Category: United Nations

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, moderates the World Photo Day Panel with Women Photographers from Conflict Areas.

This World Photo Day, the United Nations hosted Through Her Lens: Perspectives on Peace, a panel featuring photographers Rita Kabalan (Lebanon), Mona Elfateh (Sudan), Narline Novembre (Haiti), Do Nsoseme Dora (Democratic Republic of the Congo), and Cailley Frank-Lehrer from Photoville New York, moderated by Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming.

The panel explored the power of women telling their communities’ stories with empathy, nuance, and dignity, and the incredible resilience that drives them to persist despite the risks and barriers they face in conflict-affected contexts.

This conversation is part of the broader exhibition Through Her Lens: Women Rising for Peace, which features powerful images of peacebuilders and peacekeepers advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda captured by local women photographers from different conflict-affected areas.

Organized by the United Nations Department of Peace Operations, the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and UN Women.

#WomenPeaceSecurity #Photoville

Explore the full exhibition here: https://throughherlens.un.org

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7dEGby1DE0

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Briefing by Natalia Gherman, Assistant Secretary-General, and Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, on threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.
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Natalia Gherman, head of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, warned of Da’esh’s exploitation of artificial intelligence. “Da’esh’s use of artificial intelligence and social media for recruitment, fundraising and propaganda demands innovative responses,” she said, while stressing the same tools could help states disrupt terrorist activities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NTd99ESdp8

Source: United Nations (video statements)

During his visit to Japan, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres visited Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. World Expos are not just feel-good exhibitions, “they are invitations to tell our stories,” The UN chief told festival goers on a special day celebrating the global organization.

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

Source: United Nations (video statements)

More than half a million people in Gaza are trapped in famine, marked by widespread starvation, destitution and preventable deaths, according to a new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released today. Famine conditions are projected to spread from Gaza Governorate to Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis Governorates in the coming weeks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC2RRrAl04c

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Noon Briefing by Daniela Gross, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
Secretary-General/Gaza
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Secretary-General/Travels
Security Council
Security Council/Libya
Global Health Challenges/Extreme Heat
Senior Personnel Appointment
International Days

SECRETARY-GENERAL/GAZA
In a statement issued early this morning, the Secretary-General said that just when it seems there are no words left to describe the living hell in Gaza, a new one has been added: “famine”. This is not a mystery, he said; it is a man-made disaster, a moral indictment and a failure of humanity itself.
The Secretary-General noted that famine is not only about food; it is the deliberate collapse of the systems needed for human survival. He pointed out that people are starving, children are dying and those with the duty to act are failing.
The Secretary-General said that as the occupying power, Israel has unequivocal obligations under international law, including the duty of ensuring food and medical supplies of the population. He stressed that we cannot allow this situation to continue with impunity.
No more excuses, the Secretary-General said, adding that the time for action is not tomorrow, it is now. He emphasized that we need an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages and full, unfettered humanitarian access.
There have been also several other statements on this, including from our Emergency Relief Coordinator, UN Agencies and our UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. All of those statements are available online.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
Now on the humanitarian side, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs remind us, again today, that civilians are bearing the brunt of this war. As strikes continue to intensify across the Strip, casualties are flooding hospitals’ emergency departments.
We and our partners continue to warn of the catastrophic consequences that the intensification of the ongoing offensive in Gaza city would have for civilians. Overnight and into today, multiple strikes were reported in the Jabalya Al Balad and An Nazla neighbourhoods. Our partners monitoring population movements in the Strip say that as a result, about 900 people reportedly left, heading towards the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood and western Gaza city.
Once again, we remind parties to the conflict of their obligations under international law to protect civilians, including humanitarian workers and those who cannot or choose not to move. As we have said before, those fleeing must be allowed to do so safely. They must also be allowed to return if they wish to do so, as the situation allows. OCHA reiterates the urgency of ensuring people have access to aid and basic services, whether they leave or stay. Supplies must be allowed to enter Gaza through all available crossings and corridors. We and our humanitarian partners must have safe, predictable and sustained access to deliver aid at scale to people in immense need of assistance.
Our colleagues working on health remind us that nearly half of all hospitals and field hospitals are located in Gaza city and account for 40 per cent of the total inpatient bed capacity in all of the Gaza Strip. Expansion of military operations would further cripple the collapsing healthcare system.
Many medical facilities in the south are operating several times over their bedspace capacity. Partners stress that access to healthcare must be immediately restored to avert more preventable deaths.

Full highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=22%20August%202025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gub0nUBK58I

Source: United Nations (video statements)

It’s Famine in Gaza says Tom Fletcher, the Head of OCHA.
More than half a million people in Gaza are trapped in famine, marked by widespread starvation, destitution and preventable deaths, according to a new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released today by the United Nations. Briefing journalists on Friday at UN headquarters in Geneva, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said it was a famine that could have been prevented ‘if we had been allowed.’
‘Yet food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel. It is a famine within a few hundred metres of food, in a fertile land’, he added.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qyqVEo3nQgU

Source: United Nations (video statements)

@unitednations
▶ https://youtu.be/hRXeJ7IVaYk
When war comes home, with Yacoub El Hillo | United Nations ‘Awake at Night’ podcast teaser

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Yacoub El Hillo spent more than thirty years serving refugees and displaced people in some of the world’s worst conflict zones. But when cataclysmic war erupted in his hometown of Khartoum, Sudan, the Regional Director for Africa at the United Nations Development Coordination Office (DCO) had to help his own family flee the violence.

“I don’t think there’s any home in Khartoum that was spared … the assumption is that everything is gone.”

Having served in more than 16 duty stations, from Liberia to Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan, Yacoub El Hillo has rarely seen any conflict as devastating as the one currently decimating Sudan.

In this episode, he reflects on the scale of the human suffering there, looks back on a rich and varied career with the UN, and shares why all nations deserve a chance to strive for a brighter future.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tMy6Y6vAgBw

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Briefing by Mr. Geir Pedersen, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, on the situation on the Middle East – Security Council, 9983rd meeting.

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The UN Special Envoy for Syria briefed the Security Council on Thursday, saying that amid a strained ceasefire and military skirmishes in Syria, the political transition “remains on a knife’s edge”.

Geir Pedersen told ambassadors that in Sweida governate, where sectarian violence in July also spurred conflict in the capital Damascus, the 19 July ceasefire has come under strain, but the conflict has not resumed so far.

However, “we are still seeing dangerous hostilities and skirmishes on the margins of Sweida, and violence could resume at any moment,” he said.

In northeast Syria, efforts to implement the 10 March agreement between the interim security forces and the mostly-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continue. Just this month, there have been spikes in violence between the two militaries in the Aleppo governorate.

While attempts to convene the two sides outside of the country have been unsuccessful, Mr. Pedersen welcomed reports of contacts between officials.

Despite these security incidents, Mr. Pedersen stressed that the situation has been relatively calm this month, applauding the efforts of those who have worked to tamp down hostilities.

However, in terms of the political situation, “the country remains deeply fragile and the transition remains on a knife-edge.”

After 13 years of civil war, Mr. Pedersen underscored the need for an inclusive, Syrian-led political transition that enables the Syrian people determine their own future peacefully, independently and democratically.

“Syrians need to feel that this transition is not a series of ad hoc arrangements and isolated institutions, but a clear and comprehensive path, based on inclusion and transparency, to implement the principles of resolution 2254,” he said.

To encourage the voluntary, safe return of refugees and internally displaced persons, Mr. Pedersen stressed the need for coordinated support to repair Syria’s depleted infrastructure.

“The best way to secure such support is through a genuine political transition that lays the path for long-term stability and sustainable governance. Indeed, without credible reforms, stronger institutions, and a firm commitment to the rule of law, international support risks being squandered or misdirected,” he stressed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T70ohRCUfBY

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Noon Briefing by Daniela Gross, Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
Secretary-General/Japan
Secretary-General/Israeli Settlements
Deputy Secretary-General
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Ukraine
Security Council
Libya
Lebanon
Sudan
Democratic Republic of the Congo
International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism

SECRETARY-GENERAL/JAPAN
The Secretary-General continues his visit to Japan. Today, he held a press conference in Yokohama on the sidelines of the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development. He reiterated the importance of reaching immediately a ceasefire in Gaza, and the unconditional release of all hostages held in the Strip, and to avoid the massive death and destruction that a military operation against Gaza City would inevitably cause.
On the TICAD Summit, Mr. Guterres said that discussions at the conference focused on how partnership with Africa can strengthen solutions the whole world needs – in peace, in global governance, finance, climate action, and digital transformation.
Today, the Secretary-General also held meetings with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Iwaya Takesh, and separately with the Mayor of Yokohama.
While in Yokohama, Mr. Guterres met with the President of the Republic of Ghana, John Dramani. They discussed cooperation between Ghana and the UN, as well as the situation in the region.
The Secretary-General also met with the Head of State and Head of Government of the Republic of Kenya, William Ruto. They discussed the Haiti Mission, and exchanged views on the regional situation in the Great Lakes, East Africa and the Horn of Africa.
The Secretary-General is currently on his way to Osaka where the EXPO is being held.

SECRETARY-GENERAL/ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS
In a statement issued yesterday evening, the Secretary-General condemned the decision of the Higher Planning Committee to grant approval for more than 3,400 housing units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank. He notes that Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are a violation of international law and run directly counter to UN resolutions.
The Secretary-General said that the advancement of this project is an existential threat to the two-State solution. It would sever the northern and southern West Bank and have severe consequences for the territorial contiguity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
He reiterated his call on the Government of Israel to immediately halt all settlement activity and to comply fully with its obligations under international law and to act in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions and in line with the International Court of Justice in its Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024.

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL
The Deputy Secretary-General will depart later today for Abuja, Nigeria, to attend the inaugural Regional Security Conference of African Defence Chiefs entitled the "African Defence Chiefs Summit". The Summit will bring together defence leaders from across the continent to discuss collective approaches to peace and security and stability in Africa. At the Summit, she will highlight that sustainable development and peace and security are mutually reinforcing and must be advanced together to tackle today’s complex security challenges. While in Abuja, the Deputy Secretary-General will also meet with senior government officials of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), and other key stakeholders to advance cooperation on sustainable development, peace and security, and humanitarian priorities.
Following her visit to Nigeria, the Deputy Secretary-General will travel to Santiago, in Chile, to participate in the World Summit on Teachers where she will underscore the central role of teachers in advancing the SDG4 and the global education agenda. The Summit builds on the outcomes of the 2022 Transforming Education Summit and advances the recommendations of the Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on the Teaching Profession, reinforcing the urgent need to invest in, and support, teachers worldwide. While in Chile, she will also meet with senior government officials, the UN Country Team, and other stakeholders to discuss national progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Deputy Secretary-General will return to New York on Friday, 29 August.

Full highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=21%20August%202025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5KavR2zGyE

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Blurb: Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, including a record number of children, are living with amputations amid severe shortages of medical care and supplies. Gaza has the world’s largest population of child amputees, many facing dire health conditions and limited access to treatment or rehabilitation. Amputations are often performed as life-saving measures due to the lack of medical resources. Ongoing evacuation orders in parts of Gaza City, combined with escalating violence, have forced residents into increasingly small areas, adding immense pressure on hospitals. Al-Shifa Hospital is operating at nearly 300 percent capacity, with a constant influx of complex trauma injuries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubg7rCQ6xdI