Category: United Nations

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Jean Martin Bauer, World Food Programme (WFP), Director of Food Security and Nutrition Analysis, briefed on HungerMap Live.

World Food Programme (WFP) released today (19 Apr), HungerMap Live; a modernized intelligence platform that turns data on global hunger into early action.

WFP’s next-generation platform is a powerful digital monitoring and intelligence capability that integrates a wide range of food security data and analysis with predictive modelling to help fight hunger in more than 50 countries.

At a time of rising food security needs and limited funding for humanitarian action, HungerMap Live provides the most complete and updated picture of hunger in the world’s most vulnerable countries.

HungerMap Live offers AI-assisted forecasting capabilities of projected food needs in WFP designated Hunger Hotspots – 16 countries with populations already struggling with catastrophic hunger.

Studies have shown that early warning of emerging food security issues can reap tremendous cost savings and operational efficiencies.

In fact, WFP has seen first-hand that every dollar invested in its anticipatory action programs, reaps a minimum of seven dollars in savings.

The release of the platform comes at a critical time when the number of people facing IPC5 food insecurity – the most severe form of hunger – has increased 15-fold from 85,000 in 2019 to 1.4m in 2025.

The newly modernized HungerMap Live platform brings together data from WFP’s extensive network of more than 300 analysts working on food security monitoring and mapping with information from dozens of trusted partners.

This includes the global benchmark for food insecurity data (known as IPC), government validated statistics, climate, market, agricultural and economic data.

Through predictive modelling, provided with the support of Google, HungerMap Live answers three critical questions: what is the current state of food security across the world? Which countries and regions require urgent attention? And what are the underlying factors contributing to food security needs?

This platform combines WFP’s on-the-ground insights with critical data to give decisionmakers, communities, humanitarian agencies and donors, the power to act before hunger costs lives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWxf5LDwWdk

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Good mental health is the foundation for every young person to learn, connect, and contribute meaningfully to society. However, today’s youth face a uniquely challenging climate, navigating intense political polarization and the rapid rise of AI-driven disruption. These issues often threaten emotional well-being and can be detrimental to personal growth. Drawing on the UN Youth Office’s 2025 Flagship Initiative, this session will show how poverty, education, and decent work shape well-being, especially in light of technological advances and how that affects young people everywhere.

Moderator
António Pedro Tavares Pinho, People Next Generation Fellow, UN Foundation

Speakers
Nattanicha Kattiyavara, Youth Reference Group
Maria Barreneche, Youth Advocacy & Well-being International Specialist, UN Youth Office

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_cOGBSnrtA

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Remarks by Ambassador Danny Danon, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, on the situation in the Middle East.

Danon told reporters, “in one hour at 5 pm our time, a ten-day ceasefire will come into effect between Israel and Lebanon as Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed. We got to this point as a result of the IDF’s heroic actions in pushing back Hezbollah in many operations, including the pager attacks and the elimination of Nasrallah.”

Speaking to reporters today (16 Apr) in New York, Ambassador Danon criticized the UN Secretary-General’s “outrageous remarks” made earlier this week.

Ambassador Danon said, “in the very day Israel and Lebanon were engaged in historic negotiations. He went so far as to claim that Israel and Hezbollah have, and I quote ‘helped each other to destabilize Lebanon.’ That is simply false.”

The Israeli Ambassador continued, “at a historic moment, when the region is taking steps toward direct dialog between Israel and Lebanon, when others are choosing progress, the Secretary-General choose to do exactly the opposite. He chose to cast doubt. He chose to blur the truth. He chose to draw a comparison between a sovereign state and a terrorist organization. That is shameful.”

Ambassador Danon asked, “on what moral ground that the Secretary-General equate a democracy defending its citizens with an Iranian backed terrorist proxy?” adding that “there is no answer to that. To put them in the same category is a complete distortion of reality.”

“Secretary-General Guterres, this is shameful. Retract your comments. Correct the record. Do your job,” the Israeli Ambassador said.

On the Strait of Hormuz, Ambassador Danon said that it “should concern every country in the General Assembly,” adding that “Iran is trying to choke one of the world’s most important waterways and turn it into weapons. They block ships, they harass them. Then they name a price – pay and you pass, refuse and you are stopped. That is not trade. That is economic terrorism.”

He continued, “after weeks of negotiations, even a stripped-down Security Council resolution was vetoed. So we have to be clear about what comes next. We need a clear resolution, strong one, one that will deal with enrich uranium, with the ballistic missiles, with the proxies. That’s what we expect from the Security Council.”

Ambassador Danon also said, “there is one thing that is very troubling is that some countries choose to go behind closed doors and sign secret deals with the Iranian regime. No transparency, no accountability. It’s also shameful.”

Asked about the ceasefire between his country and Lebanon, the Israeli Ambassador said, “it is in our view, we will have to follow very carefully what’s happening on the ground. And if we feel threatened, we will react. We are not going anywhere. We are holding our positions. we agreed for ten days holding those positions. Having a ceasefire. and we all know that, the problem is not with the Lebanese government. The problem is with Hezbollah.”

He added, “we believe in direct negotiations with Lebanon, but we are aware of the complexity that you deal with the Lebanese government, but Hezbollah, they don’t take orders from the Lebanese government. They take orders from Iran. We know it’s complex, but we are willing to give it a try.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2UHpuuZIDw

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
Secretary-General/Travels
Secretary-General/Washington
Lebanon
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Ukraine
Sudan
Abyei
MONUSCO

SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRAVELS

This morning, the Secretary-General arrived in The Hague to participate in the commemoration of the eightieth anniversary of the International Court of Justice, which will take place tomorrow at the Peace Palace.

This afternoon, the Secretary-General met with the Mayor of The Hague, Jan van Zanen.

Afterward, the Secretary-General said that he couldn’t be in The Hague in a better moment, as we mark the 80th anniversary of the International Court of Justice that is the fundamental pillar of the international justice system.

He added that “this is a difficult moment, a moment in which international law has been putting into question by many.” He said that lawlessness brings chaos and destruction, and so it is very important to reaffirm the primacy of international law, and to reaffirm that the force of the law must prevail over the law of the force.

Tomorrow, apart from addressing a Solemn Sitting of the ICJ, the Secretary-General is expected to hold bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister and Minister for General Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Rob Jetten, and with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Tom Berendsen. He will also meet the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands and with Judge Graciela Gatti Santana, President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.

SECRETARY-GENERAL/WASHINGTON

Yesterday afternoon in Washington, the Secretary-General joined World Bank President Ajay Banga at the closing of the Bank’s Water Forward Initiative. He told participants that the UN fully supports the Bank’s initiative and added that no strategy for development is sustainable if water is not an essential part of that strategy. It is totally unacceptable, he said, that access to water is not considered a basic human right. 

Mr. Guterres called on governments to show the political will to engage in bilateral or multilateral dialogue to manage water crises, which can, all too often, be drivers of conflict.  

The Secretary-General then helped launch the Borrowers’ Platform, which he called a historic breakthrough to address deep inequities in the global financial and debt architecture. He said borrower countries have long lacked a space comparable to creditor coordination forums.

The Platform will allow borrowing countries to sit together, share experience, build technical capacity and speak with a collective voice. The Secretary-General stressed that changing power relations is essential to achieving a fairer, more inclusive international financial system, noting the central role of UNCTAD as its secretariat.

While in Washington, the Secretary-General met with the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, and also with the Finance Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Aurangzeb. The Secretary-General and the Finance Minister discussed the recently-launched platform. The Secretary-General took the opportunity to once again thank Pakistan for its effort in helping to resolve the current conflict in the Middle East. 

Full Highlight: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-04-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPJWL-KoSAs

Source: United Nations (video statements)

For 80 years, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has served as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, helping to settle legal disputes between States in accordance with international law.

The Court has addressed issues including territorial disputes, the use of force, and the interpretation of international conventions, including cases involving allegations of genocide.

Today, the Court is also being asked to clarify legal obligations related to global challenges such as climate change.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/KUzC0xOxtQs

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Briefing by Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), on the situation in the Great Lakes Region.

Bahous said that peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will only be secured when women are treated not as “spoils of war” but as empowered agents of stability, accountability and peace.

She also asked the Council to protect the peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, and “its critical mandate in the DRC. And recall the hundreds of trials against perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence. Recall the women activists and human rights defenders who have enjoyed MONUSCO’s protection.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ore2vy2vdKU

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Peacekeeping Chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix**UN Peacekeeping Chief Warns Budget Cuts Threaten Missions and Personnel Safety** told the Security Council that Peacekeeping “must remain adaptable and accountable,” and stressed that budgetary cuts are creating “major constraints on the ability of the missions to implement their political and protection of civilian mandates, as well as to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel.”

Lacroix, addressing the annual briefing from the heads of military components of UN peacekeeping operations, said UN peacekeeping “is and remains a useful political tool, used by the international community to help parties to put an end to armed conflict and move towards lasting peace.”

He said, “prioritized and focused mandates from this Council that are adequately resourced and can be recalibrated to evolving needs and situations should be the starting point,” and pointed out that troop and police contributing countries “are the backbone of our missions.”

Lacroix said, “their perspectives must be regularly included in mandate design and implementation.”

He noted that peacekeeping operations “have faced significant financial challenges of the past year, necessitating the implementation of stringent contingency measures,” and said, “this impact will be felt over an extended period of time.”

For instance, Lacroix said the closure of bases has reduced the United Nations in South Sudan’s (UNMISS’) “situational awareness, early warning capabilities, and community reassurance, creating blind spots, limiting proactive intervention and timely deployment to hotspots.”

“Now, more than ever,” he said, “it is essential that the Council provides strong, coherent and consistent support not only to peacekeeping operations themselves, but also to the political efforts that there are designed to enable and sustain.”

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic
(MINUSCA) Force Commander, Lieutenant General Humphrey Nyone, said the mission has “played a critical role in supporting the Central African Republic’s general elections on 28th December 2025 by working alongside the National Defence and Security Forces to maintain security, protect civilians and electoral staff and ensure safe polling conditions through joint patrols. “

Despite “limited troop numbers and the challenging environment,” Nyone said, “most polling stations operated smoothly” during the general elections, and the force “is now preparing to provide similar support for the second round of local elections on 26th April 2026.”

For his part, the Force Commander and Acting Head of Misson at the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), Major General Ganesh Kumar Shrestha, said, “Abyei today is not at war, but neither is it at peace. With the rapidly increasing presence of unauthorized armed actors exerting pressure on mandate implementation within the Abyei box and in JBVMM areas. Continued political engagement by the parties backed by the Council’s support for UNISFA remains critical to preserving stability and advancing a durable solution.”

The 2026 Heads of Military Components Conference (HoMCC) is taking place from 13 to 17 April at UN Headquarters in New York, focusing on the theme: “Future-Ready Peacekeeping: Reshaping to Achieve Mission Impact.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f7Ld6QWZ4E

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told the Council that more than 22 million people, nearly half of Yemen’s population, need humanitarian aid, and that number is rising.
“This crisis is hitting the most vulnerable first and hardest. Hunger is tightening its grip,” Wosornu said, adding that more than 18 million people face severe hunger and two out of every three families are forced to skip meals every day.

The nutrition crisis continues unabated, she said, with 2.2 million children under the age of five acutely malnourished and 1.3 million pregnant and breastfeeding women facing life-threatening complications due to malnutrition. “For too many children, too many mothers, this means irreversible, lifelong physical and cognitive damage, stunting – even death,” Wosornu said.

She warned that Yemen’s health system is collapsing, with two out of every five health facilities not fully functional, leaving more than 19 million people who need healthcare without it. Vaccine-preventable diseases including cholera, measles and diphtheria are spreading at rates that place Yemen among the worst in the world, she said.

Wosornu also told the Council that 73 UN colleagues remain arbitrarily detained by the Houthi de facto authorities, with many UN assets seized and access severely restricted. “Faced with this reality, we have been forced to reassess our operations in areas held by the de facto authorities,” she said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKCjrYDMXek

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Briefing by Huang Xia, UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region, on the situation in the region.

Xia updated ambassadors on the recent escalation of violence. He said that since last October, while the region has seen considerable intensification in diplomatic initiatives, "the humanitarian and security situations have worsened to a worrisome level.

The continued erosion of trust in part explains the divide between political commitments and the reality on the ground.

He stressed, "This disconnect remains today our main collective challenge.”

Xia warned, “The risk of a slide into a regional confrontation remains tangible. This Council cannot afford to see the repetition of a cycle of violence it has been examining for far too long: the full implementation of resolutions 2773 (2025) and 2808 (2025) is urgent.”

He concluded, “I therefore call on the DRC, Rwanda, and all the actors concerned, in particular the AFC/M23, to resume a frank dialogue, to immediately reduce tensions, and to ensure the effective and timely implementation of all their commitments.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Tl7l3dr1Tk

Source: United Nations (video statements)

UN refugee chief Barham Salih calls for an end to the war in Lebanon after visiting displaced families in Beirut and the Bekaa Valley. One in five people in Lebanon is now displaced.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tv_pkxSAuYE