Africa

Women attend a community meeting in Cameroon.
UN Women/Ryan Brown

Africa essential for sustainable development, poverty reduction and peace

25 May 2021
SDGs

Africa’s rich, diverse cultural and natural heritage, is important for sustainable development, poverty reduction, and “building and maintaining peace”, the UN chief said on Tuesday, marking the international day celebrating the continent. 
“This year’s Africa Day highlights arts, culture and heritage as levers for building the Africa we want”, Secretary-General António Guterres     said in his commemorative message.  


 

Kenyan peacekeeper, Steplyne Nyaboga, conducts basic gender training to Pakistani troops in Darfur. (file)
UNAMID

Military Gender Advocate of the Year highlights ‘crucial gender dimensions’ in Darfur 

24 May 2021
Women

The UN chief on Monday, commended an award-winning Kenyan peacekeeper for her gender-mainstreaming work while serving in the restive Darfur region of Sudan. 

British Army driver and UN peacekeeper, Trooper Jack Drake pilots a Jackal 2 vehicle on patrol in the Gao region of Mali.
Crown copyright 2021

First Person: British UN peacekeeper stays on ‘A-game’ to keep Malians safe

23 May 2021
Peace and Security

A young soldier from the United Kingdom says he must stay on his “A-game” on patrol with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali, to keep himself, colleagues and Malians safe in one of the most dangerous UN postings anywhere in the world. 

Lava from the Mount Nyiragongo volcano flows towards the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
MONUSCO

DR Congo: More than 170 children feared missing following volcanic eruption in Goma

23 May 2021
Humanitarian Aid

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Sunday that hundreds of children and families in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Goma district are at risk following the volcanic eruption of Mount Nyiragongo.

An old man holds Libya’s revived flag during a military graduation ceremony in the western city of Zawia. December 2011.
UNSMIL

Libya: Ceasefire, planned elections, offer rare window of hope, Security Council hears

21 May 2021
Peace and Security

On the heels of recent positive developments, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Libya pointed to renewed hope for peace in the conflict-affected country, and stability across the wider region, in a briefing to the Security Council on Friday.

UNDP is supporting Sudanese farmers whose incomes and crop yields have been impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns.
UNDP/Ahmed Alsamani

‘Spirt of unity, partnership and collaboration’ needed to realize Sudan’s aspirations

20 May 2021
Peace and Security

Moving from Sudan’s current fragile transition period towards stable civilian rule, requires a continued “spirt of unity, partnership and collaboration”, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Thursday.
 

UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem visits a hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
UNFPA/Luis Tato

Sexual violence survivors in DR Congo caught in crisis of ‘catastrophic magnitude’

19 May 2021
Women

On a recent visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Dr. Natalie Kanem, the head of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, bore witness to the horrific legacy of sexual violence in the country, which is undergoing one of the world’s longest-running humanitarian crises.

Families displaced by conflict and violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo receive humanitarian aid from the UN.
© UNICEF/Jean-Claude Wenga

COVID-19 pandemic ‘feeding’ drivers of conflict and instability in Africa: Guterres

19 May 2021
Peace and Security

Women and young people must be part of Africa’s plans to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, which is feeding factors driving conflict on the continent, UN Secretary-General told the Security Council on Wednesday. 

MINUSMA peacekeepers on patrol in Niafounké in Mali.
MINUSMA/Harandane Dicko

Fresh attacks, dire conditions plague Africa’s Sahel, Security Council hears 

18 May 2021
Peace and Security

Despite a deteriorating security situation and the reverberating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, regional troops deployed to combat terrorists in Africa’s Sahel region have scaled up the tempo of their operations in recent months, efforts that must be matched by a spirit of solidarity among their global partners, the senior UN peacekeeping official told the Security Council on Tuesday. 

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. (file photo)
ICC

Libya: ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’, ICC chief prosecutor tells Security Council 

17 May 2021
Peace and Security

Accountability is an important step on the road to peace in Libya, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) told the Security Council on Monday.