Category: United Nations

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
– Secretary-General travel
– Iran
– UNIFIL
– Lebanon/Humanitarian
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Sudan
– Security Council
– Central African Republic
– Andaman Sea
– Wellness Day

IRAN

The Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for the Middle East Conflict and its Consequences, Jean Arnault, is visiting the Sultanate of Oman. He is meeting with senior Omani officials to listen to their unique perspective on the conflict and discuss the potential contribution of the United Nations to its settlement.

Meanwhile, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, yesterday allocated $12 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support the humanitarian response in the country.

The CERF funding will support life-saving activities in health, water, sanitation and hygiene, and food security. Where possible, response activities will be implemented through our local partners, aligned with large-scale efforts led by the Government.

According to authorities, between 28 February and 8 April, large-scale airstrikes across the country caused more than 2,360 civilian deaths, including 257 women and 220 children, and tens of thousands of injuries, severely stretching trauma care, burn management and primary health services.

The strikes also damaged homes, schools, health facilities and other critical infrastructure nationwide, including cutting off people’s access to essential services. Needs are most acute in municipalities that experienced the heaviest bombardment and are also hosting displaced people from nearby areas.

Although the ceasefire has eased insecurity, widespread destruction, rubble and explosive or toxic remnants of war continue to prevent people from accessing basic services and hinder rescue and response efforts. The crisis spans a broad geographic area, with particularly severe consequences in densely populated regions.

UNIFIL

Yesterday’s meeting between Lebanon and Israel, convened by the United States constitutes an important first step to end the hostilities, and towards breaking the recurrent rounds of violence that have caused considerable suffering for too long. The Secretary-General reiterates his call to all parties to immediately cease hostilities. Maintaining dialogue will be essential in resolving outstanding issues and achieving progress towards stability. We remain ready to support these efforts and continue to urge the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701.

On the ground, the peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, continues to report ongoing hostilities, including projectiles fired towards Israel and Israel Defense Forces in southern Lebanon, and Israel Defense Forces operations throughout the mission’s area of operations, such as airstrikes, armored movements and other kinetic activities.

Our peacekeeping colleagues continue to report violations. Yesterday afternoon, a routine convoy transporting military and civilian peacekeepers, along with essential contractors, from Beirut to UNIFIL Headquarters was halted by Israel Defense Forces personnel a few kilometres from its destination in Naqoura.

UN-marked vehicles were eventually allowed to proceed; however, local contractors were required to return to Beirut under security arrangements, despite the convoy having been fully deconflicted in advance, including their presence being explicitly cleared.

This is not an isolated incident. Similar restrictions, through physical roadblocks or the reversal of prior clearances, have affected both peacekeepers and the essential personnel who support them. These actions raise serious concerns about the timely delivery of critical supplies, including food, fuel and water, to UNIFIL positions, particularly along the Blue Line.

We reiterate our call on the IDF to respect agreed arrangements and to uphold its obligations to ensure the safety and security of peacekeepers, as well as the freedom of movement of all UNIFIL patrols and logistical convoys.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-04-15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEwX9gWuyNs

Source: United Nations (video statements)

“Yemen remains highly exposed to the economic repercussions of the regional escalation, and as the global situation has made clear, it is always the poorest and most vulnerable who bear the heaviest burden,” Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen said.

Briefing the Security Council, Grundberg also said, “Yemenis across the country have long contended with inadequate public services, delayed salaries, and rising prices, and they will now have to contend with import disruptions and higher fuel and food prices triggered by wider conflict in the Middle East.”

Yemen continues to be affected by spillover from the regional crisis that began with US‑Israeli strikes against Iran on 28 February. The Houthis–a Yemeni rebel group holding de facto control over northern Yemen that is part of an Iran-backed coalition of armed groups known as the “axis of resistance”—had paused their attacks on Israel and on Red Sea shipping following the Gaza ceasefire agreement in October 2025.

However, on 28 March, the group resumed strikes on Israel in response to the widening regional escalation, including Israeli military expansion into Lebanon and strikes targeting Hezbollah.

Following the 7 April announcement of a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the US, differences emerged between the conflict parties on whether the truce framework included Lebanon, which Israel continued to bomb heavily.

In a 9 April speech, Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi described the ceasefire announcement as a “great victory” for Iran, while stressing that de-escalation efforts will not be successful unless Israel ceases its attacks on Lebanon and on any member of the “axis of resistance.” He also signalled the group’s readiness to prepare for “inevitable coming rounds” of conflict.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm-txgXQCS0

Source: United Nations (video statements)

As the war in Sudan enters its fourth year, the most acute loss is the country’s greatest asset: its people. Sudanese refugees in Uganda appreciate the welcome they have received, seek international support, and contribute to their societies, even as they have been forced to leave behind productive lives they hope to soon resume in Sudan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBH-TwQQPVw

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Informal comments to the media by António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, on the situation in the Middle East and his forthcoming travel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0f6f9YI37w

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Syria has made ‘remarkable progress’ on transitional justice just one year after the fall of the Assad regime. But despite the immense willingness that is in place, deep-rooted stigma continues to prevent many survivors of conflict-related sexual violence from coming forward.
Sofia Candeias, from the UN Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict, stresses that Syria needs the support of the international community to rebuild the architecture of the rule of law, and see a new Syria emerge.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VoX_zki7Spo

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed said technological innovations “have enormous potential to accelerate progress” on the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) program of action, as “they are making it easier to analyse population data, treat illness, strengthen advocacy and widen access to education.”

Addressing the plenary of the fifty-ninth session of the UN Commission on Population and Development, Mohammed said, “technology has reshaped almost every part of human life, from smartphones to social media, from artificial intelligence to biotechnology” and population and sustainable development “have been transformed by that shift as well.”

She noted that the risks posed by digital technologies are also “significant and the gaps are widening.”

The Deputy Secretary-General said “in high income countries, 93 percent of people use the internet. In the least developed countries, that figure falls to 39 percent. Within countries, those gaps follow similar lines rich and poor, urban and rural, old and young.”

The deepest and most persistent divide, she pointed out, “is between women and men,” as “in low-income countries, only 21 percent of women are online” and “women make up just 1 in 4 tech workers.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P5ZdrYqhpc

Source: United Nations (video statements)

The UN humanitarian coordinator for Sudan called the three-year-old conflict there “an abandoned crisis,” warning that the scale of atrocities has yet to move the world to act.

Briefing reporters in New York, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan Denise Brown said the situation in the country has become a cycle of suffering with no end in sight.

“We really are on repeat in Sudan – repeats of sexual violence, repeated displacement, repeated deaths,” Brown said. “It feels like we’re stuck in this cycle, and everything is being repeated.”

Brown said the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR, had documented patterns of sexual violence, citing a recent MSF report for Darfur entitled “No Safe Space Left for Women and Girls in Darfur.” The organization has treated close to 2,500 survivors of sexual violence over the past year.

“What we also need to be addressing here is the impregnation of these women and girls, and the consequences for them, for the families, for the communities, and of course most particularly for these children,” she said.

Brown said OHCHR had also documented mass atrocities around El-Fasher, where 6,000 people were killed in three days – a figure she said was likely an undercount. She noted that the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan now refers to the hallmarks of genocide.

“Why isn’t the world outraged enough to do something about it? What has to happen more? What more has to happen for everyone to sit up and pay attention, to find a solution,” she said.

Brown, speaking from Khartoum, said the humanitarian community was present across the country but was not the solution. “We are here picking up the pieces,” she said, calling on member states to examine the war economy and the flow of weapons into the country.

She flagged Dilling as an active area of concern, saying the town has been under daily attacks since she visited in March, with convoys unable to get in and residents trying to flee again. She said she was also heading to the Blue Nile, where close to 30,000 people had been displaced.

On funding, Brown said the humanitarian response plan was only 16 percent funded against a 2.9 billion dollars ask for 2026, after closing 2025 at 35 percent. “When we get a tent, that tent, … doesn’t become six tents. That tent is one tent,” she said.

“Please don’t call this the forgotten crisis,” Brown also stated her personal plea. “I’m referring to this as an abandoned crisis.”

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

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Addressing the Security Council on cooperation between the UN and the European Union, Khaled Khiari, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, said, “In an increasingly complex and uncertain international environment, sustained engagement, dialogue and trust-building are essential. Respect for international law and the Charter of the United Nations remains central to addressing shared challenges. The European Union plays an important role in advancing these principles.”

He also said, “We are particularly grateful for the role of European Union member states as troop- and police-contributing countries, including in challenging environments, such as Lebanon, and in intergovernmental processes, including the Peacebuilding Commission. At a time when advancing political solutions remains difficult in many contexts, the support of the European Union to the United Nations’ good offices, mediation and political engagement is especially important.”

He added, “The Russian invasion has shaken the foundations of the European security architecture to its core. As we enter the fifth year of this war, the human toll continues to rise. We hope that the Orthodox Easter temporary ceasefire will help pave the way towards a more durable one. An immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire must be the first step towards a just, lasting and comprehensive peace, grounded in respect for international law and the principles of the United Nations Charter.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WNvfPq_bD4

Source: United Nations (video statements)

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

Highlights:
Middle East
Iran
Lebanon/Israel
Lebanon/Humanitarian
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Iraq
Deputy Secretary-General/Nigeria
Sudan/Berlin Conference
Security Council
Haiti
Senior Personnel Appointment/UNMISS
Cyprus
Central African Republic
Ukraine/Children and Armed Conflict
Afghanistan
Football for the Goals
Guests Today and Tomorrow

MIDDLE EAST

After weeks of destruction and distress, it is clear that there is no military solution to the current conflict in the Middle East.

While no agreement was reached at the talks hosted by Pakistan between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran in Islamabad, the discussions themselves underscored the seriousness of their engagement and constituted a positive and meaningful step toward renewed dialogue.

Given the deeply rooted differences, an agreement cannot be reached overnight, and the Secretary-General calls on the talks to continue constructively for an agreement to be reached.

At the same time, the ceasefire must absolutely be preserved. All violations must cease.

He thanks the continued efforts of the mediators – Pakistan, which hosted these talks, as well as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Türkiye – and calls for the international community to support those efforts. 

The Secretary-General stresses that all parties to this conflict must respect freedom of navigation, including in the Strait of Hormuz, in line with international law.

We need to remember that some 20,000 seafarers have been caught up in this conflict and are currently stranded on ships and facing increasing hardships daily.

Disruptions in the maritime trade through the Strait of Hormuz have already had direct effect well beyond the immediate region, with increased global economic fragility and insecurity in many sectors.  

The disruption of fertilizer and related raw material is already having a very negative impact on agriculture, worsening the perspectives of food insecurity. With that in mind, the Executive Director of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), Jorge Moreira da Silva, working with UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Chamber of Commerce, continues engaging extensively with relevant parties to design and operationalize the mechanism we announced for the Strait of Hormuz on 27 March.

For his part, the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Jean Arnault, remains actively engaged in the region, consulting closely with key stakeholders and continuing his outreach in support of a comprehensive and durable agreement.

IRAN

On Iran, OCHA says that the UN and its partners continue to support the Government-led humanitarian response humanitarian in the face of sharply rising needs.

UNICEF has been working with its partners to support children and families, including by increasing psychosocial support.

As needs grow, UNICEF is also helping to restore access to essential health services. In coordination with the Ministry of Health, two mobile health units, eight primary healthcare tents, and more than 80 emergency primary healthcare kits have been deployed. Tents and emergency kits are also being delivered, helping reach more than 225,000 people.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has supported 33,500 refugees with food and cash assistance.

Over the weekend, the principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, which brings together UN agencies and our NGO partners, expressed their alarm by the sustained violations of the rules of war and international humanitarian law. In a statement, they noted that thousands of civilians have been killed, with many more displaced. Health workers and facilities have been targeted, while global supply chains are also impacted, driving up food and fuel prices. The principals spoke out against all attacks on civilians. “Even wars have rules,” they said, “and these rules must be respected.”

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-04-13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGB73mIYpjE

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Denise Brown, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan. She will brief reporters virtually on the three-year mark of the conflict in Sudan.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/p3Po_tPJMt8