Amid escalating global conflicts, deepening divisions and mounting crisis, the UN Secretary-General on Friday urged everyone around the world to “cultivate a culture of peace”.
Amid continuing prohibited weapons transfers to Ukraine and Russia during the ongoing war, top disarmament and legal officials issued calls on Friday for parties to the conflict to abide by international law and protect civilians.
Around 560,000 children under ten have been successfully vaccinated against polio during the first round of an emergency campaign in the Gaza Strip, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Friday.
The UN chief on Thursday described the continued lack of effective protection for civilians in Gaza during the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas as “unconscionable”.
More than 22,500 people – a quarter of those wounded in Gaza since Israel’s offensive began – have life-changing injuries, requiring rehabilitation services “now and for years to come”, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Thursday.
Despite recent economic de-escalation agreements, Yemen remains at risk of a return to full-scale conflict, with continued fighting and increased rhetoric between the warring sides, the UN envoy for the country warned on Thursday.
Six staff members with the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, were killed in Gaza on Wednesday when two Israeli airstrikes hit a school-turned-shelter and its surroundings.
The United Nations joined its host city, New York, in commemorating the 2,977 lives lost on 11 September 2001, when Al-Qaida terrorists hijacked four aircrafts and flew them into buildings in the United States.
Increased violence along the frontlines in Syria, with continued war crimes on all sides, is leaving civilians in the region fearful of a “large-scale war”, a new report from the UN Syria Commission of Inquiry released on Tuesday warns.
The 78th session of the UN General Assembly closed on Tuesday, concluding a tumultuous year in international diplomacy and underscoring the need for a collective resolve among nations to confront pressing challenges.
The Security Council in New York on Tuesday debated the latest barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks that have targeted multiple cities across Ukraine in recent days. The acting UN Emergency Relief Coordinator told ambassadors that the human suffering during Russia's on-going invasion "continues at intolerable levels". UN News app users can follow our coverage here.
Nearly 50 million people in the Middle East, Northern Africa and Eastern Europe are not getting enough to eat, or double the number from before the Arab Spring over a decade ago, a senior official with the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday in New York.
The 79th session of the UN General Assembly opened on Tuesday afternoon in New York, with incoming President Philemon Yang outlining a vision of unity in diversity and calling for deeper international cooperation to tackle a host of global challenges, including climate change, escalating conflict, and a slowdown in sustainable development.
The UN Middle East envoy has strongly condemned deadly airstrikes by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday on a densely populated area in an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in Gaza.
Cluster bomblets continue to kill thousands of civilians, mostly children, and the new use of this predominantly outlawed class of weapons is threatening efforts to universally ban them, according to a new report published on Monday.
As conflicts grow more complex and armed groups increasingly weaponize low-cost technologies like improvised explosive devices and drones, UN peacekeeping missions need greater political support and resources to carry out their duties safely, a senior UN official said on Monday.
Monday would have marked the start of the new school year in Gaza, but the ongoing war continues to deprive hundreds of thousands of children of this fundamental right, UN agencies have warned.
Warfare in Myanmar has escalated into systematic atrocities, including attacks targeting civilians, torture and sexual violence, the UN independent rights probe into the country said on Monday.
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More than 160,000 children were vaccinated in southern Gaza on Thursday, the first day of a polio vaccination campaign there, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said on Friday.
UN humanitarians continue to reach beleaguered communities stranded on the frontline in Ukraine. An inter-agency convoy delivered three trucks of aid to a community in the Kherson region on Wednesday – the ninth this year that has managed to get through.
Mr. President,
Nearly a year has passed since the horrific attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Israel, the single deadliest attack in the country’s history. Over 1,250 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed and around 250 individuals were abducted and taken into Gaza.
A few days ago, we learned the heartbreaking news of the killing of six Israeli hostages, whose bodies were recovered by the Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza.
I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I met the loved ones of several hostages last November in Jerusalem, including the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin. I watched the shocking and heartbreaking video footage of his capture – images I will never forget.
According to the Israeli government, the hostages had been shot multiple times at close range. They were killed by Hamas shortly before Israeli soldiers were able to reach them inside a tunnel in Rafah.
Following the recovery of the bodies, Hamas announced that militants guarding hostages in the buildings and tunnels of Gaza had new instructions to kill hostages before they could be recovered alive by Israeli forces.
At least 101 hostages are still held in Gaza; they are still denied humanitarian visits. Accounts of released hostages and other reports indicate that they are likely being held in horrific conditions, with some being subject to violence, including sexual violence, and other forms of abuse.
I echo the words of the Secretary-General once again: all hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally. For as long as they are held, in accordance with international legal obligations, they must be treated humanely and allowed to receive visits and assistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Mr. President,
We need an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all remaining hostages, and a massive scale up of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
I welcome the continued efforts by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States in this regard. Recent meetings in Doha and Cairo attempted to bridge gaps, but major differences persist. More must be done to reach a deal without further delay. The United Nations remains committed to supporting all efforts to this end.
Meanwhile, the situation on the ground looks grim. Israeli military operations continue across Gaza and the number of fatalities tragically keeps increasing.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health (MOH), since 7 October, some 41,000 Palestinians have been killed, a majority of whom were reportedly women and children.
We continue to witness mass displacement of thousands of Palestinian families – most unable to access medical services, water and sanitation. Many families have been displaced several times. Nowhere is safe in Gaza.
At the same time, the indiscriminate launching of rockets by Hamas and other armed groups towards population centres in Israel also continues. Civilian objects in Gaza, including infrastructure are also reportedly being used to shield fighters and military objectives, endangering the lives of civilians in and around them.
Civilians should not be used as human shields.
Humanitarian access is tenuous at best, jeopardized by unsafe conditions, including a complete breakdown of law and order throughout Gaza. The 27 August security incident involving a WFP humanitarian convoy forced the Agency to temporarily suspend the movement of its staff.
My colleague, Director Wosornu from OCHA, will shortly brief you further on the catastrophic humanitarian situation and the agonizing conditions faced by humanitarian workers.
Also, the Secretary-General has been following closely the polio immunization campaign currently underway in Gaza. The images of young children receiving their vaccinations amid rubble and utter ruin are both moving and distressing.
The polio pauses are a rare ray of hope and humanity amid the horror in Gaza. I note that the arrangements established between UN agencies and the IDF to pause military activity in the designated vaccination areas have so far been respected.
Like the Secretary-General, I commend all those involved in this undertaking, especially our extraordinary humanitarian colleagues leading the campaign.
Mr. President,
While we continue to focus on ending the killing and destruction in Gaza, we cannot lose sight of the alarming situation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This includes Israeli military operations, settler attacks and armed Palestinian violence against Israelis.
Most recently, Israel launched on 28 August large-scale military operations against alleged terrorist cells in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Tubas governorates. The operations also involved the use of airstrikes.
These intensive and week-long operations resulted in clashes with armed Palestinians, civilian casualties, and damage to civilian infrastructure.
The operations were launched amid an uptick in attacks and clashes throughout the occupied West Bank, including in the Hebron area, with two car bombs near Israeli settlements the night of 30 August, the killing of three Israeli police officers in their car the following day, and a subsequent Israeli military operation in the area.
Overall, since 7 October, some 630 Palestinians and 15 Israelis have been killed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. All perpetrators of violence – Israeli or Palestinian - must be held accountable.
Recent dangerous and provocative acts and statements are further enflaming the situation. Statements by Palestinian armed groups calling for further violence and attacks against Israelis are unacceptable and must cease. The recent inflammatory acts and statements by an Israeli Minister at the Holy Sites in Jerusalem add to an already explosive situation in the occupied West Bank.
The status quo at the Holy Sites in Jerusalem must be respected and upheld, recognizing the special and historic role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as custodian of the Holy Sites in Jerusalem.
Mr. President,
With every passing day we get further away from the objective of ending the occupation and achieving a viable two-State solution.
We remain convinced that durable peace will only be achieved when Israel and an independent, democratic, contiguous, viable and sovereign Palestinian state live side by side in peace and security within secure and recognized borders, on the basis of the pre-1967 lines, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states.
It is our responsibility to do all we can to support the parties in reaching that objective.
Thank you, Mr. President
The United Nations upheld the need to protect civilians in Ukraine as Russian attacks continue across the country, with at least seven people killed in Lviv on Wednesday, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
At least 30 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank in the week ending 2 September, including seven children – the highest number of deaths in a single week since November last year, UN humanitarian wing OCHA said on Wednesday.
Top UN political and humanitarian officials on Wednesday renewed urgent appeals for the unconditional release of all hostages in Gaza, while emphasizing the need to ensure aid and protection for desperate civilians being continually displaced inside the war-battered enclave.
In Gaza, despite the success of the mass polio vaccination campaign so far, UN humanitarians warned on Wednesday that the very children they are trying to protect have been blighted by disease and heavily traumatized by ongoing fighting.
Israeli forces continue to employ “lethal war-like tactics” in the West Bank, including airstrikes, with people being killed, injured and displaced, the UN Spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Aid organizations continue to provide emergency support to people impacted by recent deadly attacks across Ukraine, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Tuesday.
The UN-led mass polio vaccination campaign entered its second day in central Gaza on Monday with pauses in fighting holding sufficiently for thousands more children to receive their dose, in addition to the 87,000 who received their first round on Sunday, UN agencies said.
