Sustainable Development Goals

Tor Wennesland told Council Members that “recent developments on the ground are worrying”, pointing out the situation in the West Bank and Gaza and the challenges faced by the Palestinian Authority. “I therefore emphasize again the importance of concerted efforts by the parties to calm things on the ground. I am concerned that if we do not act quickly and decisively, we risk plunging into another deadly escalation of violence”, he warned. He informed that, in the last month, violence...

The UN refugee Agency, UNHCR, is “appalled by a series of deadly attacks” on displaced people in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the agency’s spokesperson told journalists on Tuesday in Geneva. In the latest incident carried out by armed groups, UNHCR spokesperson Boris Cheshirkov cited local authorities in saying that 26 people were killed on Sunday at Ndjala site in the Drodro health zone in Ituri province. “Ten women and nine children were among the dead and 11 people...

The UN Secretary-General on Monday called on all Middle East States to transform the vision of a region with no nuclear weapons, or other weapons of mass destruction, into a working reality. Antonio Guterres was speaking in New York at the second session of the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction. Since 1967, five such zones have been established around the world: Latin America and the Caribbean, the...

The situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, continues to pose a significant challenge to international peace and security, United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, said on Monday. In a message to mark International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The UN chief warned that persistent violations of the rights of Palestinians, along with the expansion of Israeli settlements, risk eroding the prospect of a two-State solution...

“As we take stock today, we can confidently affirm that the implementation of the peace process is taking deep roots,” Mr. Guterres said in Bogotá during an event commemorating the 2016 peace deal between the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC-EP, that ended the Western hemisphere’s longest-running war. Speaking from the headquarters of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, one of the main justice mechanisms created as part of the peace deal between...

He reported that the political climate remains “heavily polarized” ahead of the presidential and parliamentary polls, which are being held in line with a roadmap adopted last year following a historic ceasefire and the establishment of an interim government. Even though Libyans are eager to cast their votes, “vocal opposition” persists surrounding the legal framework for the elections, said Mr. Kubiš, who has recently resigned. A delicate juncture Tensions are also rising over the...

Peace and ‘family ties’ The Secretary-General visited the northern town of Llano Grande, in the Department of Antioquia, along with Colombia’s President, Ivan Duque, as well as the former FARC-EP commander, Rodrigo Londoño. The town is one of several areas in the country where the former guerillas are being reincorporated into civilian life. Colombia has 32 Departments, or ‘States’. With up to 80 per cent of its population affected, Antioquia was one of the areas most impacted by the more...

Following “hard-earned” parliamentary elections on 10 October, Iraqis of all political stripes must exercise restraint, eschew violence and await the outcome’s final certification by the Federal Supreme Court, the senior UN official in the country told the Security Council on Tuesday. Jeanine Plasschaert, Special Representative and Head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said clashes erupted in the weeks following the vote, with demonstrations and sit-ins escalating into...

Yemen has been mired in seven years of fighting between a pro-Government Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels, generating the world’s worst humanitarian and development crisis and leaving the country teetering on the brink of famine. The report sends a hopeful message that all is not lost, arguing that its extreme poverty could be eradicated within a generation, or by 2047, if the fighting ceases. A brighter future “The study presents a clear picture of what the future could look...

Beginning on 7 December, ministers from around the world will meet in Seoul, Republic of Korea, to close UN Peacekeeping capability gaps through concrete pledges with a focus on technology, medical capacity building, reducing the UN’s environmental footprint and increasing the number and role of women peacekeepers, UN officials said at a press conference on Monday. The Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial will be hosted for the first time in Asia and will serve as a platform for Member States...