December 2023 - Career Meaning

Justice served: Lebanon’s Special Tribunal closes

Established by Security Council resolution 1757 in 2007, the Special Tribunal’s jurisdiction also extended to other attacks that were judicially determined to be connected to the Beirut attack on 14 February 2005. The assassination of Mr. Hariri involved explosives equivalent to 2,500 to 3,000 kilograms of dynamite, detonated as his motorcade travelled across downtown Beirut…

Last UN peacekeepers poised for complete withdrawal from Mali

The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) was deployed to Mali in 2013 following a violent insurrection by separatist rebels attempting to take control of the north of the country and a subsequent military-led coup. Established by UN Security Council resolution 2100, the mission included more than 15,000 troops and personnel who served…

Ethiopia: Prioritize victims amidst legacy of rights abuses, UN office urges

A joint report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission emphasized the need to implement all components of transitional justice equally. These include criminal accountability, truth-seeking, reparations, and guarantees of non-recurrence, involving effective remedies for victims, legal reforms, and reconciliation. One of the recommendations…

Security Council holds emergency meeting on attacks in Belgorod, Russia

At least 18 civilians were killed and more than 100 injured in an attack on Belgorod, said Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General in the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (UN DPPA), briefing the Council on the latest developments. Russia had called for the emergency meeting following reported attacks on Belogorod. Located about 40 km…

Lookahead to 2024: January to June

Whilst we can’t predict what will be making the headlines, we do know that the UN will make full use of its unique convening power, to bring together leaders and decision-makers in the hope of making the world a more peaceful, equitable and prosperous place for all. As many people look forward after the end…

Report card 2: Half-way to the global goals deadline

Launched in 2015, the Agenda set out a 15-year plan to realize 17 interconnected targets, known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and change that trajectory. In the second of a two-part series, UN News looks at how far the world has come since 2015 in tackling climate change, creating clean energy and sustainable food production…

UN chief condemns Russian attacks against Ukrainian cities and towns

Overnight, Russian armed forces reportedly launched 158 missiles and drones in several waves targeting locations across Ukraine, including in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Cherkasy, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia regions. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Secretary-General António Guterres underscored that attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure “violate international humanitarian law, are unacceptable and…

Security Council discusses crisis in the Middle East; UN chief warns of conflict’s ‘further spillover’

Highlights Video feed of the Security Council meeting. Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East at the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) briefed the Security Council, expressing grave concern over Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank. He also reported increased tensions in the wider Middle East region, with continued…

Gaza: UN calls for urgent aid scale-up amid new mass exodus to Rafah

“A traumatized and exhausted population” is being “crammed into a smaller and smaller sliver of land,” UN emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths warned on social platform X on Friday. But serious obstacles persist to bringing more aid to those in need amid relentless Israeli bombardment and intense fighting on the ground. UN humanitarian affairs coordination…

Report card 1: Half-way to the global goals deadline

Launched in 2015, the initiative set out a 15-year plan to realize 17 interconnected targets, known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since then, the ambitious goals have shaped national action plans, from building resilient cities and reducing inequalities to taking climate action and forging strong public and private sector partnerships. This two-part series looks…