for a “credible and inclusive political transition”.
Prices for opium in Afghanistan have increased tenfold since the de facto authorities imposed a drug ban in 2022 following their takeover in Kabul, latest UN data shows.
Following 11 days of an Israeli aid blockade in Gaza, “crucial progress” made during the first six weeks of the ceasefire between Israeli forces and Hamas militants “continues to unravel”, said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric on Wednesday.
In Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar refugee settlements, child malnutrition has surged and cuts to aid funding risk creating a humanitarian “catastrophe”, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday.
The European Union remains committed to upholding international law and defending the United Nations Charter amid growing security threats, the bloc’s top diplomat told the Security Council on Tuesday.
Haiti is in freefall. Gangs are tightening their grip on the capital, violence is spreading, and “suffering permeates all social strata” in a nation teetering on the brink, according to the UN human rights office’s designated expert on the country, William O’Neill.
Days of violence against Syria’s mainly ethnic Alawite communities have included the summary execution of entire families, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, confirmed on Tuesday.
Children are feared to be among more than 1,000 people reportedly killed in fierce fighting over the weekend in Syria’s coastal northwest, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said.
The top UN envoy for Afghanistan on Monday underscored the need for realistic engagement with the country as humanitarian and human rights crises deepen amid growing international isolation.
The killing of civilians in coastal areas in northwest Syria must cease immediately, the UN rights chief said on Sunday following a series of coordinated attacks reportedly launched by elements of the former government and other local armed men.
Attacks across Ukraine on Friday reportedly left 21 civilians dead and scores injured, making it one of the deadliest days this year, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country said in a statement issued on Saturday night.
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New-York, 8 March 2025
When the doors of equal opportunity are open for women and girls, everyone wins.
Equal societies are more prosperous and peaceful – and the foundation of sustainable development.
On this International Women’s Day, we recognize thirty years of progress and achievement since the landmark United Nations conference in Beijing....
Humanitarian agencies warned on Friday that ongoing Israeli military operations in the northern West Bank are exacerbating an already dire situation for displaced Palestinians.
A UN helicopter attempting to evacuate wounded South Sudanese soldiers in the north of the country was attacked on Friday, killing a crew member and injuring two others.
The fall of the Assad regime has created a historic opportunity to rid Syria of chemical weapons and ensure long-term compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), the UN’s top disarmament official told the Security Council on Friday.
The aid response in Burundi to the crisis in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) “is literally buckling”, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, warned on Friday, as it relayed dramatic testimonies from people forced to flee the unchecked advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.
