The narrowing space left for civilians in the Gaza Strip is becoming increasingly limited and crowded, while dire living conditions are eroding the social fabric there, a senior official with the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said on Monday.
A staggering one million people have now fled Rafah in southern Gaza, the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Monday, amid fresh reports of overnight attacks in southern, central and northern locations by Israeli forces.
Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium continues to increase, the head of the UN atomic watchdog agency said on Monday, adding that it has been three years since the agency was able to access the country.
The narrowing space left for civilians in the Gaza Strip is becoming increasingly limited and crowded, while dire living conditions are eroding the social fabric there, a senior official with the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said on Monday.
A staggering one million people have now fled Rafah in southern Gaza, the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Monday, amid fresh reports of overnight attacks in southern, central and northern locations by Israeli forces.
Mr. President,
At 10:45 PM local time on 27 May, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) conducted what it described as “the launch of reconnaissance satellite Malligyong-1-1 aboard the new-type satellite carrier rocket” from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station. According to the DPRK, the launch failed “due to the air blast of the new-type satellite carrier rocket during the first-stage flight”, as a result of the “reliability of operation of the newly developed liquid oxygen and petroleum engine”. This follows the successful launch of a satellite on 21 November 2023. In December 2023, the DPRK announced that it will launch three additional military satellites in 2024.
While the DPRK issued a pre-launch notification to the Japanese Coast Guard, it did not issue airspace or maritime safety notifications to the International Civil Aviation Organization or the International Telecommunications Union. The DPRK’s unannounced launches represent a serious risk to international civil aviation and maritime traffic.
Mr. President,
As stated on previous occasions, sovereign states have the right to benefit from peaceful space activities. However, Security Council resolutions expressly prohibit the DPRK from conducting any launches using ballistic missile technology. On 28 May, the Secretary-General strongly condemned the attempted launch of yet another military satellite using ballistic missile technology. He reiterated his call on the DPRK to fully comply with its international obligations under all relevant Security council resolutions and to swiftly return to dialogue without preconditions to achieve the goal of sustainable peace and the complete and verifiable denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
Mr. President,
Developing a military reconnaissance satellite was part of the DPRK’s five-year military development plan, unveiled in January 2021. In line with the plan, the DPRK has significantly increased its missile launch activities since 2022, including more than 100 launches using ballistic missile technology, in violation of the relevant Security Council resolutions. Since the beginning of the year, the DPRK has launched two intermediate-range solid-fuelled ballistic missiles in January and April, respectively.
As previously highlighted, there is a need for practical measures to reduce tensions, reverse the dangerous dynamic, and create space to explore diplomatic avenues. The Secretary-General has emphasised the importance of re-establishing communication channels, particularly between military entities. Exercising maximum restraint is critical to avoid unintended escalation.
Mr. President,
The DPRK’s persistent pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, in violation of relevant Security Council resolutions, continues to undermine the global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) that underpins it. On 30 April, the mandate of the Panel of Experts that supported the Committee expired, after having been continuously extended since 2009 when the Panel was first established by the Security Council.
We remain deeply concerned about growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. We encourage all Member States, and Members of this Council, to seek unity, and for all parties to create an environment conducive to dialogue and cooperation. At this particularly difficult moment in securing global peace and security, it is imperative to de-escalate the rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Mr. President,
Separately, I want to highlight that the United Nations and its partners are ready to assist the DPRK in addressing the basic needs of its vulnerable populations. We note that international travel to and from the DPRK is now taking place at a growing rate. We encourage the DPRK authorities to facilitate the full return of the international community, including the United Nations Resident Coordinator and the UN Country Team. A collective return would enhance international support for the people of the DPRK and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
Thank you, Mr. President.
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A brief roundup of United Nations-related political and peacebuilding events and developments globally.
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"Women bear the brunt of the global rollback of human rights," says USG DiCarlo |
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Famine in Sudan is “imminent” if aid agencies continue to be prevented from providing relief, UN humanitarians warned on Friday.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) repeated launches using ballistic missile technology not only violate Security Council resolutions but also pose a serious risk to aviation and maritime traffic, a senior UN official said on Friday.
Far too little aid is reaching people in Gaza to the extent that children are now starving, UN humanitarians said on Friday, in a renewed appeal to Israel to respect international law regarding the safe passage of lifesaving relief in the war-shattered enclave.
Continued hostilities and evacuation orders in Gaza have led to the closure of key humanitarian facilities in Rafah, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Friday.
The UN’s top human rights official on Friday voiced serious concern over the dramatic deterioration of the situation in Burkina Faso, where almost 1,800 people are reported to have been unlawfully killed between November last year and April.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday paid tribute to all peacekeepers serving under the UN flag and those who have died in the line of duty.
Syria remains plagued by a severe and complex security and humanitarian situation, against a backdrop of broader political impasse, senior UN officials told the Security Council on Thursday, underscoring the need for a comprehensive approach that involves all key stakeholders.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Thursday called on the Security Council to prevent millions more people from being displaced by war, violence and persecution.
With no let up in reported street battles and Israeli bombardment across Gaza on Thursday, UN humanitarians warned that the flow of vital lifesaving aid into the enclave has fallen by more than two thirds since the Israeli military stepped up its campaign in Rafah and seized the key aid conduit.
The top UN aid official in Sudan warned on Thursday that “the noose of war is tightening its stranglehold” on civilians in El Fasher, expressing her profound distress at the dire humanitarian situation there.
In 1948, the United Nations took a pivotal step by deploying peacekeepers to support countries in their journey toward peace. Since then, more than two million people – military, police and civilians – have served in over 70 peacekeeping missions around the world, offering assistance amidst ongoing conflicts or their aftermath.
Vital medical supplies are fast running out in Gaza’s remaining hospitals, the UN health agency warned on Wednesday, amid reports of continuing Israeli bombing and hostilities in the enclave.
The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process on Wednesday urgently called for an immediate return to negotiations, the release of hostages and a humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as the Israeli military assault exacerbates human suffering amid rising regional tensions.
Violence against children in the central Sahel region of Africa surged dramatically in the last quarter of 2023, skyrocketing by 70 per cent over the previous three months, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on Wednesday.
UN Member States have been deploying “Blue Helmets” (or peacekeepers) since 1948, so on the occasion of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers, marked annually on 29 May, we’re spotlighting operations over the decades, from monitoring buffer zones in Asia to escorting aid trucks into Israeli exclaves in the Middle East.
In 1948, the United Nations took a pivotal step by deploying peacekeepers to support countries in their journey toward peace. Since then, more than two million people – military, police and civilians – have served in over 70 peacekeeping missions around the world, offering assistance amidst ongoing conflicts or their aftermath.
Madam President,
Thank you for hosting today’s open debate.
Excellencies,
We know that women bear the brunt of the global rollback of human rights.
And we know that violence against women in its cruelest forms is a feature of virtually all wars.
I recently traveled to Afghanistan, where the plight of women is a crying example of the ground lost in human rights.
Afghan women and girls are systematically denied their rights and dignity in many areas of life, including education.
Women I met in Kabul told me of their aspirations and dreams: the same education afforded to men, equal employment opportunities and freedom to choose their futures.
They look to the global community to support them in realizing their rights -- so that they can contribute to their country’s future.
Of course, Afghanistan is not the only place where women face barriers to participating as equals in politics, peacemaking, public life and employment.
Commitments on gender equality are being ignored, if not reversed, in many regions.
In A New Agenda for Peace, the Secretary-General called for addressing the structural inequalities standing in the way of the full realization of women’s indivisible human rights. He called for dismantling patriarchal power structures.
This means many things: it means equal access to representation, legal protections, physical autonomy, safety, economic opportunity, education, and healthcare.
Ultimately, it comes down to a simple vision – of overcoming obstacles that deny the full contribution of women.
Armed conflict exacerbates structural obstacles to women’s full equality. Institutional failure or collapse, impunity, and insecurity expose women to aggravated risks.
More than half of the recorded incidents of political violence against women worldwide take place in conflict-affected countries.
Doing away with structural gender inequalities is a matter of equity and right.
But it is also a powerful means to improve the chances of success of peace and political processes.
Our special political missions have strived to promote women’s rights and their meaningful participation in these processes.
In Yemen, for example, community mediation efforts undertaken by Yemeni women, often with the aim of releasing prisoners or achieving local ceasefires, have bolstered the UN’s ongoing work to relaunch high-level, formal negotiations and put an end to almost ten years of conflict.
Madam President,
The Women, Peace and Security Agenda can only be successfully realized through national action.
Over one hundred countries from all regions have developed national action plans to implement Security Council resolution 1325. This is commendable. But more countries must join this call.
Member States can make a difference by committing to specific and targeted measures to advance women’s leadership – including as mediators.
In UN-led peace processes, we ensure that women are robustly represented. Thirty percent of the Syria Constitutional Committee, for example, is female. And women make up 43 percent of our own mediation teams.
In peace processes led by others and to which the UN provides some support, the percentage is often not so high. In such cases, we encourage increased representation of women.
Madam President,
Young people deserve the opportunity to shape their future.
They are not “adults in the making”. They are full human beings with hopes, aspirations, ideas and energy to contribute right now.
The Secretary-General’s third report on Youth, Peace and Security puts forward recommendations to foster urgently needed progress on youth inclusion.
It stresses that youth must be allowed to safely participate in peace processes and electoral activities.
But the report also compels us not to ignore young people’s growing mistrust in governance institutions and electoral processes.
According to UNDP, 82 per cent of young people across 65 countries state that electoral violence hinders their participation. One can understand why – but it is still a distressing statistic.
And as stated in the Secretary-General’s report, the engagement of youth in peace processes continues to be minimal. This is a missed opportunity.
By practically encouraging youth to engage in politics and peacemaking, governments can increase solidarity between different generations and rebuild trust in institutions.
National Action Plans for Youth, Peace and Security are instrumental in institutionalizing the meaningful participation of youth and involve youth in decision making about their futures.
But they require dedicated resources and capacities.
This year, in line with DPPA’s Youth, Peace and Security strategy, we are allocating resources from the Peacebuilding Fund to support the National Action Plans initiated by several countries.
Regional efforts have the potential to catalyze national actions.
The African Union was the first regional organization to establish a framework for youth, peace and security and appoint Youth Ambassadors in addition to its Youth Envoy.
The UN recently supported the Arab Regional Youth, Peace and Security strategy launched by the League of Arab States. With the help of artificial intelligence, young peacebuilders from 14 Arab countries were able to develop an action plan for their region.
Our special political missions are also doing their part to enhance youth civic engagement. In Libya, for example, our mission engages with youth representatives to ensure they play a role in building consensus on the legal framework for national elections.
Environmental peacebuilding is another area in which young people are demanding a role.
Young women are often at the frontlines of coping with scarce resources and defending the environment. This is linked to gendered social roles around caregiving and sourcing water and food.
Young women’s and men’s roles as environmental defenders, community leaders, activists, mobilizers, and peacebuilders must be recognized and advanced.
In conclusion, Madam President,
There are no quick fixes to entrenched power politics, patriarchal attitudes, or unequal social structures.
Transformative changes rely on national action, involving all segments of society.
In many places, they also rely on international support.
Through its meetings and decisions, the Council can reinforce that women, along with men, are responsible for building peace and prosperity in their societies.
That without women leaders, peace cannot be sustained.
That gender equality and realizing the aspirations of young people are essential for sustainable peace and security around the world.
This Council can also help promote recognition of young people as important agents of change. I welcome the Council’s efforts to more regularly invite women, civil society, and youth to brief the Council.
Madam President,
The Women, Peace and Security and Youth, Peace and Security Agendas offer us not just a vision, but a roadmap.
We all need to do more to make the transformative vision of these agendas a reality.
Thank you.
Amid further reported bombardment of Gaza overnight into Tuesday, UN and partner organizations have expressed deep concern over the “inhuman” detention of suspected Palestinian fighters in the enclave by Israeli authorities, alleging treatment so poor that some had to have limbs amputated “due to prolonged shackling”.
Gender equality and the aspirations of young people are crucial for ensuring sustainable peace and security, the UN’s top political and peacebuilding official told the Security Council on Tuesday.
An Indian peacekeeper deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), who helped establish networks for local people to voice their security and humanitarian concerns, is the winner of the 2023 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award, announced on Tuesday.
As fighting continues in Gaza, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday that he was “heartbroken” by images of people killed and injured in airstrikes on Sunday that hit tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Rafah.
Dozens of people are believed to have died in an Israeli overnight attack on a camp for displaced Gazans in Rafah in the south of the enclave, the latest gruesome development in more than seven months of war between the Israeli military and Palestinian fighters, UN humanitarians said on Monday.
Senior UN officials have condemned Israeli air strikes on Sunday that hit a camp for displaced people in Rafah, southern Gaza, reportedly claiming over 35 Palestinian lives, including women and children.
An attack by Russian armed forces on a busy shopping centre in Kharkiv on Saturday reportedly killed at least four people and injured around 40. Denise Brown, the UN Humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, strongly condemned the strike and called for civilians to be protected.
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