Governments must take greater action to ensure school remains a safe place for boys and girls, the head of the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, said on Wednesday, following the latest deadly school shooting in the United States.
Governments must take greater action to ensure school remains a safe place for boys and girls, the head of the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, said on Wednesday, following the latest deadly school shooting in the United States.
New York, 25 May 2022
Africa is a home for hope. On Africa Day, we celebrate the enormous promise and potential of this diverse and dynamic continent.
The prospects on the horizon are bright – from Africa’s growing and vibrant youth population, to initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area, the Decade of Women’s Financial and Economic Inclusion, and the African Union’s...
Time is short for Sudan to reach a solution to its protracted political crisis, the Special Representative for the country told the Security Council on Tuesday, warning that if the impasse is not urgently overcome, the consequences will be felt beyond national borders, impacting a whole generation.
For the first time ever, a Zimbabwean peacekeeper will receive the prestigious 2021 Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award, the UN Peacekeeping Office announced on Tuesday.
For the first time, a Zimbabwean peacekeeper has been chosen to receive the prestigious 2021 Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award, UN Peacekeeping announced on Tuesday.
Late Captain Abdelrazakh Hamit Bahar of Chad, was named on Tuesday as the recipient of United Nations Peacekeeping’s highest award, for exceptional courage, serving in Mali, which will be presented on Thursday at UN Headquarters in New York.
The recent conclusion of the electoral process in Somalia offers a long-awaited opportunity to make progress on other urgent national priorities, the UN Special Representative for the county told the Security Council on Monday.
While digital technologies have offered “boundless opportunities” for sustainable development, education and inclusion, the UN political chief warned on Monday that there is also a clear downside.
Madam President,
Digital technologies have profoundly transformed every facet of our societies. They offer boundless opportunities – for sustainable development; for education; for inclusion.
Social media, for example, has transformed human rights and humanitarian advocacy, making it possible to mobilize people around the world quickly and efficiently around issues requiring urgent attention.
They have also created fresh possibilities for our peace and security work. Technological developments have improved our ability to detect crises, to better pre-position our humanitarian stocks, and to design data-driven peacebuilding programming.
We are using digital technologies in our work in conflict prevention, peacemaking, and peacebuilding. Allow me to share a few examples.
Digital tools strengthen our information-gathering and early-warning capacity. In Yemen, the UN Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA) has used various mapping, GIS and satellite technology tools to enhance its monitoring of the ceasefire in the Governorate.
They have increased our preparedness to understand, analyze and respond to crises that may have a digital dimension, and to address digital risks. We have, for example, worked with partners to build an e-learning platform on digital risk management.
New technologies can be beneficial in support of political processes, particularly to promote inclusion. In various peace negotiations, we have used artificial intelligence-assisted digital dialogues to reach out to thousands of interlocutors, to hear their views and priorities. This has been a particularly useful way to reach traditionally excluded groups, including women.
In Libya, the UN Mission held five digital dialogues, each with over 1,000 participants. This effort increased the legitimacy of the process, as different communities saw that their voices could be heard.
In Yemen, through digital consultations the Special Envoy engaged hundreds of women from different governorates, which provided deeper insight on the gender dimensions of the war.
The use of digital technologies also can improve the safety and security of our peacekeepers and civilian staff on the ground. The launch of the Strategy for the Digital Transformation of Peacekeeping presents an essential step towards this goal, and towards more effective mandate implementation – increasing early warning capacities.
Finally, with these tools we are able to visualize information and convey data-rich analysis to support the Security Council’s decision making. Our recent virtual reality presentation to the Security Council on Colombia shows how we can bring our work on the ground to the attention of this body in new ways.
Madam President,
The benefits of digital technologies for the maintenance of international peace and security are manifold. However, advances in technology have also created significant new risks and can affect conflict dynamics for the worse.
There are several areas of concern.
The number of State- and non-State- sponsored incidents of malicious use of digital technologies for political or military ends has nearly quadrupled since 2015, according to some estimates. Of specific concern is activity targeting infrastructure that provides essential public services, such as health and humanitarian agencies.
Meanwhile, lethal autonomous weapons raise questions regarding human accountability for the use of force.
The Secretary-General has made clear, machines with the power and discretion to take lives without human involvement are politically unacceptable, morally repugnant, and should be prohibited by international law.
Also, non-state actors are becoming increasingly adept at using low-cost and widely available digital technologies to pursue their agendas. Groups such as ISIL and Al-Qaida remain active on social media, using platforms and messaging applications to share information and communicate with followers for the purposes of recruitment, planning and fundraising.
And the increasing availability of digital payment methods such as cryptocurrencies brings additional challenges.
Further, digital technologies have raised major human rights concerns, from artificial intelligence systems that may be discriminatory to the widespread availability of surveillance technologies that can be deployed to target communities or individuals.
We are also concerned about the increasing use of internet shutdowns, including in situations of active conflict, which deprive communities of their means of communication, work, and political participation.
In Myanmar, for example, internet and mobile shutdowns have grown in number and duration since the military coup on 1 February 2021, particularly in areas of military operations.
Social media can fuel polarization and, at times, violence. The misuse of social media – and the sometimes limited or not fully adequate response of social media companies – is enabling the spread of disinformation, radicalization, racism, and misogyny.
This can heighten tensions, and in some instances exacerbate conflict. In Ethiopia, as the fighting escalated, there was an alarming rise in social media posts spreading inflammatory rhetoric, with some going as far as inciting ethnic violence, as recognized by the Security Council in its press statement of 5 November 2021.
We have seen how online disinformation and hate speech can result in offline harm – including violence.
We know that disinformation can hinder the ability of our missions to implement their mandates, by exacerbating falsehoods and fueling polarization.
We are undertaking a number of actions to mitigate these risks, driven by the Secretary-General’s Plan of Action on Hate Speech and initiatives such as Verified.
In Iraq, for example, after reports of increased on-line harassment of women candidates in last year’s election, UNAMI partnered with civil society organizations to monitor hate-speech, issue public reports and strengthen voter education.
Madam President,
We must fully embrace the opportunities offered by digital technologies to advance peace. But to do this, we must also mitigate the risks that such technologies pose, and promote their responsible use by all actors.
Through the General Assembly, Member States have made important progress in establishing a normative framework to ensure responsible behavior in cyberspace.
Member States are also cooperating to develop and apply a range of confidence building measures to prevent conflicts, avoid misperceptions and misunderstandings, and reduce tensions.
However, more must be done to advance, elaborate and implement this emerging normative framework.
In his report on “Our Common Agenda”, the Secretary-General called for a Global Digital Compact that would outline shared principles for an “open, free and secure digital future for all”.
Together with other aspects of Our Common Agenda, such as the New Agenda for Peace and the proposed Code of Conduct for Integrity in Public Information, we have a critical opportunity to build consensus on how digital technologies can be used for the good of people and the planet, while addressing their risks.
But collective action by Member States remains essential towards this goal.
Thank you, Madam President.
New York, 22 May 2022
To achieve a sustainable future for all, we need to act urgently to protect biodiversity, the web of life that connects and supports us all. We must end our senseless and destructive war against nature. The rate of species loss is tens to hundreds of times higher than the average of the past 10 million years – and accelerating.
Biodiversity is...
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With a scorching summer fast approaching, food prices rising and access to water and electricity limited in many parts of Syria, donors must make good on $4.3 billion in humanitarian pledges committed at last week’s Brussels funding conference, the UN’s senior humanitarian official told the Security Council on Friday.
“When war is waged, people go hungry,” Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council on Thursday during a debate on conflict and food security chaired by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
A record 59.1 million people were displaced within their homelands last year, or four million more than in 2020, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Thursday, citing the latest Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID).
Mali’s decision on 15 May to withdraw from the G5-Sahel group and its Joint Force is “unfortunate” and “regrettable”, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council on Wednesday, as she urged countries in the region to redouble efforts to protect human rights, amid protracted political and security crises.
The top United Nations official in Iraq made an urgent appeal on Tuesday for the prompt formation of a new Government that meets the aspirations of that country’s people.
The top United Nations official in Iraq made an urgent appeal on Tuesday for the prompt formation of a new Government that meets the aspirations of that country’s people.
A surge in violence fuelled by heavily armed gangs in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, prompted the UN rights chief on Tuesday to express her deep concern over its severe impact on human rights across the Caribbean nation.
New York, 18 May 2022
Today’s State of the Climate report is a dismal litany of humanity’s failure to tackle climate disruption.
Sea level rise, ocean heat, greenhouse gas concentrations, and ocean acidification – set alarming new records in 2021.
Global mean sea level increased at more than double the previous rate and is mainly due to accelerating loss of ice mass.
Ocean warming also shows...
The UN Secretary-General has called for Lebanon’s political leaders to swiftly form an inclusive government in the wake of parliamentary elections on Sunday, that can help the crisis-wracked nation implement reforms to put the country “on the path to recovery”.
New York,17 May 2022
On this World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, we focus on digital technologies for older people and healthy ageing.
From building smarter cities to combatting age-based discrimination at the workplace, ensuring financial inclusion, safeguarding independence, and supporting millions of...
New York, 17 May 2022
Around the world, millions of LGBTIQ+ people continue to face injustice, simply for who they are, or whom they love.
I am deeply concerned by continued violence, criminalization, hate speech and harassment against LGBTIQ+ people, and by new attempts to further exclude them from education, employment, healthcare, sports, and housing.
...Investigators probing allegations of war crimes in the Ukraine conflict must work closely together and in compliance with international standards of forensic best practice, the UN expert on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions said on Monday.
The UN Special Envoy for Yemen, on Monday welcomed the resumption of commercial flights from the capital city’s main airport after six years, as a potential game changer for citizens needing lifesaving medical treatment.
The United Nations in Somalia welcomed the conclusion of the country’s presidential election held on Sunday, praising the “positive” nature of the electoral process and peaceful transfer of power.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday appealed for greater harmony one day after 10 people were killed, and three wounded, in a racist attack at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday appealed for greater commitment to harmony and diversity one day after 10 people were killed, and three wounded, in a racist attack at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
New York, 16 May 2022
I send my warmest wishes to all celebrating the Day of Vesak.
For millions of Buddhists around the world, May’s full moon represents a sacred occasion honouring the birth, enlightenment and passing of Lord Buddha.
This year, Vesak arrives at a moment of multiplying crises – from an unequal recovery from COVID-...
A group of former combatants with the FARC rebel group in Colombia have been reflecting on five years of peace and community building in a locality called Tierra Grata, which translates as “pleasant land”
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Amid new claims by Moscow of a covert biological weapons programme in Ukraine, the Director of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) affirmed on Friday that the UN is not aware of any such programme and has neither the mandate nor the technical operational capacity to investigate it - a message first delivered to the Security Council on 11 and 18 March, by High Representative Izumi Nakamitsu.
