A top UN humanitarian official said “Protecting civilians requires more than expressions of concern. It requires genuine commitment that translates into concrete action.”
Addressing the Security Council, Edem Wosornu, Director of the Crisis Response Division of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that one civilian was killed approximately every fourteen minutes in 2025. These are only the deaths the United Nations could document across twenty armed conflicts. We know the real toll is far higher, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Sudan, in Ukraine, in the occupied Palestinian territory, and beyond.
She said, “These patterns are the result of choices. The choice by parties to conflict to ignore their obligations to protect civilians, and too often, to target them. The choice by some to adopt increasingly permissive interpretations of international humanitarian law, hollowing out the very rules designed to protect civilians during war.”
She also said, “There is another path. Other choices are possible. They must be made. They must be made because protecting civilians, ensuring respect for the law, and ending impunity is not only a legal and moral obligation. It is also in Member States’ shared interest. In a world where conflicts are rising and rearmament is accelerating; unrestrained force and unapologetic brutality do not make anyone safer. They put everyone at risk. Those who believe war will never reach them, their families, or their people are living in a dangerous illusion.”
At the thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku, global leaders and urban development experts reflect on the urgent need to place housing at the center of sustainable development. Dr. Maimunah Mohd Sharif (Advisor on Sustainable Urban Development), Olivia Nielsen (Miyamoto International), Thembisile Simelane (Minister of Human Settlements, South Africa), and Dr. Renu Khosla (CURE) speak about the links between housing, resilience, inclusion, economic opportunity, and climate adaptation, while addressing the realities cities continue to face around rapid urbanization, land pressures, informal settlements, and unequal access to adequate housing. Ten years after the adoption of the New Urban Agenda, they emphasize the importance of moving beyond commitments toward more integrated, people-centered, and sustainable urban development.
Video Producer Rosalie Boyle
Videographer Andres Felipe Carvajal Gomez
For more information about WUF13, please visit: https://enb.iisd.org/world-urban-forum-wuf13
The UN Security Council meets for its annual open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict amid mounting concern over rising civilian casualties, attacks on humanitarian workers and widespread destruction of homes and critical infrastructure in wars around the world. The UN’s top humanitarian for crisis response tells ambassadors one civilian was killed every 14 minutes last year.
Rising gang violence has torn through several areas of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, killing dozens and displacing around 30,000 people.
Much of the violence has been concentrated in Cité Soleil, an impoverished neighbourhood in Haiti’s capital, where access routes to affected areas are blocked, hindering life-saving assistance.
The World Food Programme has already reached 8,500 newly displaced people from Cité Soleil with emergency food assistance.
Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
Secretary-General Travel
United States
Deputy Secretary-General
Security Council
Protection of Civilians
Iran
UNIFIL
Lebanon
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Ebola
Sudan
Ukraine
Haiti
Guest tomorrow
SECRETARY-GENERAL TRAVEL
The Secretary-General is on a plane, heading back to New York, and should be landing in a few hours. He concluded today his chairing of the biannual Chief Executives Board (CEB) meeting.
At the meeting of UN leaders in Japan, the heads of the UN system committed to building a stronger, more effective and more impactful United Nations in the face of greater challenges and fewer resources.
While in Tokyo, the Secretary-General also had an audience with His Majesty the Emperor of Japan.
I do need to apologize, because we issued a readout of that meeting that should not have been issued, and we withdrew it from our platforms. And we do apologize for having done so.
The Secretary-General also held a meeting with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Motegi Toshimitsu. Discussions focused on the UN–Japan partnership, with the Secretary-General underscoring that the organization has benefited enormously from Japan’s generosity and commitment to the multilateral system.
At a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, Mr. Guterres said that he is determined to further strengthen that partnership for the future, noting that the true hallmark of a partnership is revealed in times of crisis.
In that context, he underscored the importance of international cooperation and solidarity in addressing today’s global challenges. The Secretary-General said that the world today is being rocked by conflicts, by climate chaos and by inequality. Inflation is rising and the cost-of-living crisis is deepening, made worse by the conflict in the Middle East, which is sending prices for energy and raw materials skyrocketing.
Stressing that it is essential to immediately reestablish freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz, end all ceasefire violations, and create the conditions for a political solution to the conflict.
UNITED STATES
In response to questions, the Spokesman confirmed the Secretary-General received on Tuesday a call from Marco Rubio, Secretary of State of the United States.
During the call, they discussed the situation in and around the Strait of Hormuz. The Secretary-General reaffirmed his call to reestablish full freedom of navigation in the Strait, as well as the importance of efforts to help address global humanitarian needs, including emerging challenges such as the outbreak of Ebola in the DRC and other areas.
They also discussed the important work of the World Food Programme, and the Secretary-General explained the process of selection for the next Executive Director of the World Food Programme.
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL
Meanwhile, the Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, is on her way to Baku, in Azerbaijan, to attend the 13th session of the World Urban Forum.
During her visit, Ms. Mohammed will deliver remarks at the closing ceremony of the Forum and engage with governments and stakeholders to advance sustainable urban development and the implementation of the New Urban Agenda. In addition, the Deputy Secretary-General will meet with senior government officials in Azerbaijan to discuss the country’s partnership with the UN, especially on urban development, climate, and the environment.
On Friday, on her way back to New York, the Deputy Secretary-General will stop briefly in the United Arab Emirates. She will meet with senior government officials to discuss the socio-economic impacts of the conflict in the Middle East, as well as the preparations towards the 2026 United Nations Water Conference, which is scheduled later this year.
The Deputy Secretary-General will be back in New York on Monday.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-05-20
Comments to the media by Walid Obeidat, Permanent Representative of Jordan to United Nations, along the six founding states of the Global Initiative to Galvanize Political Commitment to International Humanitarian Law: Jordan, Brazil, China, France, Kazakhstan, and South Africa, joined by other states that have officially joined the Global IHL Initiative as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross (total of 83 Member States), prior to the annual open debate on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in the Security Council.
Speaking to reporters, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared that the deadly Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo the situation was ‘not a pandemic emergency’. He added that ‘the Emergency Committee which met yesterday agreed that the situation is a public health emergency of international concern, but is not a pandemic emergency.’
Briefing by Edem Wosornu, Director, Crisis Response Division, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), on Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine.
Wosornu said, “Humanitarian workers in Ukraine came under repeated attack last week. As mentioned by my DPPA colleague, two separate convoys, clearly marked as being part of the United Nations, were hit while carrying life-saving assistance to civilians in need. Both missions had been notified well in advance through established channels.”
She stressed, “These attacks are intensifying, making the delivery of humanitarian assistance increasingly difficult, if not impossible in some areas. Humanitarian workers in Ukraine are taking immense risks to save lives. However, the weapons being deployed – cheap and deadly – are rapidly changing what it means to deliver life-saving assistance. Humanitarian workers and assets must be respected. This entails taking active steps to spare them.”
She said, “I remain deeply concerned about the situation for civilians in and around front-line communities. Whatever side of the line they may be, every day is a matter of life and death. Over a single weekend this month, 930 civilians – including more than 180 children – were evacuated from front-line areas in Donetsk with humanitarian support.”
She concluded, “Civilians across Ukraine cannot wait for a political breakthrough to be protected and have their basic needs met. Protection, humanitarian access and funding remain essential while efforts toward a just and lasting peace continue.”
Briefing by Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on the situation in the Middle East, during the Security Council, 10153rd meeting.
Briefing by Kayoko Gotoh, Director and Officer-in-Charge for Europe, Central Asia, and the Americas, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, on Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine.
Gotoh reported, “In the last week alone, we witnessed one of the largest aerial bombardments of Ukraine since the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Between 13 and 14 May, the Russian Federation reportedly launched more than 1,500 drones and dozens of missiles targeting Ukrainian cities across the country.”
She added, “Last month alone, at least 238 civilians were killed and 1,404 injured in Ukraine. This represents the highest monthly number of civilian casualties recorded since July 2025. It also reflects a continuing pattern of rising civilian harm.”
“Inside the Russian Federation, reported Ukrainian strikes have also led to increasing civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure, including to residential buildings.”
She concluded, “Although direct talks, which are currently paused, have yet to result in a breakthrough, diplomacy has made it possible for thousands of prisoners of war to return home, and for remains of fallen soldiers to be laid to rest. Negotiations should resume without further delays to prevent further escalation and to make meaningful progress towards a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire.”
