The 10-year-old mission in Mali, MINUSMA is currently winding down ahead of its end of December deadline to leave. In his speech to the UN General Assembly in September this year, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombohe, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, called for the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, to begin its withdrawal from the…
That warning came from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) on Universal Health Coverage Day – observed on Tuesday – which said without urgent action, “these gaps will only widen”. Health agency chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that investing in resilient health systems, based on strong primary healthcare, is “the most inclusive, equitable and cost-effective…
Briefing reporters from Gaza, Dr. Richard Peeperkorn, WHO’s representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, described corridors overflowing with trauma patients at Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, where doctors treat people on the floor and fuel, oxygen, food and water are scarce. In just 66 days of fighting, the Strip has been transformed from a “reasonably…
“This is a pivotal day. We are here to rebuild a foundation of hope – hope that we need now, perhaps more than ever, at this sombre moment in history,” Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said, addressing participants which included leaders from Poland, Slovenia, Estonia, Greece Senegal, Colombia and the Maldives, taking to…
Speaking in Doha at the launch of the Global Humanitarian Overview, Mr. Griffiths said that the situation was “getting worse”, while efforts to secure “moments of peace” remained of the “greatest importance”. According to the latest update on the emergency from UN relief coordination office (OCHA), tens of thousands of people “in desperate need of food, water, shelter,…
Launching the Global Humanitarian Overview, Martin Griffiths, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, praised the heroic efforts of humanitarians but emphasized that international support is falling far short of the escalating needs. “We thank all donors for their contributions, which amount to $20 billion so far this year – but that is just a third of what was…
In a video message to a high-level event marking the 75th anniversary of the Declaration, Mr. Guterres recalled that the landmark document presented a “beacon of hope” for humanity and a blueprint for fundamental freedoms. “As we celebrate this 75th anniversary, I call on every Member State to use this opportunity, and the Summit of…
Briefing ambassadors at the UN Security Council, Bintou Keita, Special Representative of the Secretary-General noted steady progress in the electoral process despite significant logistical, financial, and security challenges. However, the resurgence of the crises related to the M23 group in the east, and new pockets of insecurity in the Greater Katanga region, Mai-Ndombe and Tshopo…
This year, the anti-corruption conference, as the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP) is popularly known, marks the 20th anniversary of the landmark Convention. “Corruption not only robs resources, it robs people of hope,” Mr. Guterres said in a video message, urging all Parties to use this opportunity to strengthen international cooperation to prevent, detect,…
The 21-page text, prepared by the COP28 presidency, United Arab Emirates, makes no mention of fossil fuel ‘phasedown’ or ‘phaseout’, which UN Secretary-General António Guterres said earlier on Monday was one of the keys to the conference’s success and which many nations have demanded. Rather, the draft text called for countries to reduce “consumption and…
