The UN Security Council is meeting on the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where fresh Israeli evacuation orders have uprooted tens of thousands amid relentless bombardment claiming hundreds of civilian lives in recent weeks – many of them children. “Food is running out. Those seeking it risk being shot. People...
For over a decade, Yemen has endured conflict between Houthi rebels and government forces. Millions of lives and livelihoods remain at risk, and the conflict shows no sign of ending. “The appetite for a military escalation remains,” Hans Grundberg, UN Special Envoy for Yemen, told ambassadors. While violence remains an...
Escalating conflict in Ukraine In an oral update, Ilze Brands Kehris, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, reported a sharp escalation in hostilities in Ukraine. Civilian casualties have surged, with April to June seeing nearly 50 per cent more deaths and injuries compared to the same period in 2024. “More...
Since January, the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), recorded over 4,000 individuals deliberately killed – a 24 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024. “The capital city was for all intents and purposes paralysed by gangs and isolated due to the ongoing suspension of international...
Briefing ambassadors in the Security Council, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East Khaled Khiari said more than 1,000 Palestinians had been killed since mid-June alone, many of them while seeking aid. Citing figures from the Gazan health authorities, he reported that the total number of Palestinian fatalities since 7 October...
On Friday, the UN Security Council heard sobering briefings from Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, and Shayna Lewis, Sudan Specialist and Senior Advisor with Preventing and Ending Mass Atrocities (PAEMA), a US-based organization. Ms. Pobee stressed that front lines continue to shift as the RSF and SAF press...
December’s local, legislative and presidential elections “represent a crucial opportunity” to strengthen democratic governance, promote reconciliation and consolidate stability, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations told ambassadors in the Security Council. The timely holding of presidential and legislative elections is a constitutional requirement, and the Government has consistently demonstrated its...
“From that day on, our home became a travel bag and our path became that of displacement … My childhood was filled with fear and anxiety and people I was deprived of,” she said, speaking via videoconference from Syria. Seema Sen Gupta, director of child protection and migration at...
One week since the Israel-Iran conflict erupted, diplomatic efforts to end the war are ramping up in Geneva today as foreign ministers from France, Germany, the UK and the European Union prepare to meet their Iranian counterpart. In New York, meanwhile, the UN Security Council is also set to discuss...
Ambassadors met to debate how poverty, inequality, and underdevelopment are fuelling conflict and instability, at a time when hostilities are increasing and demand for humanitarian aid is rising as resources dwindle. Every dollar spent on prevention could save up to $103 in conflict-related costs, according to the International Monetary Fund...
“The goal of the Israeli government is abundantly clear: the destruction of life in Gaza.” That’s how Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, opened her statement to the 59th session of the Council on Tuesday. Calling the war in Gaza “the most ruthless, prolonged...
“We are on an indefensible path of escalating conflict and open disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law,” said Volker Türk, addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Offering a global overview, he painted a stark picture of a world in crisis – with surging armed conflict, deepening...