The UN Special Envoy for Syria on Tuesday condemned ongoing Israeli attacks inside Syrian territory and continuing violations in and around the demilitarised zone created as part of a 1974 ceasefire agreement.
The UN Special Envoy for Syria on Tuesday condemned ongoing Israeli attacks inside Syrian territory and continuing violations in and around the demilitarised zone created as part of a 1974 ceasefire agreement.
In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), insecurity and horrific sexual violence have left tens of thousands fleeing across borders with no sign of the exodus stopping, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.
As 120 conflicts rage around the world from the DR Congo to Gaza and from Sudan to Ukraine, UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Monday urged the international community to step up to defend fundamental freedoms and the institutions founded to promote them – not least from “unelected tech oligarchs”.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and partners in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are providing lifesaving clean water supplies to 700,000 people a day – around 364,000 of them children – in the regional capital Goma after breaks in the water supply due to the uptick in fighting.
In his latest address to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors on Monday, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi warned of the escalating nuclear safety risks in Ukraine as the conflict grinds on.
Israel’s move to prevent all aid from entering the Gaza Strip after Hamas reportedly refused to accept a plan to continue with phase one of the fragile ceasefire has had an immediate impact, including a 100-fold increase in the price of flour and vegetables.
Dramatically evolving geopolitical tensions amid “dangerous nuclear rhetoric and threats” are a stark wake-up call for States to take action to support the legally binding atomic weapon ban treaty, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday.
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At night he sleeps under a tarpaulin sheet on the ruins of his family home. Like others returning to northern Gaza after months of being displaced by war, Sufian Al-Majdalawi clings to whatever he can find.
As the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal concludes, UN Secretary-General António Guterres is closely following developments in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
There were just under 150 incidents of illegal or unauthorised activity involving nuclear and other radioactive material reported last year, according to the international nuclear energy watchdog’s monitoring database tracking these incidents.
UN humanitarians on Friday warned again that thousands of families could starve in the coming weeks inside the Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday stressed that the fragile ceasefire in Gaza must hold, urging all parties to honour their commitments and prevent a breakdown of the agreement.
The ongoing emergency in Haiti is crushing children’s chances of an education and a better future as scores of youngsters are recruited by heavily armed and violent gangs, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday.
New York, 28 February 2025
I send my warmest wishes as Muslims around the world begin observing the Holy Month of Ramadan.
Ramadan embodies the values of compassion, empathy and generosity.
It is an opportunity to reconnect with family and...
The head of UN peacekeeping operations on Thursday called for more investment in the UN Police service, highlighting the mounting challenges officers face in conflict affected regions.
Since the ceasefire began in Gaza on 19 January, “unparalleled progress” has been made in providing desperately needed aid to families across the devastated enclave, said UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, on Thursday.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk issued a strong appeal on Wednesday for the fragile ceasefire in Gaza to hold, amid delays to talks between Hamas and Israel on extending the truce into the second phase.
Weeks of deadly Israeli military raids in the occupied West Bank have turned Palestinian communities into “battlefields” and left 40,000 people homeless, UN humanitarians warned on Wednesday.
Peacekeeping efforts by the United Nations are being challenged by growing disunity between Member States, the UN head of Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix said in an interview with UN News, during the Conference for Women Peacekeepers in New Delhi.
A senior UN aid official has called on the Security Council to ensure better protection for civilians in Sudan together with unhindered humanitarian access, as the brutal war between rival militaries approaches a second year.
As the war in Sudan approaches a second year, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for the country has emphasized the need to re-double and coordinate efforts towards a peace agreement that respects national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity – and ending the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
Around 700,000 people were forced to leave Goma, one of the biggest cities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) when it fell in January to rebels, known as M23. With the conflict spreading, many of them are on the move again but a return home is no guarantee of safety.
A sustainable resolution to the war in Gaza and the broader Israel-Palestine conflict relies on political courage from all sides, the top UN official for the Middle East Peace Process said on Tuesday.
Ongoing fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and Congolese troops has claimed more lives and forced even more families from their homes.
More than 6,000 people in Haiti have been forced from their homes by gang violence in almost a month, hampering aid efforts by humanitarian agencies, the United Nations warned on Tuesday.
UN humanitarians reported on Tuesday that aid workers in Gaza supporting local health authorities have now managed to vaccinate nearly 550,000 children under 10 – nearly all those it aimed to reach.
Mr. President,
Three years ago today, the world watched in shock as the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a clear violation of the UN Charter and international law.
This act undermined the very foundations of the international order.
For three long years, the people of Ukraine have endured relentless death, destruction and displacement.
Families have been torn apart, lost loved ones, and witnessed their homes and entire cities reduced to rubble.
The Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) has verified that, since 24 February 2022, at least 12,654 Ukrainian civilians, including 673 children, have been killed.
Another 29,392, including 1,865 children, have been injured. The actual figures are likely considerably higher.
The numbers only continue to rise as Russia’s brutal attacks persist across the country. In 2024 alone, civilian casualties increased by 30 per cent compared to the previous year.
The war has created the largest displacement crisis in Europe since the Second World War.
More than 10 million Ukrainians remain uprooted – 3.6 million displaced within Ukraine, and 6.9 million seeking refuge abroad. Many remain in precarious conditions, uncertain whether they will ever return home.
Beyond the immediate physical devastation, the long-term psychological toll on an entire generation of Ukrainians is incalculable.
Ukraine is now among the most heavily mined countries in the world.
This is a deadly legacy that will take years to overcome, including its immense environmental consequences.
The massive destruction of civilian infrastructure impacts millions.
For three consecutive winters, repeated strikes on the energy grid have left communities without power, heating or other essential services.
Over two million families remain without adequate shelter.
At least 790 attacks have damaged or destroyed medical facilities.
This has put the lives of countless patients at risk, with medical professionals struggling to work under extreme circumstances.
In 2024 alone, attacks on medical facilities tripled compared to the previous year.
The education system has also been decimated.
More than 3,600 schools and universities have been damaged, preventing 600,000 children from attending classes in person.
Last year, attacks on educational facilities surged by 96 per cent, compared to 2023.
Mr. President,
Over the past three years, the conflict has also escalated and expanded, not only across Ukraine, but also into parts of the Russian Federation.
We have seen reports by local Russian officials of increased civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions of the Russian Federation due to alleged Ukrainian attacks.
It cannot be said often enough: Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure violate international humanitarian law.
They are unacceptable, no matter where they occur.
The war’s impact is also felt globally, as it destabilizes economies, disrupts food security and threatens international peace.
The further internationalization of the conflict is deeply alarming, particularly with the reported deployment of troops from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea into the conflict zone.
Moreover, the risk of a nuclear incident remains unacceptably high.
A drone attack on 14 February caused a fire in the building confining the remains of the reactor destroyed in the 1986 Chernobyl accident.
This incident once again underlines the persistent risks to nuclear safety in Ukraine.
Mr. President,
The United Nations is committed to assisting Ukraine in its recovery. We continue to work with our humanitarian partners to deliver life-saving assistance.
In the past three years, over 200 inter-agency convoys have reached 810,000 people with assistance along the frontline.
However, without sustained funding, these critical efforts risk being suspended, which would leave 12.7 million people without the assistance they so desperately need.
Further, we still do not have access to the estimated one million people in need of humanitarian aid in areas of Ukraine currently occupied by the Russian Federation.
We recall that international humanitarian law requires the facilitation of rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for all civilians in need, no matter where they live.
International humanitarian law also prohibits attacks on humanitarian personnel and assets.
Since February 2022, 25 aid workers have been killed in the line of duty and 86 others injured.
There have been 236 documented incidents involving violence against humanitarian personnel, assets and facilities.
Humanitarian workers must be protected.
Mr. President,
The full-scale invasion brought a dramatic increase in the number of human rights violations in Ukraine, as reported by the by the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU).
OHCHR also documented the systematic and widespread use of torture, including sexual violence, by Russian authorities against Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs).
OHCHR reports that 95 per cent of Ukrainian POWs and three quarters of Ukrainian civilian detainees interviewed have suffered torture or ill-treatment in Russian captivity.
Russian forces have executed at least 71 Ukrainian POWs since February 2022, with an alarming spike in executions since August 2024.
And at least 170 civilians, including five children, have been executed in areas of Ukraine controlled by Russian authorities, including in places of detention.
Meanwhile, about half of the 469 Russian POWs interviewed by OHCHR described torture and ill-treatment, mostly during the initial stages of captivity.
Twenty-six of those interviewed reported having been subjected to sexual violence.
The Monitoring Mission has also verified the execution of 26 Russian POWs; with one exception, these killings occurred in 2022 and early 2023.
These crimes must not go unpunished.
All victims of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law deserve justice. Accountability is not optional – it is an obligation under international law.
Mr. President,
In its only consensual decision concerning Ukraine since the full-scale invasion, the Presidential Statement of 6 May 2022, the Security Council recalled that all Member States have undertaken, under the Charter of the United Nations, the obligation to settle their international disputes by peaceful means.
The resolution the Council adopted a few minutes ago urges a swift end to the conflict.
Indeed, it is high time for peace in Ukraine.
This peace must be just, sustainable and comprehensive, in line with the Charter of the United Nations, international law, and resolutions of the General Assembly, including those adopted this morning.
This includes full respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders.
Thank you.
Three years to the day since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the UN General Assembly adopted two competing resolutions on resolving the conflict on Monday, one initiated by the United States and the other by Ukraine – a sign of strategic differences within the transatlantic alliance over the way forward for peace.
February 24 marks three years since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Thousands of civilians have been killed and injured, the economy shattered and energy infrastructure destroyed. As the General Assembly and Security Council debated how peace and security can be restored in eastern Europe, three resolutions were passed which reveal new policies and alliances that signal a major shift in the pattern of diplomacy towards the war, here in New York. UN News app users can follow live here.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday warned that the risk of nuclear conflict is rising – as global security arrangements unravel and military spending soars – urging governments to push for total disarmament.
The humanitarian crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is worsening as M23 rebel attacks continue to drive tens of thousands from their homes and claim hundreds of lives, UN humanitarians warned on Monday.
Secretary-General António Guterres expressed deep concern on Monday following the announcement by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia and affiliated groups, of a political charter proposing the establishment of a rival governing authority in RSF-controlled areas to the transitional Government.
With no end to numerous protracted conflicts - not least in Ukraine, three years to the day since the full-scale Russian invasion - UN chief António Guterres on Monday scorned the world’s “warmongers” for trampling on people’s most fundamental rights.
February 24 marks three years since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Thousands of civilians have been killed and injured, the economy shattered and energy infrastructure destroyed. As the General Assembly and Security Council debate how peace and security can be restored in eastern Europe, we'll bring you full coverage as competing resolutions from Ukraine and an amended US resolution both pass during an eventful morning in the Assembly, pointing to a day of high stakes diplomacy. UN News app users can follow live here.
Monday marks three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in clear violation of the UN Charter and international law, and the UN Secretary-General has renewed his call for de-escalation and an end to the conflict.
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The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Friday that strongly condemned the ongoing offensive and advance of M23 rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The continued occupation of North Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by the M23 armed group has “severely constrained” the UN stabilisation force’s ability to protect civilians and carry out lifesaving operations, the mission chief Bintou Keita told reporters on Friday.
