Peace and Security

A view of downtown Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
MONUSCO/Myriam Asmani

Resolve differences peacefully, Security Council to DR Congo political actors

16 January 2018
Africa

Voicing serious concern over the continued political impasse and violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations Security Council has called upon all political actors to exercise maximum restraint and to address their differences peacefully.

Secretary General António Guterres briefs an informal meeting of the General Assembly on his concerns for 2018.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Warning that ‘peace remains elusive,’ UN chief outlines areas for action in 2018

16 January 2018
Global

Having taken office with a call for peace to be the watchword of 2017, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday said the world instead had ‘gone in reverse,” and that there are critical areas that need action in the New Year, including climate change, the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, the Middle East conflict, and the Rohingya crisis.

Secretary-General António Guterres.
UN Photo/Mark Garten (file)

UN condemns twin suicide attacks in Baghdad

15 January 2018
Middle East

Strongly condemning two terrorist attacks in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has underscored the Organization’s support for the country in its fight against terrorism.

Miroslav Lajčák President of the seventy-second session of the General Assembly, briefs on the Assembly's priorities for 2018.
UN Photo/Manuel Elías

Migration, sustaining peace, development high on UN General Assembly’s agenda for 2018

12 January 2018
Global

Migration, sustaining peace and development are among the priorities of the United Nations General Assembly for the remainder of the current session through September 2018, the President of the main UN deliberative and policymaking body said Friday.

Mohammed Ibn Chambas, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, briefs the Security Council.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Boko Haram attacks, human trafficking threaten progress in West Africa and Sahel – UN envoy

11 January 2018
Africa

The security situation in West Africa and the Sahel remains of grave concern, the United Nations envoy for the region said Thursday, warning that while there had been progress on the political front over the past year, there had also been a worrying upsurge in Boko Haram attacks.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, briefs the Security Council on the reports of the Secretary-General on the African Union-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).
UN Photo/Loey Felipe

Darfur: Displacement slows but returns remain difficult, warns UN peacekeeping chief

10 January 2018
Africa

Despite some recent voluntary returns among those displaced in Sudan's Darfur region, lack of security, services and sustainable livelihoods in return areas have become major impediments to returns, the top United Nations peacekeeping official told the Security Council Wednesday.

Ceremony in Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo, paying tribute to the 14 UN peacekeepers who were killed in early December 2017 during an attack on the UN mission’s base in Semuliki. Photo MONUSCO/Alain Coulibaly.

UN announces special probe into attacks on peacekeepers in eastern DR Congo

6 January 2018
Africa

The United Nations is launching a special investigation into attacks on peacekeepers in restive eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), one month after 15 'blue helmets' were killed and dozens wounded in the deadliest single assault on a UN mission in nearly a quarter century.

Peacekeepers with the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) consult a map as they drive through vast desert areas in Smara, Western Sahara.
UN Photo/Martine Perret

Western Sahara: UN chief urges easing of tensions in Guerguerat area

6 January 2018
Africa

Deeply concerned over rising tensions near Guerguerat in the buffer strip in southern Western Sahara between the Moroccan berm and the Mauritanian border, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday called for maximum restraint in the area.

A view of Kabul, the centre of Afghanistan’s social and political life. Photo UNAMA/Fardin Waezi.

UN Security Council condemns 'heinous and cowardly' terrorist attack in Kabul

6 January 2018
Asia Pacific

The United Nations Security Council has strongly condemned the “heinous and cowardly” terrorist attack that took place in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, on 4 January, killing at least 15 people and leaving some 25 others wounded.

Boys pass rubble and destroyed buildings on their way to a nearby school offering basic lessons, in the city of Maarat al-Numaan, Idlib Governorate.
UNICEF/Giovanni Diffidenti

UN aid wing sounds alarm on behalf of civilians caught up in rising violence in northern Syria

5 January 2018

 The United Nations humanitarian wing and its partners in Syria on Wednesday expressed deep concern about the protection and wellbeing of tens of thousands of civilians in north-eastern Hama and southern Idlib governorates, following increased hostilities, which have reportedly resulted in scores of deaths and injuries and displacement in the area.