State authority is crumbling across Haiti while gang violence engulfs the capital Port-au-Prince and beyond, “paralysing daily life and forcing families to flee,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council on Thursday.
State authority is crumbling across Haiti while gang violence engulfs the capital Port-au-Prince and beyond, “paralysing daily life and forcing families to flee,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council on Thursday.
Following a devastating 15-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants focused on southern Lebanon, the November 2024 cessation of hostilities created a fragile calm along the Blue Line separating the two countries.
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday issued a new warning over the deadly impacts of the ongoing Israeli blockade of Gaza on people there now suffering starvation.
Nearly two years of war in Gaza along with continued violence and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank underscore the need to end the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, a top UN official in the region told the Security Council on Wednesday.
After 500 days of siege, the city of El Fasher in Sudan’s North Darfur has become an epicentre of child suffering, with malnutrition, disease and violence claiming young lives every day, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday.
Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Miroslav Jenča
Remarks to the Security Council
On Nord Stream
New York, 26 June 2025
Mr. President,
Nearly three years have passed since the destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022.
This incident has increased concerns about the safety and security of critical civilian infrastructure at a time of heightened tensions in the region. It also sparked speculation over the past years.
This briefing, similarly to our previous briefings on this topic, is based solely on information that is publicly available and shared by the Member States concerned on the matter. The United Nations does not have any additional details of the events and is not in a position to verify or confirm claims or reports made regarding the incident.
To recap the events, between 26 and 29 September 2022, four leaks were reported in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines. These pipelines are located in international waters, within the Swedish and Danish economic zones in the Baltic Sea.
The pipelines were not in operation at the time, but they reportedly contained several hundred million cubic meters of natural gas.
According to a study coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme that was published in January this year, the incident resulted in the planet’s largest human-caused release of methane.
Nearly 70 scientists from 30 research organizations participated in the study. They concluded that the plausible range of the Nord Stream leak was anywhere from 445,000 to 485,000 tonnes - more than twice as much as previously thought. According to the experts, over the short-term, the Nord Stream leak contributed as much to global warming as would have 8 million cars driven for a year.
Although the incident only represents a small part of global methane emissions, it is an important reminder of the environmental impact on global warming caused by the destruction of critical infrastructure.
Mr. President,
After the leaks were reported, the Danish, German and Swedish authorities announced the launch of separate national investigations. The authorities have provided updates to the UN Security Council on these investigations.
Since we last briefed the Council on this topic on 24 April 2024, further communications have been received.
In a letter dated 16 August 2024 addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council (S/2024/619), the Charge d'Affaires of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation drew attention to media coverage of the Nord Stream incidents and investigation process.
On 9 September 2024, a joint letter from the Permanent Representatives of Denmark, Germany and Sweden to the President of the Security Council (S/2024/665) informed that the Office of the Federal Prosecutor in Germany continues to conduct criminal investigations into the sabotage against the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines.
In a letter from the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, dated 10 October 2024, addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council (S/2024/727) the Russian Federation reiterated its concerns about the ongoing German investigation and reiterated that they see a need for an international investigation into the Nord Stream incidents.
Most recently, a joint letter from the Permanent Representatives of Denmark, Germany and Sweden to the President of the Security Council, dated 22 August 2025, transmitted further information and updates regarding the investigation conducted by the German authorities.
According to this communication, the Federal Public Prosecutor General of Germany “continues to conduct criminal investigations on the sabotage against the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines”. It notes that “these investigations are conducted impartially, independently and in line with fundamental principles of the rule of law. They are ongoing.”
The information provided further notes that as part of this investigation, the Federal Public Prosecutor General of Germany has announced that a Ukrainian national was arrested in Italy on 21 August 2025, based on a European arrest warrant requested by the German authorities.
The United Nations is not in a position to comment on the ongoing investigations or legal proceedings.
Mr. President,
As we stated in our previous briefings on this topic, any intentional damage to critical civilian infrastructure is of serious concern. Such incidents should be condemned and investigated.
The protection of civilian infrastructure and security of international waters is critical for regional commerce, security, and stability. We continue to encourage Member States to further cooperate on these matters and to share information with each other.
In the current volatile security environment, we also urge not to politicize or speculate about any findings or developments related to ongoing investigation efforts. Instead, cooperation, trust and dialogue among all concerned is of utmost importance.
Thank you.
The killing of five more Palestinian journalists in Gaza by Israeli forces – bringing the total killed overall to 247 since the war began – should shock the world into action, the UN human rights office said on Tuesday.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) renewed his call for a ceasefire in Gaza following two deadly Israeli air strikes on the Nasser Hospital in the southern Strip on Monday.
One of the many ugly consequences of wars and conflict is injuries leading to a loss of limbs. Gaza, which now has the highest number of child amputees per capita anywhere in the world, is no exception.
More than half a million people in Gaza are trapped in famine, marked by widespread starvation, destitution and preventable deaths, according to a new UN-backed food security report released on Friday.
US and Qatari diplomatic efforts to bring a lasting peace to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have not yet led to improved conditions on the ground, where the security situation remains dire, the UN Security Council heard on Friday.
Terror attack survivors came together to bear witness at UN Headquarters on Thursday, emphasising that their voices must not be sidelined in shaping policy and driving efforts to prevent future atrocities.
Recent elections in Libya are a sure sign of the people’s desire to choose their own representatives, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the country said in the Security Council on Thursday.
With intensifying Israeli activity in and around Gaza City reportedly continuing on Thursday, UN chief António Guterres renewed his urgent call for a ceasefire, as Palestinians fled intense airstrikes, artillery shelling and gunfire.
Israeli airstrikes and shootings near aid hubs run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial US and Israel-backed initiative, have seen a dramatic increase in deaths and injuries leading to amputations, compounding the suffering of Palestinians struggling to stave off malnutrition and starvation as the conflict continues.
The UN Special Envoy for Syria briefed the Security Council on Thursday, saying that amid a strained ceasefire and military skirmishes in Syria, the political transition “remains on a knife’s edge”.
The threat posed by the terrorist group ISIL – known more widely in the Middle East as Da’esh – remains dynamic and diverse, with Africa currently experiencing the highest level of activity worldwide.
In recent days, reported attacks on healthcare facilities in Sudan’s Darfur State have forced some humanitarian groups to stop providing critical cholera services as the outbreak continues to spread.
Photo by: OSESGY/Abdel Rahman Alzorgan
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Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, briefed the Security Council’s open debate on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) on Tuesday, presenting the Secretary-General’s annual report and stressing the need to support survivors in conflict zones where services are increasingly inaccessible.
This Tuesday, the UN honoured fallen colleagues and reminded the world that aid workers should never be a target, as 2024 saw a shocking new record of 383 aid workers killed.
Hostilities between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza are intensifying as a devastating ground offensive looms, creating a limited opportunity for humanitarians to bring in shelter items, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, reported on Tuesday.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed recent diplomatic efforts spearheaded by the United States towards a peaceful settlement in Ukraine, his Spokesperson said on Tuesday in New York.
The UN has strongly condemned recent attacks carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) armed group in several locations in North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
With the news on Tuesday that a record 383 aid workers were confirmed killed in the line of duty last year, one veteran UN aid worker based in Gaza reaffirmed the resolve of humanitarians everywhere to save lives and relieve suffering, no matter how challenging the situation.
From Haiti and Yemen to Somalia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Security Council has used its authority to enact targeted sanctions, including travel bans, asset freezes and arms embargoes, against individuals or entities it deems a threat to international peace and security. These measures are more precise than the comprehensive sanctions imposed on entire nations during the latter part of the 20th century. Sanctions continue to change, largely in response to humanitarian concerns and questions of due process.
Today, there are 14 ongoing sanctions regimes in place. They support political settlement of conflicts in the Central African Republic, Libya, Sudan, South Sudan and Yemen. They aim to prevent escalating violence, insecurity, and criminal activities perpetrated by armed gangs in Haiti. They also seek to deter unconstitutional changes of government in Guinea Bissau. Additionally, they constrain the proliferation activities of the DPRK and the terrorist threats posted by ISIL (D’aesh) & Al-Qaida and Al-Shabaab. The Security Council Affairs Division (SCAD) in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) is responsible for assisting the Council in the design, implementation and evaluation of these sanctions regimes. Each regime is administered by a sanctions committee chaired by an elected member of the Council. There are currently nine monitoring groups, teams and panels that support the work of 10 of the 14 sanctions committees.
Security Council sanctions can be broadly considered as measures strategically imposed to restrict activities in a wide range of areas, aimed at achieving peace and security objectives. They are not meant to be punitive an end in themselves, but to be part of a comprehensive strategy, working in tandem with political dialogue, mediation, peacekeeping and special political missions to counter terrorism, prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and facilitate political settlements in countries emerging from conflict. The most common sanctions measures are arms embargoes, asset freezes and travel bans while others include commodity bans, maritime interdiction and restrictions on technical assistance.
Sanctions are designed to achieve their intended objectives through three primary mechanisms: coercion — imposing economic or political costs on a target to compel a change in behaviour; constraint — limiting an individual or group’s ability to act by restricting access to particular resources; and signaling — sending a clear message that certain behaviour are inappropriate and may lead to further measures.
One oft-cited successful sanctions regime is the Liberia sanctions regime, established by resolution 1521 (2003), in which the Council established a Committee to oversee an arms embargo, travel ban and trade sanctions on Liberia. The sanctions, which included a ban on diamond imports from that country, was lifted by the Council in 2007, in response to the Government’s cooperation with a mechanism set up to keep “conflict diamonds” from reaching world markets. The travel ban and asset freeze measures were lifted in 2015, and the sanctions regime was terminated in 2016.
However, while UN sanctions remain key instruments for maintaining international peace and security, views differ among Member States about their effectiveness. Some view arms embargoes and financial sanctions as essential for curbing violence and enforcing peace deals, while others argue that prolonged sanctions become ineffective and have unintended humanitarian consequences on civilians.
In response to humanitarian concerns over sanctions, the Council adopted resolution 2664 (2022), which introduced a humanitarian “carve out” to asset freezes across all UN sanctions regimes. Through this “carve out”, the Council ensured that “the provision, processing or payment of funds, other financial assets or economic resources or the provision of goods and services necessary to ensure the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance or to support other activities that support basic human needs” are not violations of UN sanctions. The text noted that this provision applied to all sanctions regimes equally, with the exception of 1267/1989/2253 ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida sanctions regime, which was initially covered for two years only. It has since been extended indefinitely through resolution 2761 (2024).
Prior to the adoption of resolution 2664, humanitarian organizations had to go through lengthy and often unclear administration processes to ensure compliance with sanctions regimes and to prove that aid gets to those in need without being diverted to sanctioned entities or individuals. The resolution has streamlined the process in most cases.
There have been other important developments in the UN sanctions landscape over the last few years. In October 2022, a new sanctions regime was established on Haiti. The sanctions regime on Mali was discontinued in August 2023 after the Council failed to reach an agreement on its renewal. On 28 March 2024, the Council failed to adopt a resolution that would have extended the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the DPRK Sanctions Committee due to a veto cast by the Russian Federation. On 19 July 2024, the Council passed resolution 2744 (2024), which strengthened the mandate of the Focal Point for De-listing by establishing new and improved delisting procedures for all individuals and entities on UN sanctions lists, other than the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List which fall under the purview of the Office of the Ombudsperson for the ISIL (Da’esh) & Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee and the ISIL (Da’esh) & Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee itself. The text also established an Informal Working Group on general Security Council sanctions issues. On 30 July 2024, the Council, through resolution 2745 (2024), lifted the arms embargo on the Central African Republic while maintaining restrictions on the supply of arms and military assistance to armed groups. On 29 July of this year, the Council renewed those restrictions.
Russian drone strikes on Ukraine overnight including in the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia reportedly killed at least 14 people – including three children.
UN aid teams in Gaza say that they’re only able to get less than half the lifesaving food support that is needed into the war-torn enclave.
Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Martha Pobee, briefed the Security Council on the deteriorating security and humanitarian conditions in South Sudan on Monday.
Adam Ibrahim was working with the UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, in his home country, Sudan, when conflict between rival armed forces erupted in early 2023 and he became a refugee alongside thousands of others who continue to flee the ongoing violence.
When Israeli forces in Gaza issue a new displacement order ahead of an incursion into a neighbourhood or city, Palestinian civilians are expected to pack their bags and flee – perhaps for the third, fourth, or tenth time.
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