Peace and Security

Injured civilians, having escaped the raging inferno, gathered on a pavement west of Miyuki-bashi in Hiroshima, Japan, at about 11 a.m. on 6 August 1945.
UN Photo/Yoshito Matsushige

‘Humanity remains unacceptably close to nuclear annihilation, says UN chief on International Day

26 September 2021
Global

“Now is the time to eliminate nuclear weapons from our world , and usher in a new era of dialogue, trust and peace”, declared UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday, marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

A man carried a child in his suitcase as he fled eastern Ghouta in 2018.
© UNICEF/UN0185401/Sanadiki

Syria: 10 years of war has left at least 350,000 dead

24 September 2021
Middle East

A decade of war in Syria has left more 350,200 people dead, High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet told the Human Rights Council on Friday, noting that this total was an “under-count of the actual number of killings”.

UN officials say that gender-based violence is a “shadow pandemic,” hidden beneath COVID-19.
UNDP

Call to action: Prevent gender-based violence in humanitarian emergencies

23 September 2021
Global

Top UN officials met in the margins of the 76th General Assembly on Thursday,  with a strong call to action to stamp out gender-based violence (GBV), amid a rise in forced displacement and other humanitarian emergencies around the globe.

An atmospheric nuclear test conducted by the United States at Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands, on 1 November 1952.
US Government

UN chief appeals for countries to sign nuclear test-ban treaty

23 September 2021
Global

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday again urged eight key countries which have not yet signed or ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), to do so without delay.

Maghrabah district in Hajjah governorate in Yemen is one of 11 districts in the country with famine-like conditions.
© WFP/Mohammed Awadh

Millions in Yemen ‘a step away from starvation’

22 September 2021
Middle East

The crisis in Yemen, now in its seventh year of war, continues unabated, with thousands of people displaced and millions “a step away from starvation”, the UN Humanitarian Relief Coordinator said on Wednesday during a high-level side event on the margins of the 76th General Assembly.

A man carries water close to Bujumbura in Burundi.
© UNICEF/Karel Prinsloo

Torture, killings, lawlessness, still blight Burundi’s rights record

16 September 2021
Africa

The people of Burundi continue to endure serious human rights violations including possible crimes against humanity, the majority committed by those with links to the ruling party, UN-appointed independent investigators said on Thursday.

Ola al-Aghbary is the founder of the Sheba Youth Foundation for Development which focuses on youth and women empowerment in Yemen.
Hana Haza’a

FROM THE FIELD: Women owning the peace

16 September 2021
Global

The contribution of women activists towards building peace across the world is being highlighted in a UN exhibition of images taken by women photographers which is opening online and in New York.

MINUSCA peacekeepers on guard in the city of Bangassou, Central African Republic, January 15, 2021.
MINUSCA/Leonel Grothe

UN sends Gabon peacekeepers home from Central African Republic, following abuse allegations

15 September 2021

The United Nations announced on Wednesday that all Gabonese military units deployed to the peacekeeping force in the Central African Republic, MINUSCA, are to be sent home immediately, following credible reports alleging that unidentified ‘blue helmets’ had abused five girls.

UNMISS established a base in Yei at the request of the town's inhabitants, to guard against ongoing violence.
UN Photo/Eric Kanalstein

New South Sudan Parliament can ‘infuse urgency’ into peace process

15 September 2021
Africa

South Sudan has made history with the appointment of two women to senior leadership positions within its Transitional National Legislature, the top United Nations official in the country told the Security Council on Wednesday, as he encouraged parties to build on these gains in efforts to overcome significant political and security headwinds.

A forest in Croatia contaminated with cluster munitions is cleared.
Civil Protection Directorate, Croatia

Civilian casualties rise, despite progress in eliminating cluster bombs 

15 September 2021
Casualties caused by lethal cluster munitions continued to increase in 2020, despite progress in efforts to eliminate these weapons, a UN-backed civil society report said on Wednesday.