The terrorist group Da’esh, also known as ISIL, remains a serious global security threat despite years of sustained efforts to dismantle its operations, UN counter-terrorism officials warned during a Security Council meeting on Monday.
The terrorist group Da’esh, also known as ISIL, remains a serious global security threat despite years of sustained efforts to dismantle its operations, UN counter-terrorism officials warned during a Security Council meeting on Monday.
The Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen (OSESGY) concluded on 19 December 2024 another round of political dialogues in Amman, Jordan, as part of its ongoing efforts to foster an inclusive and sustainable peace process for Yemen. These dialogues - held from 24 October to 19 December 2024 - engaged representatives from key Yemeni political parties and entities, ensuring the representation of women, including...
In a significant move towards eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons programme, the head of the UN-backed international watchdog dedicated to ending the scourge has been visiting Damascus, together with a high-level delegation.
During the turbulent early years of Timor-Leste’s independence, the UN was a constant presence, helping to maintain peace and stability. Twenty-four years on, the country has made the successful transition from a host nation for UN peacekeeping operations, to one that contributes to supporting missions elsewhere.
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UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Friday expressed profound concerns at the ongoing violent escalation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) caused by the ongoing Rwanda-backed M23 offensive. “If nothing is done, the worst may be yet to come, for the people of the eastern DRC, but also beyond the country’s borders,” he told a Special Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
UN peacekeeping must be fit for purpose as the nature of conflict evolves in the 21st century along with new weapons technology, more than 60 nations heard this week at a global forum on the future of peace operations, taking place in Indonesia.
The civilian death toll in Sudan has surged dramatically, with at least 275 people killed between 31 January and 5 February, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, reported on Friday.
More than 12,000 critically ill and injured patients, including at least 5,000 children, urgently need to be evacuated from Gaza, amid the crumbling health system, the UN World Health Organization (WHO)’s top official in the region said on Thursday.
The humanitarian community’s plan to flood Gaza with lifesaving aid passed an important milestone on Thursday with the news that more than 10,000 relief lorries have entered the enclave since the ceasefire began on 19 January.
Now is the time to end the crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN Secretary-General said on Thursday in a briefing to journalists in New York.
As South Sudan enters a so-called “extended transitional period” this month, the UN’s top envoy to the country has warned that the clock is ticking to accomplish the commitments under a key 2018 peace accord, ahead of a new deadline set for February 2027.
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels continued to consolidate their hold over North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Wednesday, despite declaring a ceasefire two days earlier and pledging not to continue south, according to the UN’s Deputy Special Representative for Protection and Operations in the country.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged the international community to continue pushing for a full ceasefire and the release of all hostages in Gaza, and “to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing” in the enclave, in a speech in New York on Wednesday.
To better prevent and address increasing geopolitical polarization and multi-layered conflicts, the Secretary-General stresses the need for national and cross-border peacebuilding strategies, coupled with increased financing for peace.
The Secretary-General’s latest report on peacebuilding and sustaining peace outlines the measures to be taken to support peacebuilding efforts against the current global surge in conflict, geopolitical polarization and militarization.
With two billion people living in places affected by conflict, the report calls for reinforced investment in fostering a culture of peace, with peacebuilding programmes at both national and international level, in line with the Secretary-General’s policy brief A New Agenda for Peace.
“National prevention strategies could help rally different national stakeholders — governments as well as civil society — around common priorities,” explained Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support Elizabeth Spehar. “This would help promote social cohesion and strengthen national infrastructures for peace,” she added.
Alongside national frameworks, the report stresses the need for strategies with cross-border dimensions to address threats going beyond state borders. This is increasingly the case, for instance, for climate-related risks.
“National-level action alone is often insufficient to address the drivers of conflict and violence. We need regional frameworks and organizations that promote trust-building, transparency and détente,” the report reads.
“To be successful, these strategies should be genuinely inclusive and empower marginalized groups, youth and forcibly displaced people,” the report adds, stressing the importance of engaging civil society and boost women’s participation in peace and political processes.
To be effective, peacebuilding strategies also require appropriate resources. “Funding peacebuilding is what translates commitment and strategies into impact on the ground,” ASG Spehar said.
Yet, investments remain scarce. Underfunding also affects UN tools for peacebuilding support. For instance, in recent years, voluntary contributions to the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) have been declining.
The Fund is the leading instrument to invest in prevention and peacebuilding projects across the UN system and in partnership with national and regional authorities, civil society and multilateral banks. One of its initiatives, the Women for Water and Peace (W4WP) project, recently trained 200 young women and 45 women leaders to manage water kiosks equipped with solar powered purification systems in Freetown.
Overall, as highlighted in the PBF annual report published in March last year, the Fund continues to receive more demand than it can support.
In recent years, UN mission drawdowns have also affected the UN capacity and funding for peacebuilding, while budget constraints have impacted the deployment of Peace and Development Advisors in UN Country Teams.
According to the report, increased investments as well as partnerships with International Financial Institutions (IFIs), Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and the private sector could help address the financing gap and allow the UN to carry on supporting Member States at their request.
To better measure the impact of peacebuilding efforts, the report also stresses the need for impartial and credible data sources, calling on Member States to strengthen the capacity of the Peacebuilding Impact Hub, a platform bringing together UN entities, governments, civil society, and other actors.
The Hub gathers data and evidence on peacebuilding and can support national efforts through operational, political, and strategic insights.
In the report, the Secretary-General also calls for more resources to support the work of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), the entity supporting Member States’ prevention and peacebuilding strategies, and suggests increasing its advisory role to the Security Council.
“The United Nations, with its unique tools, expertise and networks can play a pivotal role in supporting prevention and peacebuilding efforts globally,” Spehar said. “Amidst increasing polarization, strengthening those tools is critical to achieving this mission.”
Some 30,000 residents from Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank have fled their homes after large swathes of it were destroyed in a series of controlled detonations by the Israeli security forces (ISF), the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday.
Some 30,000 residents from Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank have fled their homes after large swathes of it were destroyed in a series of controlled detonations by the Israeli security forces (ISF), the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday.
The UN’s top humanitarian official in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Tuesday called for Goma airport to be urgently reopened, warning its continued closure is paralyzing relief operations.
Regional conflicts, murderous militias, the exploitation of natural resources, innocent civilians forced to flee their homes; these recent developments in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are just the latest in the central African nation’s troubled history.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan has again urged warring parties to stop targeting civilians.
The United Nations on Tuesday condemned a deadly car bomb attack in the Syrian city of Manbij that killed 20 people, mostly women, and left many others critically injured.
Gang violence in Haiti continues to have a devastating impact on the population, according to a new report from the UN office in the country (BINUH) on human rights violations recorded during the last quarter of 2024.
The UN Secretary-General expressed deep alarm on Monday over reports of summary executions of civilians in the Sudanese city of Khartoum North, allegedly carried out by fighters and militias allied with the forces of the military Government.
Two people who have fought on opposing sides of the decades-old conflict between Palestinians and Israel have come to together through “grieving and crying” to discuss how Israeli Jews and Palestinians can live side by side in peace.
Escalating hostilities in the occupied West Bank are putting the fragile ceasefire in Gaza at risk, the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, warned in a statement on Monday.
The worsening security situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has forced many mpox patients to flee treatment centres, increasing the risk of transmission, the UN health agency (WHO) warned on Monday.
The UN Special Envoy for Syria said on Monday that Syrians across the political spectrum share a deep conviction that the country’s political transition must succeed.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has expressed deep alarm over relentless attacks on populated areas in Ukraine and their devastating impact on children.
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The largest UN agency in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, UNRWA, said on Friday that its staff are still providing aid to the people of Gaza and the West Bank including East Jerusalem who depend on them “for their sheer survival”, a day after the Israeli parliament ban on its activities entered into force.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has voiced deep alarm over reports of summary executions of civilians allegedly carried out by fighters and militias allied with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the city of Khartoum North, calling for an immediate halt to the killings.
The head of UN Peace Operations has underscored the need for continued diplomatic efforts to end the crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and avert the potential for wider conflict.
The UN Secretary-General on Thursday said Myanmar’s military must relinquish power to allow a return to civilian rule through an inclusive democratic transition, as the country marks four years since the junta seized power.
After days of intense fighting, the humanitarian situation in Goma, capital of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has reached alarming levels – with humanitarian needs now massive and response capacities severely strained.
Humanitarians warned on Thursday that Syria continues to face major security and aid challenges in the northeast and beyond, in the uncertain aftermath of the overthrow of the Assad regime.
As UN agencies reported “relative calm” on Wednesday in the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), humanitarians warned that the chaos caused by advancing M23 rebel forces could fuel a region-wide health emergency.
Israeli legislation banning the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, is due to enter into force in the coming hours, bringing fundamental changes to its operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, according to the agency and Palestinians they serve in Gaza who spoke with UN News on Wednesday.
Four years after the military coup which plunged Myanmar into turmoil, the country is facing an unprecedented “polycrisis,” marked by economic collapse, intensifying conflict, complex climate hazards and deepening poverty, according to a new report by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
As more than 423,000 displaced Palestinians return to their homes in northern Gaza following the opening of key roads, UN agencies are scaling up humanitarian aid and addressing the growing risks posed by unexploded ordnance such as landmines (UXO).
The implementation of new Israeli laws banning the UN Palestine refugee agency, UNRWA – set to take effect on Thursday – will heighten instability and deepen despair in the occupied Palestinian territory, the Security Council has heard.
The latest reports from Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from UN teams on the ground indicate a fast-deteriorating situation on Tuesday amid an ongoing assault by M23 rebels on the provincial capital.
