Peace and Security

UNOCHA

Civilian casualties climb, as UN chief calls on all parties to 'immediately cease' fighting in Gaza and Israel

14 May 2021
Middle East

The UN Secretary-General on Friday issued an urgent appeal for all parties involved in this week's escalation of violence in the occupied Palestinian enclave of Gaza, and Israel, to "immediately cease the fighting", or risk creating an "uncontainable security and humanitarian crisis". 

UNTV webcast screenshot

In Moscow visit, Secretary-General and President Putin discuss importance of multilateralism

13 May 2021
Europe

UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Russian President Vladimir Putin have discussed the importance of renewed commitment to multilateralism during talks held on Thursday.

Yahya Arouri

De-escalation ‘an absolute must’ in Israel-Palestine conflict: Guterres

12 May 2021
Middle East

De-escalation of the Palestine-Israel conflict is “an absolute must” said the UN Secretary-General on Wednesday, declaring that the mounting death toll, including children, was totally unacceptable.

© UNICEF/Frank Dejo

Afghanistan: Top UN officials strongly condemn ‘heinous’ attack on girls school 

12 May 2021
Asia Pacific

Two senior UN officials on Wednesday, condemned in the strongest terms, a terrorist attack targeting girls and their families outside a high school in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. 

OCHA/Charlotte Cans

Iraq: New UN report shines light on ‘deeply worrying’ pattern of restrictions in Kurdistan 

12 May 2021
Middle East

Over the past year, freedom of expression in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has been increasingly curtailed, according to a UN report issued on Wednesday.   

Unsplash/Alexander Schimmeck

Myanmar: UN rights experts urge business ‘to take a stand’ against military junta

12 May 2021
Asia Pacific

United Nations independent rights experts on Wednesday urged businesses in Myanmar to uphold their human rights responsibilities and apply pressure on the military junta to halt grave human rights violations against its own people.

UNICEF/Eyad El Baba

Tensions could escalate to ‘full-scale war’, UN Middle East envoy warns

12 May 2021
Middle East

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process added his voice to calls for calm in the Occupied Palestinian Territory late on Tuesday, warning that the situation is “escalating towards a full-scale war”, amid continuing air strikes and rocket attacks.

Unsplash/Serge Krasnov

UN chief: Deadly school shooting in Russia an ‘act of senseless violence’

11 May 2021
Europe

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned the deadly shooting at a school in the Russian city of Kazan on Tuesday, which claimed the lives of two adults and seven children. 

Yahya Arouri

UN chief 'gravely concerned' as violence escalates in Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel

11 May 2021

The UN Secretary-General said he was "gravely concerned" at escalating violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory on Tuesday, while the UN rights office, OHCHR, appealed for “a redoubling of efforts to restore calm”, after airstrikes and days of clashes between protesters and Israeli police.

Unsplash/Gayatri Malhotra

Myanmar coup: ‘No sign’ of end to brutal crackdown on all fronts

11 May 2021
Asia Pacific

One hundred days since the Myanmar military seized power, the "brutal" repression of protesters has continued, despite all international efforts to end the violence, the UN rights office (OHCHR) said on Tuesday.