The first multilateral nuclear disarmament treaty in more than two decades, came into force just after midnight on Friday, hailed by the UN Secretary-General as “an important step towards a world free of nuclear weapons”.
At UN News, 2020 started with a hope that the year would be one of peace for Syria’s children. However, in the weeks that followed, the news cycle was upended by the coronavirus pandemic, that not only changed what we covered, but also how we covered UN-related news around the world.
As the world enters 2021, after a “year of trials, tragedies and tears”, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has delivered a message of hope for the new year.
In what leading campaigners are describing as “a new chapter for nuclear disarmament”, the ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will now come into force on 22 January, after Honduras became the 50th Member State to ratify on Saturday.
The UN’s 75th anniversary this Saturday, which falls as countries continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, is an opportunity to accelerate action to achieve a global ceasefire during the crisis, Secretary-General António Guterres has said.
A “rare opportunity” for peace in Libya should be seized by all those involved directly or indirectly in the conflict, António Guterres said on Monday, at a High-Level virtual meeting convened to end the fighting.
We must “commit” to building a more inclusive and sustainable world, the UN chief underscored in his annual report on the Work of the Organization, launched on Thursday.
For the first time in the history of the United Nations, global leaders were not able to meet in person for the General Assembly’s annual debate, but the 193-Member body’s President said on Tuesday that the precautions forced by the COVID-19 pandemic “did not prevent multilateralism from operating at the highest levels.”
Speaking on Tuesday, United States President Donald Trump lauded the military power of his country, which, he said, demonstrates that the country is “fulfilling its destiny as peacemaker, but it is peace through strength”.
