Top UN officials continued to line up on Tuesday to defend the irreplaceable role of the global body’s agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, insisting that if implemented, the Israeli parliament’s decision to ban it would only deepen suffering in Gaza.
Our live coverage ranged from the Security Council and UN Headquarters to dispatches from across the Middle East as tensions escalated and the war on Gaza and Lebanon continued in the shadows of a new Israeli ban on UNRWA, the agency serving nearly six million Palestine refugees in the region. UN News app users can follow here.
Escalating violence and new atrocities in Sudan have pushed the humanitarian crisis to unprecedented levels, with displacement now exceeding 11 million people amid reports of mass killings and systematic-sexual violence across multiple regions, UN officials said on Tuesday.
Madam President,
Distinguished members of the Security Council,
The Middle East region witnessed yet another dangerous escalation over the weekend.
In the early hours of 26 October, the Israel Defense Forces announced that they conducted “precise strikes on military targets in Iran” – facilities that Israel said were missile manufacturing – which included Iran’s surface-to-air missile arrays and Iranian aerial capabilities. This is the first time Israel’s military has claimed responsibility for attacking sites in Iran. Israel said that the strikes were in response to Iran’s attack against Israel on 1 October.
The Islamic Republic of Iran stated that the Israeli military airstrikes targeted several sites in Khuzestan, Ilam and around Tehran provinces, with most of the missiles intercepted by its air defence system. Iran confirmed that four Iranian military officers and one civilian were killed. According to the General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, the attacks caused “limited and minor damage” to several radar systems.
The latest exchange of attacks between Israel and Iran risks plunging the region into the unknown at a time when we urgently need de-escalation on all fronts.
I echo the Secretary-General’s condemnation of all acts of escalation. These acts must stop.
Belligerent and threatening rhetoric must cease.
Both sides must stop testing the limits of each other’s restraint and act in the interest of peace and stability for the region.
Madam President,
The past year has unleashed untold suffering for people across the Middle East.
Tomorrow, this Council will receive a detailed briefing from Special Coordinator Tor Wennesland on the latest developments in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Yesterday, the Secretary-General expressed shock and despair regarding the unbearable conditions of Palestinian civilians trapped in North Gaza. The levels of death, injury, and destruction in the north are harrowing. Civilians are stuck under rubble. The sick and wounded are going without life-saving health care. Families lack food and shelter, amid reports of them being separated and many people detained. The postponement of the final phase of the polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza is putting the lives of thousands of children at risk. Living conditions in North Gaza – especially in around Jabalya, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun – are becoming untenable.
In Lebanon, hostilities between Hizbullah and the Israel Defense Forces continued through the weekend, including clashes on the ground in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reported 28 fatalities in southern Lebanon on 27 and 28 October, while five IDF reservists were reported killed on 26 October. Hizbullah issued a displacement notice to residents of northern Israel for the first time on 25 October, while Israel continued airstrikes across areas of Lebanon, including the South, the Bekaa, and the southern suburbs of Beirut in recent days.
I repeat the Secretary-General’s consistent calls for immediate ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon; for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages; and accountability for crimes under international law.
I urge all parties to cease all military actions to prevent an all-out regional war and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy.
Thank you, Madam President.
After a weekend of continuing Israeli military operations throughout the Gaza Strip and especially the north, UN humanitarians warned on Monday that the already dire aid situation “is only getting worse”.
We will be following the latest breaking news over the day, including from UN staff on the ground, dispatches from Gaza, Lebanon and the wider region, and the Israeli Knesset's vote to outlaw the work of UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA. We also recap the emergency Security Council meeting on escalating conflict between Iran and Israel. UN News app users can follow here.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Monday the people of Sudan are trapped in a “nightmare of violence, hunger, disease and displacement”, as the brutal war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues to rage.
Monday’s vote by the Israeli Knesset banning the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) contradicts principles of the UN Charter, violates Israel’s obligations under international law, and sets a dangerous precedent, the head of the Agency, Philippe Lazzarini has warned. The UN chief pledged later he would take the issue to the General Assembly.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed shock at the “harrowing levels of death, injury and destruction” in north Gaza amid an ongoing intense Israeli military operation, his Spokesperson said on Sunday.
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The UN Secretary-General on Saturday called for an immediate halt to all escalatory actions in the Middle East, following overnight attacks by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on targets in Iran.
The UN’s top humanitarian official warned on Saturday that the entire population of northern Gaza is at risk of dying, calling for an immediate stop to “blatant disregard for basic humanity” by Israeli forces.
The top UN humanitarian official in Sudan has raised alarm over a sharp escalation of violence in a region near the capital, Khartoum, where recent attacks reportedly carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have claimed more than 120 lives.
The newly released report underlines how DPPA is able to undertake a wide variety of its peace promotion work, as well as supporting regional cooperation, electoral support, climate security and youth engagement, through voluntary contributions from Member States.
In an era that has become increasingly defined by conflict and crises, the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) and its special political missions are working around the clock to prevent violent conflict and build lasting peace. The Department’s 2024 Mid-Year Report details how its chief fundraising mechanism — the Multi-Year Appeal — enables it to engage in a broad spectrum of activities, from mediation to supporting democratic processes. As 2024 unfolds, the importance of these voluntary contributions from Member States has never been clearer.
Mid-year achievements
Over the first half of 2024, DPPA used MYA funding to deploy its Standby Team of Senior Mediation Advisers to 71 assignments across the globe, from Chile to Vanuatu. These advisors helped lay the groundwork for peaceful resolutions to conflicts, facilitating dialogue and building trust between warring parties.
In 2024, roughly half the population of the world is expected to go to the polls. In the first half of the year, with MYA funding, the Department coordinated technical assistance for electoral processes in over 50 member states, contributing to 12 elections in countries including Chad, Ecuador, and Pakistan.
Through MYA funding, DPPA has ensured that local and regional voices are heard, by enhancing its engagement on peace and security issues. To that end, the Department has stepped up its collaboration with regional organizations like the African Union, the League of Arab States, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Its partnership with these bodies recognizes that an understanding of local and regional dynamics is essential to conflict resolution efforts.
The report also describes how MYA funding has enabled the Department to address the climate crisis and its impact on security and stability. Climate change can trigger population displacement, in turn leading to disputes over scarce resources, such as land and water. In 2024, DPPA deployed Climate, Peace and Security (CPS) advisors to the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) and the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) to tackle these issues and create innovation solutions with which to address them.
The flexibility afforded by MYA funding is crucial for the UN’s special political missions (SPMs), allowing for fast responses to emerging challenges. In Colombia, for example, the MYA enabled the UN Verification Mission to facilitate negotiations between the government and armed groups, including the ELN. The results were a clear indication that timely interventions can make a concrete difference in conflict resolution efforts.
In Sudan, MYA funding has supported international mediation efforts, providing real-time monitoring that informs Security Council discussions. MYA funding was also instrumental in enhancing the work of the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General, who is working in close collaboration with regional actors in accordance with Security Council resolution 2724 (2024). These efforts culminated in the Mediators Planning Retreat in Djibouti in late July, which convened all relevant multilateral organizations and Member States.
The MYA is the sole source of funding for DPPA’s work on Israel-Palestine and the Middle East Peace Process. It ensures that the Department remains able to provide timely analysis and recommendations regarding ongoing tensions.
The MYA is also instrumental in advancing the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda, underscoring the Department’s commitment to peacebuilding that is inclusive and participatory. By encouraging innovative practices and integrating rapidly advancing technology such as artificial intelligence, DPPA is enhancing its capacity to support the active participation of women and youth in peace processes. This commitment is reflected in ongoing investments in Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) initiatives, recognizing that young people are not only stakeholders in their own futures, but also key agents of change.
The MYA helps foster a culture of learning within DPPA, through evaluative exercises that continuously improve the impact and effectiveness of its work. By monitoring and analyzing its strategies, DPPA ensures that its efforts are responsive to the rapidly evolving global landscape.
“The MYA is vital in ensuring DPPA’s capability to address multiple protracted conflicts and crises,” said Markus Bouillon, Chief of the Office of the Under-Secretary-General of DPPA. “As the Mid-Year Report shows, the Appeal is a lifeline, enabling the Department — and our Special Political Missions — to work collaboratively with partners and deploy innovative approaches in our efforts to ensure a more peaceful world.”
As the Department moved across the half-way point of 2024, it had received $18.9 million of the $42 million needed to sustain its vital work. This shortfall underscores the urgent need for continued support from UN member states, whose voluntary contributions are indispensable for our work towards peace and stability around the globe. In an era where the challenges are multifaceted, the work of DPPA — and the contributions that sustain it — remind us that collective action is not just necessary, but essential.
To read the Multi-Year-Appeal 2024 Mid Year Report, click here.
Reports of Israeli troops storming one of the last functioning hospitals in northern Gaza are deeply concerning, while ongoing hostilities are hampering polio vaccination in the area, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
Top UN officials in Lebanon expressed alarm on Friday over an Israeli strike that hit an apartment building in southern Lebanon, killing three journalists and wounding three others.
24 October, New York — Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed launched today in the Security Council, the Secretary-General’s Common Pledge on Women’s Participation in Peace Processes, a new initiative to strengthen the role of women in making and building peace worldwide.
Speaking during the Council’s annual debate on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), the Deputy Secretary-General said, “Progress [on women’s participation] remains dishearteningly slow.”
“Peace and security decision-making remains overwhelmingly dominated by men,” she added, despite evidence that more inclusive peace processes lead to more sustainable and lasting peace agreements.
While women’s participation in peace processes is one of the tenets of the WPS Agenda, established by Security Council resolution 1325 in 2000, women remain starkly under-represented in — and often excluded from — peace negotiations and conflict resolution efforts. According to UN Women data for 2023, women, on average, made up less than 10 per cent of peace negotiators and 13.5 per cent of mediators.
This year’s Council debate on WPS took place under Switzerland’s Presidency with a focus on women building peace in a changing environment. It followed the release of the latest Secretary-General report on Women, Peace and Security.
The 2024 report notes that “All mediation actors can make a substantial impact by advocating for and supporting women’s equal right to participation and elevating the women, peace and security agenda in their peacemaking efforts and thus raise the prospects of peace efforts to both succeed and hold.”
A Common Pledge for Mediation Actors
As the current mediation landscape includes a variety of actors beyond the UN, the Common Pledge asks all mediating entities leading or co-leading peace processes, from Member States to regional organizations and other mediation actors, to commit to concrete steps to ensure the full, equal and meaningful participation of women.
In particular, by adopting the Common Pledge, informed by the work of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), mediating entities commit to appointing more women as lead mediators and ensuring women are an integral part of their mediation teams. They also agree to advocate with conflict parties for concrete targets and supporting measures to advance women’s direct and meaningful participation in peace processes, including as members of their negotiating delegations.
In addition, signatories to the Common Pledge undertake to consult a broad range of women leaders and women-led civil society in all stages of peace processes and to deploy gender experts in mediation teams to secure gender-responsive peace processes and agreements.
“By endorsing this Common Pledge Member States, regional organizations and other mediation actors commit to join the United Nations in taking concrete steps on women’s participation in all peace processes they are involved in,” said the Deputy Secretary-General, adding that “Together we can have an impact that is greater than the sum of our individual efforts.”
Member States, regional organizations and other mediation actors actively involved in mediation are invited to sign the Common Pledge. The next Security Council annual debate in October 2025 will provide an opportunity to take stock of progress made against the Common Pledge globally.
The UN on Thursday launched the “Common Pledge” initiative, designed to bring together mediators, governments, and civil society to ensure the full, equal and meaningful engagement of women in peace processes.
Ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Haiti, Sudan and Ukraine and beyond reveal that females are disproportionately affected – from gender-based violence to rape used as a tool of war – but the UN chief’s newly released report suggests eight ways for policymakers and interested parties to advance women’s role in peace and security.
An immediate ceasefire is needed in Gaza as the enclave faces the additional threat of polio spreading, if the final phase of a vaccination campaign continues to face delays in reaching the besieged north, where the “nightmare is intensifying”, top UN officials stressed on Thursday.
The BRICS intergovernmental organization can play a greater role in strengthening multilateralism for global development and security, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday, in remarks to the group’s summit hosted by Russia in the city of Kazan.
The UN Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon on Thursday urged the international community to push harder for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah warning that the country is on the brink of a humanitarian collapse.
Countries facing conflict, natural disasters and humanitarian crises are struggling to provide routine childhood immunisations leaving many children vulnerable to the resurgence of polio, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned in new report.
The conflict in Gaza and Lebanon is spilling over into Syria, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation, the UN Special Envoy for the country warned on Wednesday.
A strike in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip has led to death of at least one staff member of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, on Wednesday.
Countries facing conflict, natural disasters and humanitarian crises are struggling to provide routine childhood immunisations leaving many children vulnerable to the resurgence of polio, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned in new report.
The United Nations marked 15 years of its mandate on sexual violence and conflict with a commemoration ceremony held in New York on Wednesday.
The proportion of women killed in armed conflicts doubled last year compared to 2022, accounting for 40 per cent of all deaths in war, while UN-verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence increased by 50 per cent.
A displacement crisis in unfolding in Lebanon, as Israel’s escalating military offensive in the south and the bombing of Beirut continues to drive both Lebanese civilians as well as third country refugees from their homes and shelters, UN agencies warned on Wednesday.
The UN Security Council on Tuesday heard briefings from top officials on the Haiti crisis and although gangs continue spreading terror and fear there is a "glimmer of hope" that stability can return to the Caribbean island nation in the months ahead, said the UN Special Representative, following years of turmoil, extreme weather disasters and economic meltdown. UN News app users can follow our live coverage as it happened, here.
A deepening demographic crisis is roiling Ukraine, exacerbated by Russia’s full-scale invasion, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, said on Tuesday, underscoring an urgent need for comprehensive recovery strategies focused on human capital and socioeconomic reform.
Madam President,
Since the last time we briefed this Council in September, Russia’s relentless, systematic attacks have continued to bring immense suffering to the people of Ukraine.
Civilian casualties and extensive damage to critical civilian infrastructure are reported daily, with Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Sumy regions of Ukraine bearing the brunt.
Attacks over the weekend and this morning resulted in several casualties in Zaporizhzhia and Kryviy Rih.
On 15 and 16 October, attacks in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions of Ukraine resulted in civilian casualties and damage to residential building and a school, according to local authorities.
The ongoing hostilities have also led authorities in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region to further expand mandatory evacuations to some 7,000 people.
While the worst impact of the war continues to be felt in the front-line communities of eastern and southern Ukraine, death and destruction is also a daily occurrence away from the areas of active fighting. This includes residential areas of the capital, Kyiv, which was again targeted with drones this morning and over the weekend. On 16 October, Kyiv was reportedly attacked by over 130 drones. Lviv in the west of Ukraine and Odesa in the south have also been repeatedly hit, with multiple civilian casualties.
We are also concerned about the impact of continuing fighting across the Russian-Ukrainian border, particularly in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, following Ukraine’s August incursion.
In September, at least 208 Ukrainian civilians were killed and 1,220 injured, making it the month with the highest number of civilian casualties this year in Ukraine.
According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, launched in violation of the UN Charter and international law, 11,973 civilians, including 622 children, have been killed. 25,943 people, including 1,686 children, have been injured.
We reiterate that all attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international law, wherever they occur. They are unacceptable and must end immediately.
Civilian vessels and port infrastructure are equally protected under international humanitarian law.
Distressingly, we have witnessed the resumption of Russian attacks on Ukrainian Black Sea ports in recent weeks.
Since 1 September, these attacks damaged six civilian vessels as well as grain infrastructure in the ports, according to local officials.
As a result, wheat prices have increased more than 6 percent between 1 September and 14 October.
Prices of risk insurance for Ukrainian exporters have surged, affecting the Ukrainian agricultural sector.
The safety and sustainability of agricultural exports passing through the Black Sea remain critical for global food security.
The UN therefore continues engagement with Ukraine, the Russian Federation and Türkiye, as well as other stakeholders, in support of freedom and safety of navigation in the Black Sea.
Madam President,
Systematic Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have become one of the defining, abhorrent hallmarks of this war.
The large-scale destruction and interruption of power and water supplies throughout the country will likely worsen the living conditions for millions of Ukrainians through the third winter of this war.
Vulnerable groups - including older persons, people with disabilities, and the internally displaced - are likely to be disproportionately affected. Many may soon find themselves trapped in their homes without heating and other essential utilities.
These conditions are expected to magnify the already dire humanitarian situation.
In the first eight months of 2024, some 7.2 million people have received humanitarian assistance in Ukraine.
However, we remain deeply concerned about the 1.5 million people who we have been unable to properly reach in parts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, currently occupied by the Russian Federation.
We renew our call for the safe, rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief to all civilians in need, in accordance with International Humanitarian Law.
We also renew our call for donors to increase and accelerate flexible funding for the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan. Only just over half of it has been funded.
Madam President,
Widespread and systematic reports of torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war remains a grave concern. Ninety-seven percent of Ukrainian prisoners interviewed by OHCHR since March 2023 provided consistent and detailed accounts of torture or ill-treatment during captivity. Sixty-eight percent reported sexual violence.
Half of the Russian prisoners of war interviewed by OHCHR reported experiencing torture or ill-treatment, primarily during the initial stage of internment.
We urge the authorities of the Russian Federation, as well as of Ukraine, to end this practice and hold perpetrators accountable.
On a positive note, we welcome the exchange last Friday of 95 prisoners of war on each side and encourage continued exchanges. We also welcome the exchange of hundreds of bodies on the same day.
In the territory of Ukraine occupied by the Russian Federation, arbitrary detention, torture and restriction of civic space add to an already oppressive climate of fear.
We call for accountability for all human rights violations, in line with international norms and standards.
Madam President,
As long as the war continues, the safety and security of Ukraine’s nuclear sites remain in jeopardy.
The situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is particularly precarious. Reported regular explosions, drone attacks, gunfire, and repeated interruptions of external power supply increase the risk of a nuclear accident.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has also been monitoring the impact of reported military activities in the vicinity of Russia’s Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.
Preventing a nuclear accident during the war is vital. Attacking a nuclear power plant is unimaginable and unacceptable.
We continue to appeal for maximum restraint by all involved.
Madam President,
The Security Council’s Open Debate on women, peace and security later this week will highlight the crucial contributions of women to peace and security. We urge the full and equal participation of Ukrainian women in all efforts towards a better future of their country.
Next month will mark 1,000 days of this devastating war. A war that continues to cause deep human suffering, threatens regional stability, and worsens global divisions.
The Pact for the Future commits all of us to work towards a future of hope, cooperation and peace.
This commitment to work for peace also requires more efforts for peace in Ukraine.
The United Nations stands ready to support all meaningful efforts towards a just, comprehensive, and sustainable peace in Ukraine, in line with the UN Charter, international law and resolutions of the General Assembly.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially certified Egypt as malaria-free. The achievement marks the culmination of a century-long effort to eradicate a disease that has plagued the nation since ancient times.
