Peace and Security

The “Non-Violence” (or “Knotted Gun”) sculpture by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd on display at the UN Visitors’ Plaza.
UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

Hundreds of thousands of lives still lost each year to small arms, UN conference hears

18 June 2018
Global

Government representatives are meeting at United Nations Headquarters to review global action to address the illegal flow of revolvers, pistols, assault rifles, machine guns and other similar weapons.

UN Photo/Mark Garten

UN chief condemns suspected Boko Haram attacks targeting Eid al-Fitr celebrations in Nigeria

18 June 2018
Africa

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned Saturday’s attacks in northeastern Nigeria by suspected Boko Haram insurgents targeting Eid al-Fitr celebrations.

UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

Afghanistan extends ceasefire with Taliban; UN urges both sides to work towards lasting peace

16 June 2018
Asia Pacific

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and the UN mission in Afghanistan welcomed on Saturday the Afghan Government’s extension of the unilateral ceasefire with the Taliban, amid an outpouring of support for the truce from war-weary people all across the country.

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Mali: Presidential elections critical to consolidate democracy, says UN peacekeeping chief

14 June 2018
Africa

Though the past 12 months had been the most encouraging in terms of advancing the peace process in Mali, security challenges still pose a dangerous threat, with civilians and security forces still being attacked, the top United Nations peacekeeping official told the Security Council on Thursday.

 

UN OCHA/Giles Clarke

UN rushes to deliver aid as key Yemeni port city is ‘shelled and bombarded’

14 June 2018
Middle East

As the Yemeni port city of Hodeida continues to come under attack from Saudi-led coalition forces on Thursday, seeking to drive out Houthi rebels who control the city, the United Nations and humanitarian partners are rushing to provide life-saving assistance to thousands of vulnerable families there.

UNAMA/Fraidoon Poya

LETTER FROM AFGHANISTAN: Elections serve up food for thought, for Afghan youth

14 June 2018
Middle East

By Philip Smucker

 


At the newly-established “50/50” fast food restaurant on the tree-lined streets of Herat, in the west of Afghanistan, business is brisk as deliveries are whisked away, on the back of motorbikes to hungry customers across the ancient city. 

UNAMA/Najib Haidary

Afghanistan: UN envoy urges further extension of ceasefire with Taliban, as Eid ul-Fitr gets underway

14 June 2018
Asia Pacific

Expressing solidarity with the people of Afghanistan, the United Nations envoy in the country has expressed hope that the temporary ceasefires marking the final days of the holy month of Ramadan in the war-battered nation, will lead to the lasting peace that Afghans so badly “want and deserve.”

UN Photo/Evan Schneider

UN General Assembly urges greater protection for Palestinians, deplores Israel’s ‘excessive’ use of force

13 June 2018
Middle East

In an emergency meeting on Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly adopted an Arab-sponsored resolution calling for greater protection for Palestinians, and deploring any use of “excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate” force by the Israeli military against Palestinian civilians, particularly in Gaza.

UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

Terrorism diverts resources from ‘much-needed’ development to ‘costly’ security, warns UN envoy for Central Africa

13 June 2018
Africa

The scourge of terrorism and violent extremism continues to affect all of Central Africa and divert government resources from much-needed development programmes to costly security operations, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council on Wednesday. 

OCHA/Giles Clarke

Military escalation will have ‘serious consequences’ for Yemeni civilians, warns UN Special Envoy

13 June 2018
Middle East

An attempt by a Saudi-led military coalition to take control of the Yemeni port of Hodeida from opposition Houthi forces “will have serious consequences” on an already “dire” situation for millions of civilians, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen said on Wednesday.