“The truce can only be a stepping stone,” said Hans Grundberg, the UN’s Special Envoy for Yemen. Reiterating that short-term solutions and piecemeal approaches can only bring partial relief, he outlined a range of fresh diplomatic efforts currently underway to bring the conflict to a sustainable end. Truce holding, despite lapse The nearly decade-long conflict in Yemen – and the…
Roza Isakovna Otunbayeva, UN Special Representative and head of the UN’s Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, strongly condemned recent Taliban decrees that have further eroded the rights of Afghan women. However, she also urged the international community to preserve “whatever political space exists” for frank discussions with Afghanistan’s leaders, warning of rapidly deteriorating humanitarian and…
“It is hard to imagine peace while State actors continue to be involved in gross human rights violations,” said Commission member Barney Afako, presenting the latest report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva. “A true demonstration of the Government’s stated commitments to peace and human rights would involve dismissing the responsible officials and initiating…
“Hope is rare now in Myanmar,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Volker Türk said, calling for robust support for its citizens under fire. “The disregard and contempt for human life and human rights that are continuously demonstrated by the military, constitute an outrage to the conscience of humanity,” he said. The latest…
“Life is a living hell for the people of Ukraine,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Council, which has held more than 40 debates on the conflict since Russia’s full-scale invasion one year ago. On the occasion, the 15-member organ held a ministerial-level meeting on the heels of the UN General Assembly’s new demand that…
Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari, who briefed the Council on Monday afternoon, reiterated the UN Secretary-General’s strong condemnation of the launch and his appeal for action to reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula. “The Secretary-General deeply regrets the divisions that have prevented the international community from acting on the DPRK, as well as on other threats…
“Peace is not just about signing an agreement,” said Miroslav Jenča, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and Americas, who briefed members during a meeting requested by the Russian Federation – as the one-year mark nears, since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Mr. Jenča stressed that turning words on paper into action…
“The impact of rising seas is already creating new sources of instability and conflict,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who opened the meeting. Noting that some nations’ coastlines have already seen triple the average rate of sea level rise, he warned that, in the coming decades, low-lying communities – and entire countries – could disappear forever. “We would witness…
Participants in a panel headlined, Challenges and Opportunities in Creating an Early Warning System for Global Pandemics, on Tuesday warned that we are witnessing the dismantling of essential infectious disease monitoring programmes, at a time when climate change is driving greater risks to public health. “Any platform will need to include data from outside of traditional…
Under-Secretary-General Vladimir Voronkov briefed the Security Council where he presented the latest UN report on the terrorist organization, underlining the need for concerted global action. Mr. Voronkov began by focusing on the plight of victims and survivors of terrorism worldwide. “Because beyond the headlines and behind the numbers, there are numerous people and communities who…
