After 500 days of siege, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia have reportedly taken control of the key Sudanese city of El-Fasher in Darfur, triggering widespread fear among families, and forcing thousands of civilians to flee.
After 500 days of siege, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia have reportedly taken control of the key Sudanese city of El-Fasher in Darfur, triggering widespread fear among families, and forcing thousands of civilians to flee.
Aid teams in Gaza are racing to meet urgent needs with tens of thousands still displaced, sheltering in damaged buildings and makeshift sites, while reports of renewed fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas threaten to derail the ceasefire.
Airstrikes and ongoing conflict in Ukraine are leaving civilians – including thousands of children – without homes, power, water and basic services, as humanitarians warn the approaching winter is heightening the risks for communities along the frontlines.
Amid deepening global divides and economic uncertainty, the United Nations called for stronger multilateral cooperation and sweeping reforms to global financial and governance systems, emphasising the need for a “networked, multipolar world” where equity and inclusion guide decision-making.
More than 470,000 movements by civilians heading north inside the Gaza Strip have been recorded since the ceasefire began, said the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) on Monday.
Funding cuts are dismantling the frontline organisations working to end violence against women and girls, the UN’s gender equality agency warned on Monday.
The UN’s top humanitarian official has called for an immediate ceasefire in El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur region, amid reports of significant civilian deaths, attacks on hospitals and the city’s reported capture by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
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Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday warned that the “fragile” legitimacy of the Security Council could endanger global peace if it remains gridlocked and fails to fulfil its primary purpose.
The UN and its partners are accelerating deliveries of life-saving aid across Gaza, but relief efforts remain constrained by access restrictions and overwhelming humanitarian needs, officials said on Friday.
As the United Nations turns 80, while pursuing change and reform, Lebanon is passing through a momentous period of its modern history that will determine its path forward. Meanwhile, major regional shifts and global forces continue to shape a new security and geopolitical landscape.
In 1945, Lebanon was one of the founding States which gathered to form the United Nations as an attempt to avoid further suffering for...
Over 900 days of brutal conflict, widespread human rights violations, famine, and the collapse of essential services have driven millions of people in Sudan to the “brink of survival” – with women and children bearing the heaviest burden.
Gaza’s health system remains in ruins despite the fragile ceasefire holding, with hundreds of thousands still facing urgent medical and humanitarian needs, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Thursday.
The Gaza ceasefire provides a rare opportunity to end one of the most destructive phases of the wider Israel-Palestine conflict, the UN’s deputy Middle East envoy told the Security Council on Thursday.
The UN Security Council meets at the top of the hour in New York to debate the Middle East, with Ramiz Alakbarov, Deputy Special Coordinator for the region expected to brief. The session comes amid faltering progress on the fragile Gaza ceasefire and mounting humanitarian needs after two years of war, with famine still looming in parts of the territory. Ambassadors will likely discuss yesterday's ICJ advisory opinion affirming Israel’s obligation to allow agencies aid access under international law. Follow our in-depth live coverage from 10am; UN News app users can go here.
As Syria’s humanitarian needs soar and aid funding dries up, UN officials urged the Security Council on Wednesday to step up support, warning that millions face continuing hardship even as the country rebuilds its political institutions.
Russian forces carried out “another massive wave of overnight attacks” targeting energy facilities, the UN said on Wednesday, killing and injuring civilians – including children.
The people of Haiti have not given up and “their fortitude gives us hope,” the UN Special Representative to the country told the Security Council on Wednesday.
Following renewal of the Security Council’s sanctions regime in Haiti and a resolution to create a new Gang Suppression Force to combat the scourge of gang violence, ambassadors heard this afternoon from the top UN official in the country. In his first briefing as head of the UN office in Haiti (BINUH), Carlos Ruiz Massieu reported on latest developments, as brutal violence and insecurity continues to rage, increasing pressure on diplomats to act fast and decisively to protect millions of Haitians facing impunity and chaos. UN News app users can follow live coverage here.
In Buluma Village, Malawi, Patuma, 82, woke at 4 a.m. to make her way to the Changamire Polling Centre to cast her vote in the country’s recent general elections. She hoped to elect a candidate who could bring down the price of fertilizer — a vital need for her family.
Across the globe, people head annually in great numbers to the ballot box — from remote villages to urban centres, from first-time voters to elders like Patuma. Each vote cast is a personal act of hope, trust and political participation — a symbolic yet tangible moment in democratic processes. Elections are among the largest peacetime mobilization efforts any country undergoes. They are also the moment when each individual citizen gets a meaningful say in the decisions that shape their lives.
In any given year close to one hundred countries might hold elections. Behind a number of these elections is the support of the United Nations. Working alongside national institutions and local partners, the UN system helps foster electoral processes that are peaceful, inclusive and credible — and has done so in over one hundred countries worldwide. At any given moment, more than 40 countries receive UN support — always at the request of the Member State or by mandate, and under national ownership. Most support is technical: strengthening electoral bodies, improving laws, furthering inclusion and providing operational assistance to ensure that every eligible citizen can take part.
In Malawi, where voters like Patuma took part in the recent general elections, the UN supported national efforts to strengthen electoral institutions, promote participation and help ensure that citizens had access to information.
But Malawi is just one example.
In Liberia, the UN helped reinforce electoral institutions. In Vanuatu, it assisted with organizing elections after a major earthquake. In Ecuador, the UN supported efforts to strengthen information integrity and civic engagement.
Support in each country looks different. In some contexts — such as the Central African Republic or Libya — assistance is multidimensional, part of UN peacekeeping or special political missions. In others, like Armenia, Panama or Timor-Leste, support has been more targeted. In every case, the approach is guided by national priorities and adapted to local contexts.
In countries without a UN peacekeeping or special political mission, UNDP plays a leading role as the UN system’s main provider of support — while also contributing to efforts in mission settings — helping strengthen institutions, sustain national capacities and forge partnerships.
As part of its support, the UN also works to make elections more inclusive — helping ensure that women, youth, persons with disabilities and other groups can take part in shaping their country’s political future.
Around the world, women continue to face barriers to participation in elections — from discriminatory laws to online harassment. UN electoral assistance places inclusion at the centre of its work, helping ensure that women not only vote, but can also stand as candidates, lead electoral bodies and shape their communities’ futures.
In Jordan, the UN supported efforts to make elections more accessible for women and persons with disabilities. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Mozambique, hundreds of women benefited from UN-supported training and outreach initiatives. Through partnerships with regional organizations, the UN has helped bring together women electoral officials and supported training on women’s leadership and inclusion.
These efforts continue to reflect a simple but powerful idea: every voice — including women’s — should be heard and recognized.
As the Organization marks its 80th anniversary, demand for UN electoral assistance shows no sign of slowing. In the past two years alone, 43 Member States have formally requested electoral assistance — including several for the first time — a clear sign of continuing trust in the UN’s role and expertise.
The Secretary-General’s latest report on electoral assistance (A/80/277) takes stock of UN support over the last two years, noting that during this period 58 Member States and territories received some form of UN electoral support. That demand also reflects a broader recognition that credible elections require constant attention and commitment.
At the same time, the report notes that declining funding — particularly in non-mission settings — risks limiting the UN’s ability to respond. It underscores that UN electoral assistance remains a cost-effective investment in good governance and conflict prevention.
Echoing the Secretary-General’s message in her recent presentation of the report to the Third Committee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Ama A. Pobee said:
“Genuine elections that reflect the will of the people are not guaranteed. Gains can be reversed. Sustained commitment and investment are essential to ensure inclusion, protect electoral integrity and maintain public trust.”
Behind every election supported by the UN is a network of people — staff, experts, volunteers — who work with quiet dedication. Some work with national election commissions to train officials or support voter education; others help procure materials or move them across difficult terrain. Still others focus on fostering inclusion and helping enable a peaceful electoral environment.
This work is led and coordinated by the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), the UN’s focal point for electoral assistance, supported by the Department’s Electoral Assistance Division. Across these system-wide efforts, DPPA, the Department of Peace Operations, UNDP, UN Women, OHCHR, UNOPS, UNESCO, UNV and others each contribute according to their mandates and areas of expertise. Together, these efforts give tangible meaning to the UN’s commitment to support Member States at their request.
From young voters to displaced communities, from national commissions to civil society, the UN continues to support elections — one vote, and millions of voices at a time. For voters like Patuma, the simple act of marking a ballot is a reminder that every vote counts.
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has warned of an alarming rise in violence and restrictions by Israeli settlers and security forces against Palestinian farmers, as the crucial olive harvest season gets underway.
More than a million people have returned to Sudan’s war-ravaged capital in the past ten months, the UN migration agency said on Tuesday, warning that basic services remain shattered amid continuing disease outbreaks.
Women and girls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are trapped in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and face rampant insecurity, a senior United Nations official warned on Tuesday following a visit to the country.
In Gaza, the ceasefire is enabling UN humanitarians to reach more desperate people with life-saving food – but greater access is needed to contain the spread of famine.
The UN on Monday said it was encouraged by renewed Gaza ceasefire commitments, warning that recent violence risked undermining fragile progress, as recovery efforts – including a large-scale rubble removal project – slowly gain momentum across the war-ravaged enclave.
To Sudan, where the people of government held El Fasher in the west of the war-torn country remain trapped without food, water or medical care, UN aid coordinators, OCHA, said on Monday.
Around 676 million women lived within 50 kilometres of deadly conflict last year – the highest figure since the 1990s.
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Up to 500,000 illegal weapons ranging from handguns to battlefield-grade semi-automatic rifles are thought to be in the hands of gangs in Haiti, even though the Caribbean country has been under a UN arms embargo for the last three years.
As the disarmament team approached, combatants from the Retour, Réclamation et Réhabilitation (3R) armed group stood in two orderly lines expectantly, youthful faces and greying heads alike.
The Security Council on Friday welcomed Lebanese Government efforts to exercise full national sovereignty through the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), as the UN warned that peacekeepers are continuing to find unauthorised weapons caches in the south.
The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Friday that renews sanctions in Haiti for another year as armed gangs continue to terrorize the population.
The UN has condemned Madagascar’s military takeover, calling for the immediate restoration of constitutional order following last week’s ouster of President Andry Rajoelina.
As a fragile ceasefire holds in the Gaza Strip, UN aid teams are intensifying efforts to deliver urgently needed assistance.
A severe funding shortfall is threatening to cripple UN peacekeeping operations worldwide, with the Organization warning that it will have to scale back patrols, close field offices and repatriate thousands of ‘blue helmets’ due to delayed payments from Member States.
