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UN Secretary-General António Guterres is following developments in Syria, where fresh fighting in the capital Damascus and elsewhere is threatening fragile efforts toward peace and political transition.
Two months into a devastating aid blockade of Gaza food has run out and people are fighting over water amid relentless bombing, the UN’s humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) said on Friday.
More than a month after two powerful earthquakes devastated Myanmar, the country is spiralling deeper into crisis as continued military attacks, obstructed aid access and widespread displacement leave nearly 6.3 million people in urgent need.
More than 500 civilians have been killed in North Darfur state, Sudan, over the past three weeks, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Thursday.
The UN’s top humanitarian official on Thursday issued a stark warning over the continuing blockade of aid into Gaza, calling on Israel to lift restrictions that have left civilians without food, medical care, and hope.
The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, voiced deep concern on Wednesday over the recent surge in violence across Syria, particularly in the suburbs of Damascus and in Homs.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon has called for greater support to people in the south of the country working to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of last year’s hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon has called for greater support to people in the south of the country working to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of last year’s hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, voiced deep concern on Wednesday over the recent surge in violence across Syria, particularly in the suburbs of Damascus and in Homs.
The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, voiced deep concern on Wednesday over the recent surge in violence across Syria, particularly in the suburbs of Damascus and in Homs.
The United Nations has warned that Sudan is sliding deeper into catastrophe, with growing famine and surging violence – particularly in North Darfur – driving mass displacement and an alarming rise in civilian deaths.
Mr. President,
Today’s meeting is taking place at a potential inflection point in the three-year war in Ukraine.
In the past few weeks, we have seen intensified efforts to bring the parties to negotiations.
These initiatives offer a glimmer of hope for progress towards a ceasefire and an eventual peaceful settlement.
At the same time, we continue to witness relentless attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns.
These strikes have killed and injured many civilians and caused widespread destruction in residential areas and civilian infrastructure.
Last week, Russian forces launched one of their most devastating assaults to date.
On the night of 23-24 April, a massive, combined missile and drone attack targeted multiple regions of Ukraine, including Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi, Odesa, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia.
In Kyiv alone, multiple residential buildings were hit.
At least 12 people were reported killed, and more than 70 others injured, including several children – making it the deadliest attack on the capital in nine months.
This attack followed other deadly strikes:
On Palm Sunday, a missile struck the historic center of Sumy, reportedly killing 35 people.
Earlier, a strike on Kryvyi Rih killed 18 people, including nine children at a playground. This attack stands as the deadliest single strike against children since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Other cities, including Dnipro, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia, have also been subjected to repeated attacks in recent weeks.
In front-line areas, civilian casualties are reported daily.
Shelling, the use of glide bombs and “first-person view” drone attacks in Kherson, Donetsk, Sumy and Kharkiv regions have resulted in increased civilian casualties.
On 23 April, a drone strike on a civilian shuttle bus in Dnipropetrovsk region reportedly killed at least nine people and dozens more were injured.
Most of them were women who worked at a nearby mining and processing plant.
Mr. President,
As of 24 April, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had verified 151 civilians killed and 697 injured in April.
With verification ongoing, this figure is expected to surpass the March figures, which were already 50 percent higher than in February.
Since February 2022, OHCHR has verified 13,015 civilians, including 699 children, killed, and 31,628 more civilians, including 2,016 children, injured, in Ukraine.
We have also noted recent media reports quoting local Russian authorities that indicate civilian casualties in the Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod regions of the Russian Federation.
These include alleged Ukrainian strikes on 23 and 24 April that reportedly killed three people in the Belgorod region.
We condemn all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, wherever they occur.
Directing attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure is prohibited under international humanitarian law and must cease immediately.
Mr. President,
The Secretary-General has repeatedly called for de-escalation and a durable ceasefire in Ukraine.
In this regard, we are encouraged by the diplomatic efforts underway.
We take note of yesterday's announcement by the Russian Federation of a 72-hour truce planned for the period from 8 to 10 May.
This follows a similar announcement by the Russian Federation on 19 April of a 30-hour Easter truce.
After that announcement, Ukrainian authorities reportedly agreed to mirror any such steps, reiterating their earlier support for a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States.
Regrettably, hostilities continued during Holy Week, with both sides accusing each other of violations.
A month earlier, on 19 March, the Secretary-General welcomed the separate announcements by the United States, the Russian Federation and Ukraine regarding a 30-day moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure and the resumption of negotiations on the safety of navigation in the Black Sea.
Despite these commitments, however, attacks against energy infrastructure persisted.
Nevertheless, diplomatic efforts continue. The UN remains engaged, particularly on the safety of navigation in the Black Sea to support global food security and maintain vital supply chains strained by the war.
The continued exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, including the largest to date on 20 April involving 500 prisoners, shows that with political will, diplomacy can yield tangible results even in the most difficult circumstances.
Mr. President,
As we approach the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, we are reminded – with even greater urgency – of the centrality of the Charter of the United Nations and international law in safeguarding peace and security.
The Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine stands as an egregious challenge to these fundamental principles, jeopardizing stability in Europe and threatening the broader international order.
The war in Ukraine is a war of choice.
What is needed now is a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire as a critical first step towards ending the violence and creating the conditions for a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace.
A peace that fully respects Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders in accordance with the UN Charter, international law, and relevant UN resolutions.
The United Nations remains prepared to support all meaningful efforts towards this end.
Thank you.
After suffering almost 18 months of deadly bombardment, displacement and lack of access to basic services, the embattled people of Gaza face yet another challenge: the threat of insects and rodents.
The biggest UN aid agency in Gaza on Tuesday condemned the two-month Israeli blockade that has left families eating barely enough to survive amid daily bombings – and the sick and injured without lifesaving medical help.
The Security Council met on Tuesday on the situation in the Middle East, where Secretary-General António Guterres told ambassadors that irreversible action must be taken to finally put a two-State solution in place for Israel and Palestine. The discussions took place as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens, with reports from the UN Palestine refugee relief agency (UNRWA) that children are "going to bed starving" amid the two-month Israeli aid blockade and continuing bombardment. App users can follow coverage here.
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed “deep concern” over rising tensions between India and Pakistan since the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir a week ago in which 26 tourists were killed.
The UN Secretary-General has warned that the two-State solution for Israel and Palestine is nearing collapse, urging world leaders to take bold, irreversible steps to preserve hopes for lasting peace.
The UN political affairs chief underscored the urgent need for a ceasefire in Ukraine in a briefing to the Security Council on Tuesday.
A new UN initiative aims to drive collective action to support the rights and needs of people everywhere whose lives have been upended by the continuing threat posed terrorism.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) began hearings on Monday into Israel’s continuing severe restrictions on the work of the UN and other international organizations in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
Thousands of lives have been “destroyed in the pursuit of supremacy”, as international humanitarian law has been “dismissed” and “cast aside”, said UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, on Monday.
Sudan’s humanitarian crisis is deepening as escalating violence blocks aid deliveries and forces thousands more civilians to flee, the UN warned on Monday.
The coming days in Gaza are set to be critical, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on Saturday, as humanitarian operations are severely curtailed amid an intensifying blockade, escalating violence, and soaring humanitarian needs.
The number of desperate refugees fleeing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and seeking safety in Burundi continues to rise, placing immense pressure on aid agencies struggling to cope with an escalating crisis amid dwindling resources.
The situation in western Sudan is “shocking” and people in the capital, Khartoum face “absolutely devastating” conditions according to a senior UN official in the African country.
The UN Security Council has strongly condemned the deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday that killed at least 26 tourists and left many more injured, calling for accountability and international cooperation to bring the perpetrators to justice.
One month since Myanmar’s earthquake disaster, tens of thousands of survivors still live in makeshift tents with little to protect them from pre-monsoon storms and mosquitoes.
Syria is undergoing a rocky transition after years of conflict and authoritarian rule. Despite tentative political progress, ongoing violence, deepening economic hardship and a worsening humanitarian crisis highlight the urgent and continued need for international support.
As Ukrainian cities struggle to recover from this week’s deadly missile and drone strikes, frontline areas remain under relentless attack, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) reported on Friday, warning of ongoing displacement and deepening humanitarian needs.
Grim details continued to emerge on Thursday in the aftermath of a wave of Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital and other cities overnight, with early reports indicating that at least nine people were killed and dozens injured.
Grim details continued to emerge on Thursday in the aftermath of a wave of Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital and other cities overnight, with early reports indicating that at least nine people were killed and dozens injured.
The near two-month ban on humanitarian aid and supplies entering Gaza is driving families to the edge of survival, as critical essentials – including food, shelter and medicine – are rapidly running out.
Hundreds of civilians, including at least 12 humanitarian workers, have been killed in recent artillery shelling targeting the El Fasher and Zamzam camps in Sudan’s Darfur region, triggering an unprecedented wave of displacement according to the UN.
With just weeks to go before a key ministerial meeting in Berlin, the UN and Germany have reaffirmed their commitment to peacekeeping – a vital tool for global stability that must now adapt to dwindling resources.
The ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to have devastating consequences, particularly for women and children, who face an increased risk of conflict-related sexual violence.
