Peace and Security

WFP/Mohammed Awadh

Yemen needs cooperation between parties more than ever, says top UN negotiator

27 April 2020

The needs of Yemen’s people should be put first, ahead of actions that risk escalating the already dire situation inside the war-shattered country, UN Special Envoy for the war-weary country, Martin Griffiths, said on Monday.

UN Photo/Jean Marc Ferre

Tap youth talent to tackle COVID-19 crisis and beyond, UN chief tells Security Council

27 April 2020
Global

Even amidst the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries must do more to harness the talents of young people to address the crisis and its aftermath, the UN Secretary-General told the Security Council on Monday during a videoconference meeting to review the five years since its adoption of a landmark resolution on youth, peace and security.

UNAMID/Amin Ismail

UN ‘fully mobilized’ to support the Sudanese people, Security Council hears

24 April 2020
Africa

The “exceptional circumstances” of the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted the peace process in Sudan as well as the drawing down of the United Nations mission there, the head of UN peacekeeping updated the Security Council on Friday.

UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

Put aside political agendas ‘to save lives’, top UN official in Kosovo urges

24 April 2020
Europe

The senior UN official in Kosovo is stressing that strong leadership and political unity are needed now more than ever, as local leaders and their international partners wage war on the “enormous challenge” posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

UN Photo/Mark Garten

Cash help crucial for informal workers, says UN labour chief, stressing primacy of multilateralism

24 April 2020

Informal workers who live day to day urgently need cash support from their governments to survive the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the head of the UN labour agency said on Friday.

WFP/Aurélia Rusek

Protect civilians in the Sahel and Lake Chad regions, urges UN refugee agency

23 April 2020
Africa

An upsurge in military action against armed groups in West Africa’s vast Sahel and Lake Chad regions has prompted the United Nations refugee agency to call on all warring parties to protect people caught up in the violence.

UNRWA/Khalil Adwan

Common coronavirus enemy, forges some Palestine-Israel cooperation, but West Bank annexation looms

23 April 2020
Middle East

The COVID-19 pandemic is creating opportunities for cooperation that Israelis and Palestinians must embrace to sustain Middle East peace efforts and bring an end to decades of conflict, the United Nations’ top envoy in the region said on Thursday.

OCHA/D.Palanivelu

Intensifying shelling and COVID-19 pandemic creates ‘perfect storm’ in Libya

23 April 2020

In Libya, ongoing heavy fighting has raised concerns yet further, about the likely devastating impact of the new coronavirus on people there, particularly those repeatedly forced to flee violence.

© UNHCR/Georgina Goodwin

Economic impact of coronavirus threatens hard-won progress across Africa’s Great Lakes region

22 April 2020
Africa

Sweeping preventative measures seem to be curbing the spread of COVID-19 in the Great Lakes region of Africa, but the economic impact of the global pandemic threatens hard-won gains made along the long road back to peace and stability, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the region said on Wednesday.

Man Aihua

UN condemns killing of WHO staffer in Myanmar transporting COVID-19 samples

21 April 2020
Asia Pacific

A World Health Organization (WHO) worker has been killed while driving a vehicle carrying COVID-19 samples in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, the United Nations country office confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.