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.
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UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday called for urgent reform of the Security Council, criticizing its outdated structure and lack of representation for Africa, which he argued undermines the body’s credibility and global legitimacy.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 UN envoy for Somalia has strongly condemned a suicide attack on a popular beachfront in the capital, Mogadishu, that claimed dozens of civilian lives.
The United Nations has strongly condemned a suicide attack at a popular beachfront in the capital, Mogadishu, that claimed dozens of civilian lives.
The top UN envoy in the Middle East called on Friday for urgent action to address the “growing risk” of regional escalation following recent deadly attacks in Lebanon, the Syrian Golan Heights and Iran linked to the war in Gaza.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated his appeal for de-escalation in the Middle East in a phone call with a senior official in Iran, his Spokesperson reported on Thursday.
The UN Palestine refugee agency, UNRWA, launched a programme on Thursday to get boys and girls in the Gaza Strip back to learning – and to just being children – amid the ongoing conflict.