From land disputes in Guatemala to youth leadership in Colombia, Indigenous Peoples are leading efforts to resolve conflict and build sustainable peace in their communities. At a time of rising inequality and growing demand for natural resources, Indigenous rights and leadership is becoming ever more central to preventing conflict and restoring trust in fragile settings. Ahead of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on 9 August, the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) highlights how, together with its partners, it is working to support and amplify Indigenous-led peacebuilding efforts around the world.
Earlier this year, DPPA co-sponsored a high-level discussion titled “Indigenous Peacebuilding as a Pathway Towards Healing Peoples, for Peace & Planet” on the margins of the twenty-fourth session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), which took place from 21 April to 2 May 2025. In her remarks, Awa Dabo, Deputy Head of the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) highlighted the significance of the UN General Assembly resolution on the rights of Indigenous Peoples (A/79/455), adopted in December 2024. “Peacebuilding must honour and respect Indigenous governance and institutions, while upholding their right to full participation in political, economic, social, and cultural life,” she said. The resolution affirms that sustainable peace must be anchored in the recognition and protection of Indigenous rights, including meaningful participation in peace agreement negotiations, transitional justice, conflict resolution, and mediation efforts. The resolution also emphasizes the role of indigenous women in advancing inclusive peace and stresses the need to address historic injustices and strengthen Indigenous institutions as a foundation for long term reconciliation.
DPPA is helping turn these commitments into reality through a range of projects backed by the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund (PBF).
In Colombia, War Child’s “Intercultural Mae Kiwe” project promotes the safe and meaningful participation of Afro-Descendant and Nasa youth in political and peacebuilding activities, focusing on the protection of their rights and integrating traditional practices into local peacebuilding efforts. In Guatemala’s Polochic Valley, a joint OHCHR and FAO initiative has trained 582 Qeqchi leaders from 10 communities, strengthening their capacity to manage agrarian conflicts and engage in land and food security governance. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a collaboration among FAO, UNHCR, and UNICEF has helped reduce the marginalization of the Indigenous Twa by securing legal land titles, supporting reconciliation ceremonies, and establishing community committees with significant Twa representation. In the Philippines, IOM, UNFPA, and UN Women are facilitating dialogue between minority non-Moro Indigenous Peoples and government taskforces, building their capacity for effective participation in peace processes.
These projects reflect a broader strategic shift: recognizing Indigenous Peoples not only as beneficiaries of peacebuilding but as active agents shaping it. The initiatives also illustrate how support from the Peacebuilding Fund is helping close the implementation gap between global norms — such as A/79/455 — and realities on the ground. During the event, Member States including Australia, Guatemala and Mexico shared national experiences and emphasized the importance of Indigenous peacebuilders, mediators and facilitators. “We must ensure the strengthening of the capacities and empowerment of Indigenous Peoples to enable their participation in all peace initiatives, negotiations, and mechanisms,” said Ambassador José Alberto Bríz Gutiérrez, Permanent Representative of Guatemala to the United Nations. Participants, including Indigenous representatives, echoed these calls, advocating for continued DPPA support to ensure their communities have the resources, platforms and protection needed to contribute to peace.
Participants also underscored the need to respond to long-standing sources of tension affecting Indigenous communities. The UN Permanent Forum has warned that the unprecedented demand for critical minerals is intensifying tensions between extractive industries, authorities, and Indigenous communities whose lands are rich in these resources. As these tensions grow, genuine partnership with Indigenous Peoples will be key to preventing violence and fostering sustainable peace.
“The United Nations, Member States, Indigenous Peoples, all have to engage on the way forward to include and amplify Indigenous wisdom, knowledge and voices in multilateral peace efforts — in peace talks, mediation and reconciliation processes,” said Binalakshmi Nepram, founder of the Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous peacemaker from Manipur. “This is about our shared humanity, and we thank DPPA for the valuable support and partnership.”
In Gaza, UN aid teams continue to report that Gaza is on the brink of famine with the UN human rights chief on Monday denouncing images of starvation inside the enclave as “an affront to our collective humanity.”
Five years have passed since the explosion at the Beirut Port shattered lives and neighbourhoods and shocked the world. The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, today expressed solidarity with all those affected by the blast, many of whom continue to bravely pursue justice.
Following a meeting with families of several victims last week, the Special Coordinator stressed that progress in judicial proceedings...
Cholera is ripping through North Darfur, Sudan, threatening thousands of children already weakened by hunger and displacement, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Sunday, as aid convoys struggle to reach cut-off communities amid escalating conflict.
Recent attacks by armed groups in northern Mozambique displaced tens of thousands in July alone, deepening an already dire humanitarian crisis in Cabo Delgado and straining limited aid supplies.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mr. President,
First, allow me to join you in thanking Pakistan for successfully presiding over the Security Council in the month of July. I wish also to congratulate Panama for taking over the Council presidency during the month of August and wish them all the best.
Mr. President,
With only one week since our last briefing to this Council on the situation in Ukraine, we are meeting again as the Russian Federation continues its brutal attacks across the country.
Overnight, between 30 and 31 July, yet another large-scale Russian missile and drone attack hit Kyiv.
At least 31 people, including five children, were reportedly killed.
159 people, including at least 16 children, were reportedly injured. The number of children injured in this attack was the highest in a single night in the city since the beginning of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion.
According to local officials, the strike damaged 27 locations across four districts of the capital, including a school, a preschool, a pediatric wing of a hospital and a university building. An entire section of an apartment block was also reportedly destroyed, leaving many trapped beneath the burning rubble.
Following the attack, humanitarian partners, including UN agencies and local non-governmental organizations in Kyiv, provided immediate emergency assistance to affected families. Aid workers also distributed emergency shelter kits to repair damaged windows, offered initial psychological aid, legal counselling, and psychosocial support to residents.
In addition to Kyiv, seven other regions of Ukraine - Vinnytsia, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia, Cherkasy, and Chernihiv - were targeted that night with at least 120 civilian casualties reported across the country.
In the frontline Donetsk region of Ukraine, two people were reportedly killed and 10 others injured.
In the Kharkiv region, one person was reportedly killed and seven others injured.
Civilian casualties were also reported in Sumy, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
These most recent terrible and devastating attacks follow a deadly wave of daily, relentless Russian air strikes.
On the night of 28 July and the early hours of 29 July, at least 25 people were reportedly killed and dozens more injured across Ukraine.
In Bilenke, the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, a reported Russian attack hit a prison facility, killing 16 and injuring 35 people.
In the city of Kamianske in the Dnipropetrovsk region, a reported Russian attack hit a hospital. Three people, including a young pregnant woman, were killed, and at least 22, including 10 medical workers, were reportedly injured.
In the village of Novoplatonivka in the Kharkiv region, six people were reportedly killed in an attack that hit people gathered to receive humanitarian aid.
On 27 July, a drone struck a civilian bus near Ivolzhanske, Sumy region, reportedly killing three elderly women and injuring 19 other passengers.
These continuing horrendous attacks are simply unacceptable.
In total, according to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), since the start of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 until 30 June, launched in blatant violation of the UN Charter and international law, 13,580 civilians, including 716 children, have been killed. 34,115 civilians, including 2,173 children, have been injured.
Since our last briefing, we have also continued to see reports of civilian casualties, including civilian deaths in the Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk and Rostov regions of the Russian Federation.
According to the Russian authorities, in the Belgorod region, between 25 and 29 July, at least two civilians were reportedly killed and seven others were wounded as a result of drone and missile strikes.
In the Bryansk region, between 26 and 28 July, two civilians were reportedly injured as a result of drone strikes.
In the Kursk region, between 25 and 26 July, one person was reportedly killed and six others were reportedly injured as a result of drone attacks and a mine explosion.
In the Leningrad region, on 28 July, debris from a crashed drone reportedly caused a fire, killing one civilian and injuring three.
In the Rostov region, on the night of 29 July, a reported drone strike killed a driver and triggered a fire at a railway station.
While the United Nations is not in a position to verify these reports, we remain concerned about the increasing impact of the reported Ukrainian strikes on the civilian population in the Russian Federation.
We also reiterate that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international law and must stop immediately – wherever they occur.
Mr. President,
Last week, we commended the parties for the continuing prisoners of war exchanges that reunited thousands of people with their families.
The situation of the remaining captives, however, remains of serious concern.
Since early June, OHCHR has interviewed nearly 140 male Ukrainian prisoners of war who were recently released, many after up to three years of captivity.
Nearly all of the former prisoners interviewed by OHCHR reported having been subjected to torture or ill-treatment, including severe beatings, electric shocks, sexual violence, dog attacks, suffocation, mutilation, or conditions so inhumane that they resulted in the deaths of fellow prisoners. These findings confirm the previously documented patterns of widespread and systematic torture.
Civilians detained by the Russian Federation and interviewed by OHCHR also continued to recount widespread and routine torture and ill-treatment, as well as arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance.
Disturbingly, OHCHR has also recorded credible allegations of the execution of 106 Ukrainian soldiers captured by the Russian armed forces between late August 2024 and May 2025.
We continue to urge the sides to fulfill their obligations under international humanitarian law in their treatment of prisoners of war. We also encourage them to continue the exchanges to bring all prisoners home.
Mr. President,
Ukrainian people have endured nearly three and a half years of unimaginable horrors, death, devastation and destruction.
They urgently need relief from this nightmare.
We therefore reiterate our urgent call for an immediate, unconditional, and complete ceasefire to pave the way towards a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.
A peace that is in line with the Charter of the United Nations, international law, and relevant UN resolutions in full respect of the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders.
Diplomacy, not fighting, needs to escalate in the coming days and weeks.
Diplomacy that leads to real, tangible, verifiable and lasting results that would be felt by the long-suffering people on the ground.
The United Nations remains ready to support all meaningful efforts to this end.
Thank you.
Despite Israel’s 27 July announcement of daily military pauses in western Gaza “to improve humanitarian responses,” Israeli forces continued attacks along food convoy routes and near Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid sites, according to the UN human rights office in Palestine (OHCHR).
Two gangs in Haiti took over a radio station in April. They broadcasted propaganda and played hip-hop supportive of their activities. Upon leaving, they took all the equipment with them and burned down a nearby market — a reminder that armed violence in Haiti is not only taking people’s lives but also destroying their livelihoods.
The UN Security Council meets Friday afternoon to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, where recent attacks have left dozens dead or injured. A senior UN political affairs official is expected to brief on the situation. Follow our live coverage from UN News, in coordination with UN Meetings Coverage, for real-time updates and key developments from the chamber. UN News App users can follow the coverage here.
As Gaza faces famine-like conditions, large numbers of people reportedly continue to be killed and injured while searching for food, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday.
A senior UN official on Friday warned of mounting civilian casualties and worsening humanitarian conditions in Ukraine, as a wave of Russian missile and drone strikes this week killed dozens and injured scores across multiple regions – including pregnant women and children.
In Gaza, UN aid teams continued their efforts on Thursday to help people of the war-shattered enclave by retrieving urgently needed fuel and other supplies from the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south of the Strip.
The UN Security Council met on Thursday morning to discuss threats to international peace and security, with a focus on the situation in Ukraine. The meeting was requested by Russia. Follow our live updates as UN News, in coordination with UN Meetings Coverage, brings you key highlights and takeaways from today’s session. UN News app users can follow the coverage here.
At least 11 civilians were killed and over 130 injured in Russian strikes overnight in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country, HRMMU, reported on Thursday.
Famine conditions are tightening their grip on the Gaza Strip, as the latest UN humanitarian update warns of soaring malnutrition-related deaths, relentless civilian attacks, and mounting obstacles to aid access amid deepening crisis.
As Myanmar reels from deadly floods, renewed fighting and widespread displacement, the United Nations warned on Thursday that urgent humanitarian needs are going unmet due to escalating violence and blocked access.
Welcome to our live coverage of the third day of high-level international conference at UN Headquarters, aimed at advancing practical steps toward achieving a two-State solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Mandated by the General Assembly meeting features plenaries, working groups and interventions from senior UN officials and Member States. UN News app users can follow here.
People in Haiti have expressed “despair” following the “abrupt suspension” of a wide range of humanitarian services, according to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, in the Caribbean country.
Despite daily “tactical pauses” declared by Israeli forces, humanitarian conditions in Gaza remain catastrophic, with children starving, aid workers overwhelmed and fuel and water supplies critically low, UN humanitarians reported on Wednesday.
With Gaza in ruins and the two-State solution in jeopardy, ministers convened at the United Nations this week to jumpstart political momentum toward ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – a crisis Secretary-General António Guterres warned is “at a breaking point.”
Mr. President,
Excellencies,
I thank the Permanent Mission of Pakistan for convening this important briefing and creating this opportunity to hear the views of the members of this Council as we conduct the review of United Nations peace operations mandated by the Pact for the Future.
The Pact recognized UN peace operations – which comprise peacekeeping operations and special political missions – as essential instruments of multilateral action for peace.
For nearly eight decades, these operations have enabled the United Nations to deliver tailored responses to critical peace and security challenges.
Today, however, their work is shaped in new ways by a number of trends:
Growing geopolitical fragmentation has led to increasing divergences of opinion – especially within the Security Council and among host states – around how our missions should function, what mandates they should be given, and under what circumstances they should be deployed.
Meanwhile, peace operations confront an evolving and more complex conflict landscape:
And yet, just as these threats are converging, increased competition at the geostrategic level is making international cooperation to address them more difficult.
In light of the challenges facing peace operations, there is a clear need to reflect on their future.
Mr. President,
As part of our reflections for this review, we went back into the history of special political missions since 1948 to distill ideas for the future.
During the Cold War, political tensions ran high and ideological divisions hindered multilateral cooperation. But this Council was able to find common ground through the work of our missions, which provided impetus for parties to settle disputes peacefully and avoid armed confrontation.
To mention a few cases:
In 1969, the diplomatic engagement by the Secretary-General’s Representative to Equatorial Guinea facilitated an agreement on the withdrawal of the Spanish forces stationed in the country, leading to the end of the dispute.
In 1970, envoys of the Secretary-General helped advance self-determination, such as in Bahrain.
In 1974 they conducted fact finding on the border dispute between Iraq and Iran.
From the decolonization process in Africa ushering the birth of new nations in the 1960s to Central America in the 1980s and early 1990s in the dying days of the Cold War, UN special political missions have helped Member States navigate political transitions at times of heightened tensions and advance peace and security.
Our support to South Africa at the end of apartheid furthered the National Peace Accord, amidst a charged political atmosphere as old structures crumbled and new ones emerged. Our political mission helped observe the elections that inaugurated a democratic, non-racial, and united society with the election of Nelson Mandela.
There are important lessons from this rich history of UN special political missions:
First, many of our political deployments were timebound and targeted. The focus was on a political task – as a matter of priority – and without a plethora of additional activities overextending their mandate.
Second, the missions were proactive in the use of the Secretary-General’s good offices, both through his immediate office and that of his representatives and the UN Secretariat.
Third, they came about sometimes with Security Council and Member State support, and at other times, they were a result of the Secretary-General expanding the diplomatic space in the most discreet fashion and away from the glare of the public spotlight and away from Security Council dynamics.
Fourth, the majority of these missions were nimble, easy to deploy, relatively economical to maintain and without major overheads and costs. In other words, small was beautiful. This is a valuable lesson to remember.
Fifth, the political and good offices work of these mission was based on consent, as must all mediation and dialogue be. In a time of divisions when external actors are viewed sometimes with suspicion and mistrust, it is essential that the work of UN special political mission, of small missions sent by the Secretary-General, be based on the consent and willingness of the host government, of the parties concerned and of the people of that country. The trust deficit we see today did not exist with many of our more successful missions in the past – this rich history must be re-explored and mined.
Mr. President,
Based on reflections on the past and indeed our present, I see three priorities to make special political missions more effective in the new era we are entering:
First, we must double down on diplomacy and peacemaking.
Politics, diplomacy, dialogue, and indeed peacemaking are the core work of this Organization. They remain our best tools—not only for resolving conflicts, but also for building trust, easing strategic rivalries, and bridging global divides.
As the Security Council recognized in resolution 2788 last week [on 22 July], Member States must make full use of the mechanisms for the pacific settlement of disputes outlined in Article 33 of the Charter. When they do so, special political missions can play an important role in advancing the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
To make peace, there is no alternative than to bring conflict parties to the table and help them reach agreement. But it is painstaking work and requires patient, often dogged, as well as responsive engagement.
Syria is a case in point. Over a decade, the people of Syria endured a terrible war, but changes in the political circumstances on the ground suddenly shifted the prospects for diplomacy. Thus, since December last year, our Special Envoy has engaged with Syrians across all of society, including the Syrian interim authorities, to support an inclusive political transition, de-escalate violence, protect civilians, and prevent regional spillover.
Second, to be successful, our political missions must be responsive to the needs of their host State or States – and, conversely, enjoy the support of their host State or States.
The responsibility for achieving political solutions rests with national actors. It is only logical, therefore, that national actors should be not just consulted, but rightfully heard, throughout the entire life cycle of a mission. We must walk away from missions that seem imposed by this Council or the international community.
Well defined mandates designed to address specific issues help manage expectations and maintain the confidence of the parties, as the work of our mission in Colombia demonstrates. The close collaboration between the Government of Colombia and the UN Mission there is a fine example of the possibilities that UN political missions can bring to a country implementing a peace agreement.
Just as crucially, given that peace is an all-of-society effort, our missions are most effective when they actively engage women and youth as well as civil society and marginalized groups in their work.
Inclusion must be at the heart of all our efforts. This means actively promoting the participation of women in political processes, as we have endeavored to do, for example, in Libya, in Syria, in Yemen, and in electoral processes in West Africa and the Sahel. Here, how we do such work matters, including through the use of digital technologies and AI to enhance inclusion, outreach, and new ideas for political solutions.
Third, we must maintain adaptability in the design of special political missions while ensuring that their core focus is always political.
When the Council finds common ground, we have the capacity to design profoundly innovative missions: from eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons through the OPCW-UN Joint Mission, for example, to promoting accountability for crimes committed by Daesh/ISIL through the creation of UNITAD in Iraq.
Special political mission run the gamut from envoys’ offices to regional offices, to investigative missions, to in-country field presences, to ceasefire monitoring missions, and electoral missions. They are diverse and responsive to the context at hand. But irrespective of the form they take, their core work is to pursue political solutions.
We must maintain this adaptability and this clarity of focus.
Mr. President,
Throughout its history, the United Nations has grappled with intractable conflicts and deep divisions, much like those we are witnessing today. We have been there.
Throughout its history, the United Nations has grappled with intractable conflicts, but one clear lesson is that amid acute geopolitical tensions, peace operations have helped Member States mount tailored responses to challenges to international peace and security. They exemplify collective action for peace. Their work is hard. It requires tenacity. But it is doable.
This review on the future of all forms of UN peace operations is a chance for reflection, self-awareness and honesty. We must ask ourselves:
How can we rebuild consensus and trust among Member States around these essential instruments?
How can we better engage with a laser like focus on matters of peace and security in which our missions have a comparative advantage – a re-emphasis on the politics?
How can we ensure that we have both Security Council and Member States support for such missions even as we enable the Secretary-General to utilise his diplomatic toolbox?
The answers are not easy. But we look forward to continued engagement with this Council throughout the review process and to working together to making peace operations a more effective instrument in the service of political solutions, and indeed for peace.
Thank you.
Appointed in November 2023, Ramtane Lamamra, former Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, serves as the UN Secretary‑General’s Personal Envoy for Sudan. Following the completion of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) on 29 February 2024, Mr. Lamamra commenced his work in support of mediation efforts, in close coordination with African and other international partners, including the African Union and IGAD. Mandated by the Security Council to use his good offices, he engages with the parties to the conflict, convenes proximity talks, facilitates political dialogue, and provides updates to the Security Council on efforts to resolve the crisis. These mediation efforts complement the ongoing work of the UN Country Team on the ground, which continues to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance to the people of Sudan.
In an era marked by geopolitical fragmentation and rising global tensions, United Nations peace operations face unprecedented challenges, but senior officials told the Security Council on Tuesday that with renewed political will and strategic adaptation, these missions remain indispensable tools for conflict resolution and protection of civilians worldwide.
“The worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza,” UN-backed food security experts said on Tuesday, in a call to action amid unrelenting conflict, mass displacement and the near-total collapse of essential services in the war-battered enclave.
Welcome to our continuing live coverage of the high-level international conference at UN Headquarters, aimed at advancing practical steps toward achieving a two-State solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Mandated by the General Assembly, the three-day meeting features plenaries, working groups and interventions from senior UN officials and Member States. UN News app users can follow here.
An attack on a prison in the south-eastern Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine on Monday reportedly left 16 prisoners dead and almost 100 injured, violating international law, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) has said.
In an era marked by geopolitical fragmentation and rising global tensions, United Nations peace operations face unprecedented challenges, but senior officials told the Security Council on Tuesday that with renewed political will and strategic adaptation, these missions remain indispensable tools for conflict resolution and protection of civilians worldwide.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the ceasefire agreement between Cambodia and Thailand following days of deadly fighting over their mutual border.
A fragile de-escalation in Syria’s Sweida region is “largely holding” after weeks of violence displaced 175,000 people, killed hundreds and devastated critical infrastructure – exposing deep fissures in the country’s political transition.
The UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUSCO, strongly condemned an attack by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) on civilians during the night of 26 to 27 July.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has reached a breaking point, calling for bold political action to salvage the two-State solution and halt what he described as the systemic dismantling of peace efforts.
Welcome to our live coverage of the high-level international conference at UN Headquarters, aimed at advancing practical steps toward achieving a two-State solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Mandated by the General Assembly, the three-day meeting features plenaries, working groups and interventions from senior UN officials and Member States. UN News App users can follow here.
A world in which a sovereign State of Palestine and Israel co-exist peacefully seems a distant prospect, particularly in light of the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas on Israel, and the subsequent Israeli bombardment of Gaza. A high-level UN conference opening on 28 July will, nevertheless, serve as the latest UN-backed attempt to find a way to end the conflict.
As starvation worsens in war-torn Gaza, UN agencies repeated warnings on Monday that Israel’s decision to support a “one-week scale-up” of aid is far from enough to reverse deadly malnutrition rates in the enclave.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday warned that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “at a breaking point” and headed toward a one-State reality marked by perpetual occupation and inequality, unless the international community takes urgent, irreversible steps to implement the two-State solution.
United Nations agencies welcomed on Sunday Israel’s pledge to implement daily humanitarian pauses in its military operations in Gaza, aimed at easing the flow of desperately needed aid into and across the devastated enclave.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mr. President,
The Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs briefed the Security Council on the situation in Ukraine last time a little more than a month ago. Since then, the daily barrage of Russian missiles and drones against Ukrainian cities and towns has continued to intensify with devastating consequences for the civilian population.
According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in June, civilian casualties in Ukraine reached a three-year high.
In the first half of the year alone, 6,754 civilians were killed or injured.
According to Ukrainian authorities, so far in July, the Russian Federation has launched at least 5,183 long-range munitions against Ukraine, including a record number of 728 long-range drones on 9 July.
In recent weeks, the capital city of Kyiv and the historic port city of Odesa have been especially heavily impacted by the daily attacks involving massive swarms of hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles.
And while frontline areas of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine remain particularly dangerous for civilians, nowhere is safe in Ukraine.
Over the last few weeks, civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure have also been reported in western Ukrainian regions of Lviv, Volyn, Chernivtsi, as well as in Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk, with the last two cities reportedly experiencing their heaviest aerial attacks of the war.
Across the country, attacks have struck hospitals, schools, energy and transport infrastructure, and residential buildings.
On 21 July, a massive Russian aerial strike on Kyiv reportedly caused damage to a metro station where hundreds were seeking shelter. The same attack reportedly set a kindergarten on fire and damaged a multi-story residential building, resulting in dozens of civilian casualties.
On 11 July, Russian drones hit the city centre of Kharkiv, reportedly damaging a maternity ward at the country’s second-largest hospital, forcing mothers with newborns to flee.
On 24 June, a country-wide Russian drone and missile attack reportedly struck a passenger train and damaged more than 40 schools and kindergartens, a cathedral, eight medical centres and hospitals, and several residential buildings. At least 21 people were reportedly killed and more than 300 injured. The same devastating scene was repeated during another record-level attack across Ukraine on 29 June.
In total, since the beginning of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, OHCHR has verified that at least 13,580 civilians, including 716 children, have been killed. 34,115 civilians, including 2,173 children, have been injured.
My colleague, Assistant-Secretary-General Msuya, of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, will provide updates about the impacts of the escalating attacks on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
Mr. President,
We are also concerned about the increasing number of reported civilian casualties, reportedly resulting from Ukrainian drone attacks inside the Russian Federation.
According to Russian officials, Ukrainian drone attacks in recent weeks have led to civilian casualties in the Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Lipetsk and Tula regions of the Russian Federation.
Moscow and St. Petersburg have also been targeted with dozens of drones, reportedly causing severe disruptions to air traffic.
Following one such recent series of attacks, between 5 and 7 July, over 2,000 flights were reportedly disrupted in multiple Russian airports, including in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Nizhniy Novgorod.
The United Nations, however, is not in a position to verify these reported incidents in the Russian Federation, including any reports of civilian casualties.
International law clearly prohibits attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure. We strongly condemn all such attacks – wherever they occur. They must end immediately.
Mr. President,
The intensified aerial attacks and fighting on the ground continue to pose a significant threat to the safety and security of Ukraine’s nuclear sites.
On 11 July, a drone attack reportedly hit the city hall in Enerhodar, where most of the staff of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) live, located only about five kilometres from the Plant.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the reported drone attack followed reports of an overnight shooting incident near the ZNPP on 12 July.
On 4 July, IAEA raised concerns over the reported loss by ZNPP of all its off-site power for several hours.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s operating nuclear power plants – Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine – also regularly report of drones being detected near the sites.
These latest incidents underline the fragility of nuclear safety and security during the war and the need to ensure sustained attention to this issue.
We continue to urge the sides to act responsibly. Any nuclear incident must be avoided at all costs.
Mr. President,
Already at the end of last year, the total cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine was assessed at $524 billion over the next decade. The most recent escalation of attacks is quickly adding to this toll.
In this regard, this year’s Ukraine Recovery Conference that took place in Rome earlier this month, represented a significant milestone in the international community’s commitment to supporting Ukraine’s long-term reconstruction.
The event culminated in over $11 billion in pledged funding.
Speaking on behalf of the Secretary-General, Acting UNDP Administrator Haoliang Xu reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to supporting Ukraine to rebuild stronger—from advancing green energy and mine action to supporting community resilience.
It is crucial that the international solidarity with Ukraine is sustained as the country embarks on its long journey for recovery.
Mr. President,
On Wednesday, Ukrainian and Russian delegations met in Istanbul for the third time this year.
We welcome the continuation of these direct contacts between the sides and urge Ukraine and the Russian Federation to make further progress towards a ceasefire and a lasting settlement.
We are grateful for the meaningful efforts of Türkiye, the United States and other relevant actors to help sustain the necessary diplomatic momentum.
We commend in particular the reported progress made in the humanitarian track of these talks, including with regards to exchanges of prisoners of war and civilian detainees.
Since late May, following the first two rounds of negotiations in Istanbul, the Russian Federation and Ukraine have already reportedly exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war, including those badly injured, as well as more than 7,000 mortal remains.
Each such exchange and repatriation alleviates the pain of the affected families and serves as a reminder that diplomacy can work.
We therefore call on the sides to continue such exchanges.
Mr. President,
On Tuesday, this Council unanimously adopted a resolution reiterating that all States “shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means through dialogue, diplomatic engagement and cooperation in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.”
The resolution also underscored the importance of the full, equal and meaningful participation of women, and meaningful participation of youth in dispute resolution efforts.
As the Secretary-General stated during that meeting, “Diplomacy may not have always succeeded in preventing conflicts, violence and instability. But it still holds the power to stop them.”
With this in mind, and recalling the Security Council resolution 2774 (2025) adopted in February, it is crucial that the momentum of the ongoing diplomatic contacts is not only sustained, but reinforced by genuine political will to make tangible progress towards ending the current dangerous cycle of escalation, as soon as possible.
The heartbreaking and rising human toll of the past nearly three and a half years of war underscores the urgency of a complete, immediate and unconditional ceasefire as the first step towards a just and lasting peace.
A peace that is in line with the UN Charter, international law and relevant UN resolutions and that respects the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders.
We remain ready to support all meaningful efforts to this end.
Thank you.
