At the request of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Mauritania, a study was conducted to better understand the linkages between climate change, peace, and security in the country, as well as to identify possible entry points for integrated UN action in anticipating, mitigating, and managing these climate-related peace and security risks.
Senior UN officials on Friday reiterated the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, and escalating threat to aid workers, urging immediate action prevent further deterioration.
The transfer of arms to Ukraine was the focus of debate in the UN Security Council on Thursday in the latest meeting convened by Russia to address the issue.
As President Biden on Thursday prepared to meet Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss progress on a Gaza ceasefire and the release of all hostages still held in the enclave, the spectre of further hunger and malnourishment continued to loom over Gazans, as UN humanitarians warned that farming and even small-scale gardening remain suspended.
Recent attacks on three villages in East Sepik province, Papua New Guinea, resulted in at least 26 deaths - including 16 children – an event that has left UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk “horrified”, he said in a statement on Wednesday.
The head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) appealed on Wednesday for an immediate improvement in the security situation in Gaza, where dangerous operating conditions and attacks against humanitarian workers continue to hamper aid delivery to communities in need.
About 150,000 people fled Khan Younis in a single day on Monday following evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military there, UN humanitarians have said, intensifying pressure on meagre food, water and places to seek shelter.
UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon briefs UN Security Council 24 July 2024
Today, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon (SCL), briefed the UN Security Council, alongside UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix. The consultations followed publication of...
Renewed attacks on civilians in eastern Burkina Faso by non-State armed groups have forced thousands to flee to neighbouring Niger in search of safety, amid a deepening emergency, UN humanitarians have warned.
Yemen is at risk of returning to full-scale war and the international community has a common interest and responsibility to stop this from happening, UN Special Envoy for the country Hans Grundberg warned the Security Council on Tuesday.
The UN Secretary-General has welcomed a new agreement signed on Tuesday in Beijing by Hamas and Fatah, together with smaller Palestinian factions, aimed at ending years of political rivalry as the war in Gaza grinds on.
Gazans uprooted by the Israeli military’s latest evacuation orders have fled their shelters and homes “running for their lives”, with barely any belongings and little idea where they will end up, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
Thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity to brief the Council regarding the recent developments in the Middle East region.
On 19 July, an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) struck a residential building in the populated urban center of Tel Aviv.
One Israeli civilian was killed by shrapnel, and ten Israeli civilians were injured and evacuated to hospitals. A fire broke out at the scene and damages were caused to buildings and vehicles by the strike’s impact.
The Houthis in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, saying it was “in retaliation” for the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. They announced they had launched a new drone called “Yafa” and further declared that Tel Aviv would now be a primary target.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that its initial assessment identified the UAV as a modified Iranian Samad-3 drone launched from Yemen and that its forces had intercepted another UAV in the same time frame.
The Secretary-General condemned the deadly attack. He “remains deeply concerned about the risk such dangerous acts pose for further escalation in the region.” Since then, however, we have witnessed additional exchanges, making the situation more precarious.
On 20 July, Israel carried out multiple airstrikes in and around Hudaydah Port in Yemen. The IDF spokesperson characterized the strikes as “necessary and proportionate”, against Houthi military targets, including Hudaydah Port, which Israel claimed was used by the Houthis as the main supply route for the transfer of Iranian weapons from Iran to Yemen.
The IDF stated the strikes were in response to previous Houthi “terror attacks” on Israel for the last nine months, which have numbered more than 200 aerial attacks against Israeli civilians and infrastructure.
The IDF further noted that it had operated alone and that this was the first time it struck Yemen. Defence Minister Gallant said in a separate statement that, “The fire that is currently burning in Hudaydah is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear.”
Meanwhile, the Houthi military spokesperson characterized the strikes as a “brutal aggression against Yemen,” and said the Houthis would respond to “this blatant aggression” and threatened to strike the “vital targets of the Israeli enemy.”
A preliminary update from the Houthi de facto Ministry of Health indicates 9 deaths, over 80 casualties due to the strikes, as well as considerable damage to civilian infrastructure.
There are no verified figures currently available, and it is not clear how many of the reported casualties are civilians. All UN personnel in Hudaydah are safe and accounted for, and there was no damage to UN premises in Hudaydah.
You will shortly hear from General Beary, Head of the United Nations Mission to support the Hudaydah Agreement.
Minor displacements have also been reported from neighbourhoods near the Hudaydah Port. The extent of damage to the Port remains unclear, and fires are still burning. However, local authorities have advised that the port is functioning at a limited capacity.
Hudaydah port is a lifeline for millions of people in Yemen. Yemen relies heavily on imports of essential items such as food, medicine, and fuel, with the majority of these goods arriving through Hudaydah.
It is essential for the port to be open and operating. Moreover, Hudaydah Port is in a densely populated urban center where thousands of people live. Any military campaign in its vicinity risks having devastating consequences for civilians.
The Secretary-General urged once again, on 20 July, for “all concerned to avoid attacks that could harm civilians and damage civilian infrastructure.” He “remains deeply concerned about the risk of further escalation in the region and continues to urge all to exercise utmost restraint.”
On 21 July, the IDF stated on social media that its Aerial Defense Array successfully intercepted a surface-to-surface missile that approached Israeli territory from Yemen using the "Arrow 3" Aerial Defense System. The projectile did not cross into Israeli territory.
Mr. President,
We have also witnessed a deeply worrying continuation of exchanges of fire across the Blue Line, which as we have stressed repeatedly, risks further regional conflagration.
On 20 July, the Israeli Defence Forces said that 40 rockets, as well as drones, were fired across the Blue Line, injuring two soldiers and igniting fires.
Unconfirmed media reports in Lebanon said that the Israeli Defence Forces struck a Hezbollah munitions depot and a vehicle, with possible injuries and damage to civilian infrastructure.
In addition, this morning this Council heard from the Special Envoy for Syria of the profound risk of regional escalation.
Last week, Israel carried out strikes that the Syrian Government said hit military sites in southern Syria and a residential area in Damascus. Israel said this was in response to the launch of two drones from Syria.
Further strikes attributed to Israel over the past month were reported in Tartous, Damascus, rural Damascus, and near the Lebanese border.
Mr. President,
In Yemen, the fragile gains resulting from the 2022 UN-brokered truce are being eclipsed by violent escalation in the region.
The Houthis continue to launch attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea, in contravention of Security Council resolutions 2722 (2024) and 2739 (2024).
Verified incidents are reflected in the written monthly reports of the Secretary-General, based on information received from the International Maritime Organization (IMO). As of today, the IMO has verified 42 Houthi attacks.
The Houthis have also claimed several “joint military operations” with the so-called “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”, purportedly in support of the people in the Gaza Strip.
The “Islamic Resistance” group is also believed to have launched a drone attack against a base in Iraq hosting personnel of the International Coalition to fight ISIS – the first such attack since February.
At the same time, Israeli military operations have intensified across Gaza in recent weeks, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of civilian infrastructure.
Palestinian armed groups in Gaza continued to launch rockets indiscriminately towards Israeli population centers.
Mr. President,
These latest developments show the real danger of a devastating region-wide escalation.
As the Secretary-General said on 21 June “the risk for the conflict in the Middle East to widen is real and must be avoided.
One rash move, one miscalculation could trigger a catastrophe that goes far beyond the borders and, frankly, beyond imagination.”
On Gaza, the Secretary-General has been very clear: “we need an immediate and sustainable ceasefire and an unconditional release of hostages.” And we need all the parties to recommit to a political horizon towards the two-State solution.
On the Blue Line, I echo the Secretary-General in calling on the parties “to urgently recommit to the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701, and immediately return to a cessation of hostilities.”
Furthermore, allow me to reiterate the Secretary-General’s remarks that “attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea area are not acceptable as they endanger the safety and security of global supply chains and have a negative impact on the economic and humanitarian situation worldwide.”
Mr. President,
Allow me to close with a few words on the issue of detained personnel in Yemen.
We remain profoundly concerned about the well-being of Yemeni personnel from the United Nations, national and international non-governmental organizations, diplomatic missions, and civil society that are arbitrarily detained by the Houthi de facto authorities.
We urge the de facto authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all of them. And we further request that they are treated with full respect for their human rights, and that they are afforded the ability to contact their families and legal representatives.
The Secretary-General and other senior UN officials continue to work through all possible channels to secure the immediate and unconditional release of those arbitrarily detained.
Thank you, Mr. President.
A UN convoy has been hit by “heavy shooting” from Israeli forces at a checkpoint while en route to Gaza city, the United Nations agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said on Monday.
The threat of regional conflict affecting Syria has not abated, particularly in the face of recent Israeli strikes on the war-torn country, UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen told the Security Council on Monday.
A recent surge in cross-border deadly attacks risks escalating violence across the Middle East and requires immediate de-escalation efforts, top UN officials warned the Security Council on Monday.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has responded to Israel’s airstrikes on the Yemeni port city of Hudaydah, which reportedly killed at least six people and injured more than 80, by calling for all parties involved in the conflict to “exercise utmost restraint”.
The head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees UNRWA welcomed the decision by the United Kingdom on Friday to resume funding of the agency “at a critical time, as the agency continues to come under harsh and unprecedented attacks”.
The UN relies on cooperation with regional and subregional organizations “now, more than ever” amid mounting global tensions and challenges, a senior official said on Friday in a briefing to the Security Council.
Heavy fighting in Sudan has severely curtailed humanitarian aid deliveries across vast areas of the southeast, the UN World Food Programme, WFP, said on Friday.
To add to the devastation of war and the complete breakdown of law and order, Gazans now have to contend with the threat of highly infectious polio disease linked to the disastrous sanitation situation created by the conflict, the UN health agency said on Friday.
Wars are never gender neutral and Gaza is further evidence of this as some one million women and girls bear “the worst brunt” of nine months of conflict, the UN Women Special Representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory said on Thursday.
UN humanitarians issued a fresh alert on Thursday about having to cut rations in Gaza where fresh evacuation orders by the Israeli military have prompted “the largest displacements since October” across the enclave.
The UN Security Council on Wednesday convened an open debate on the ongoing crisis in Gaza, which continues to be marked by immense suffering - compounded now by a complete breakdown of law and order - and a humanitarian system on the brink of collapse.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has registered more than 1,000 attacks on healthcare facilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since the October 7 terror attacks in Israel sparked the on-going war in Gaza, the agency’s top official in the region said on Wednesday.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has registered more than 1,000 attacks on healthcare facilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since the October 7 terror attacks in Israel sparked the on-going war in Gaza, the agency’s top official in the region said on Wednesday.
Multiple strikes have killed dozens of people in central Gaza, landing just 100 metres from a humanitarian hub, UN agencies said on Tuesday, as thousands continue to face displacement amid the ongoing war.
More than 10 million people in Sudan have been displaced since war erupted last April, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Tuesday, citing the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The multifaceted humanitarian catastrophe in Haiti requires urgent international attention, three senior aid officials from the United Nations and the European Union have said, wrapping up a four-day visit to the Caribbean country where they saw firsthand how ongoing gang violence has upended people’s lives.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres is remembering the 298 people killed in “the tragic downing” of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over conflict-affected eastern Ukraine 10 years ago this Wednesday, his Spokesperson said in a statement.
Hunger and fear of famine stalk Sudan where a staggering 800,000 people still remain trapped in the North Darfur capital El Fasher without enough food, water or medical support, the World Health Organization, WHO, said on Tuesday.
The current polarised international political landscape was on raw display at the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, as it convened for the Russian presidency’s signature event for the month, Multilateral cooperation in the interest of a more just, democratic and sustainable world order.
New Israeli airstrikes reportedly struck southern and central areas of Gaza on Monday as UN humanitarians and partners continued to treat the victims of a deadly strike on Al Mawasi in southwest Gaza on Saturday that reportedly left at least 90 dead and around 300 injured.
Twelve years on from independence the people of South Sudan continue to face huge challenges, exacerbated now by the war in neighbouring Sudan, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.
The UN health agency and partners are helping treat many of those injured during Saturday’s deadly airstrikes by Israeli forces on Gaza’s Al Mawasi area which have reportedly left at least 90 dead and around 300 injured, according to figures from the war-torn enclave’s health ministry.
UN-led talks between Sudan's warring parties were set to continue in Geneva on Friday focusing on brokering “possible local ceasefires” to help deliver aid and protect civilians across the country.
