Escalating hunger and violence in Sudan are reaching unprecedented levels as it teeters on the verge of becoming the world’s largest hunger crisis and faces increasingly violent attacks by paramilitary groups, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported on Thursday.
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres is deeply concerned about escalating violence in Myanmar, he said in a statement released on Thursday.
The UN General Assembly on Thursday elected by acclamation Philemon Yang, former Prime Minister of Cameroon, President for its seventy-ninth session which gets underway in September.
Amid early reports that an Israeli strike on a UN-run school in Gaza overnight into Thursday left dozens dead, humanitarians warned that cholera and other potentially deadly diseases stalk people uprooted by the war, forced to live among “mountains of trash”.
The UN General Assembly on Thursday elected Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia to serve as non-permanent members on the Security Council for two-year terms beginning on 1 January next year.
On 6 June, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to the UN and President of the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the month of June, Ambassador Joonkook Hwang, met with the Ambassador of Uganda to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the AU, who also serves as the AUPSC Chairperson for the month of June, Rebecca Amuge Otengo. The Ambassadors noted areas of common interest and concern, including cyber security and artificial intelligence as well...
The number of people going hungry in Haiti has reached record levels amid ongoing gang violence, the head of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) there said on Wednesday in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
As the UN investigation team charged with investigating crimes committed by the Da’esh terrorist group in Iraq prepares to conclude its mandate in September, significant strides have been made in transferring crucial evidence to the authorities, its acting head said on Wednesday.
As violence escalates and millions of people continue to be displaced in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), grave violations against children are reaching an all-time high, said UN Children’s Fund UNICEF on Wednesday.
On 5 June, SRSG Parfait Onanga-Anyanga met with the Ambassador of Poland to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the AU, Przemyslaw Bobak, as he nears the end of his four-year tour of duty.
The Ambassador expressed appreciation for productive discussions over the years, and for the valuable expertise provided by UNOAU. SRSG Parfait Onanga-Anyanga congratulated Ambassador Bobak on...
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is inflicting immense physical, psychological, and emotional harm on children there, the Head of the UN Office in the country said on Tuesday.
The UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) on Tuesday warned that lifesaving aid for hundreds of thousands in need across Gaza remains limited due to access constraints.
The UN’s top aid official said on Tuesday he was leaving office at the end of the month with “some important pieces of wisdom” but also a feeling of frustration because many crises no longer make the headlines, while humanitarian operations face a dire lack of funding.
Violence in the occupied West Bank linked to the war in Gaza passed a deadly milestone with more than 500 Palestinians killed since 7 October, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights chief Volker Türk said on Tuesday.
The narrowing space left for civilians in the Gaza Strip is becoming increasingly limited and crowded, while dire living conditions are eroding the social fabric there, a senior official with the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said on Monday.
A staggering one million people have now fled Rafah in southern Gaza, the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Monday, amid fresh reports of overnight attacks in southern, central and northern locations by Israeli forces.
Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium continues to increase, the head of the UN atomic watchdog agency said on Monday, adding that it has been three years since the agency was able to access the country.
The narrowing space left for civilians in the Gaza Strip is becoming increasingly limited and crowded, while dire living conditions are eroding the social fabric there, a senior official with the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said on Monday.
A staggering one million people have now fled Rafah in southern Gaza, the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Monday, amid fresh reports of overnight attacks in southern, central and northern locations by Israeli forces.
Mr. President,
At 10:45 PM local time on 27 May, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) conducted what it described as “the launch of reconnaissance satellite Malligyong-1-1 aboard the new-type satellite carrier rocket” from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station. According to the DPRK, the launch failed “due to the air blast of the new-type satellite carrier rocket during the first-stage flight”, as a result of the “reliability of operation of the newly developed liquid oxygen and petroleum engine”. This follows the successful launch of a satellite on 21 November 2023. In December 2023, the DPRK announced that it will launch three additional military satellites in 2024.
While the DPRK issued a pre-launch notification to the Japanese Coast Guard, it did not issue airspace or maritime safety notifications to the International Civil Aviation Organization or the International Telecommunications Union. The DPRK’s unannounced launches represent a serious risk to international civil aviation and maritime traffic.
Mr. President,
As stated on previous occasions, sovereign states have the right to benefit from peaceful space activities. However, Security Council resolutions expressly prohibit the DPRK from conducting any launches using ballistic missile technology. On 28 May, the Secretary-General strongly condemned the attempted launch of yet another military satellite using ballistic missile technology. He reiterated his call on the DPRK to fully comply with its international obligations under all relevant Security council resolutions and to swiftly return to dialogue without preconditions to achieve the goal of sustainable peace and the complete and verifiable denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
Mr. President,
Developing a military reconnaissance satellite was part of the DPRK’s five-year military development plan, unveiled in January 2021. In line with the plan, the DPRK has significantly increased its missile launch activities since 2022, including more than 100 launches using ballistic missile technology, in violation of the relevant Security Council resolutions. Since the beginning of the year, the DPRK has launched two intermediate-range solid-fuelled ballistic missiles in January and April, respectively.
As previously highlighted, there is a need for practical measures to reduce tensions, reverse the dangerous dynamic, and create space to explore diplomatic avenues. The Secretary-General has emphasised the importance of re-establishing communication channels, particularly between military entities. Exercising maximum restraint is critical to avoid unintended escalation.
Mr. President,
The DPRK’s persistent pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, in violation of relevant Security Council resolutions, continues to undermine the global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) that underpins it. On 30 April, the mandate of the Panel of Experts that supported the Committee expired, after having been continuously extended since 2009 when the Panel was first established by the Security Council.
We remain deeply concerned about growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. We encourage all Member States, and Members of this Council, to seek unity, and for all parties to create an environment conducive to dialogue and cooperation. At this particularly difficult moment in securing global peace and security, it is imperative to de-escalate the rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Mr. President,
Separately, I want to highlight that the United Nations and its partners are ready to assist the DPRK in addressing the basic needs of its vulnerable populations. We note that international travel to and from the DPRK is now taking place at a growing rate. We encourage the DPRK authorities to facilitate the full return of the international community, including the United Nations Resident Coordinator and the UN Country Team. A collective return would enhance international support for the people of the DPRK and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
Thank you, Mr. President.
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A brief roundup of United Nations-related political and peacebuilding events and developments globally.
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"Women bear the brunt of the global rollback of human rights," says USG DiCarlo |
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The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) repeated launches using ballistic missile technology not only violate Security Council resolutions but also pose a serious risk to aviation and maritime traffic, a senior UN official said on Friday.
Far too little aid is reaching people in Gaza to the extent that children are now starving, UN humanitarians said on Friday, in a renewed appeal to Israel to respect international law regarding the safe passage of lifesaving relief in the war-shattered enclave.
Famine in Sudan is “imminent” if aid agencies continue to be prevented from providing relief, UN humanitarians warned on Friday.
Continued hostilities and evacuation orders in Gaza have led to the closure of key humanitarian facilities in Rafah, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Friday.
The UN’s top human rights official on Friday voiced serious concern over the dramatic deterioration of the situation in Burkina Faso, where almost 1,800 people are reported to have been unlawfully killed between November last year and April.
The top UN aid official in Sudan warned on Thursday that “the noose of war is tightening its stranglehold” on civilians in El Fasher, expressing her profound distress at the dire humanitarian situation there.
Syria remains plagued by a severe and complex security and humanitarian situation, against a backdrop of broader political impasse, senior UN officials told the Security Council on Thursday, underscoring the need for a comprehensive approach that involves all key stakeholders.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday paid tribute to all peacekeepers serving under the UN flag and those who have died in the line of duty.
With no let up in reported street battles and Israeli bombardment across Gaza on Thursday, UN humanitarians warned that the flow of vital lifesaving aid into the enclave has fallen by more than two thirds since the Israeli military stepped up its campaign in Rafah and seized the key aid conduit.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Thursday called on the Security Council to prevent millions more people from being displaced by war, violence and persecution.
Violence against children in the central Sahel region of Africa surged dramatically in the last quarter of 2023, skyrocketing by 70 per cent over the previous three months, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on Wednesday.
Vital medical supplies are fast running out in Gaza’s remaining hospitals, the UN health agency warned on Wednesday, amid reports of continuing Israeli bombing and hostilities in the enclave.
In 1948, the United Nations took a pivotal step by deploying peacekeepers to support countries in their journey toward peace. Since then, more than two million people – military, police and civilians – have served in over 70 peacekeeping missions around the world, offering assistance amidst ongoing conflicts or their aftermath.
The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process on Wednesday urgently called for an immediate return to negotiations, the release of hostages and a humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as the Israeli military assault exacerbates human suffering amid rising regional tensions.
