Category: United Nations

Source: United Nations (video statements)

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

Highlights:
Security Council
Yemen/Saudi Arabia
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Ukraine
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Chad
Afghanistan
Colombia

SECURITY COUNCIL

Hanna Tetteh, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the United Nations in Libya, briefed the Security Council. She told members that Libya now enters a critical phase, that of advancing unified institutions and the conditions necessary for inclusive elections.

Ms. Tetteh told Council members that the consequences of Libya’s divisions are visible in daily life. Power cuts in July disrupted electricity and water supplies for hundreds of thousands of people and have continued into August, in the middle of a long heatwave.

Despite these challenges, Ms. Tetteh pointed to the meeting in Sirte in July when the two Chiefs of General Staff from the West and East, who agreed on the principle to establish a joint border force and to undertake joint exercises, regular communications and harmonised training.

YEMEN/SAUDI ARABIA

Turning to the situation in the Arabian Peninsula, between Yemen and Saudi Arabia. We are deeply concerned by reports of attacks by the Houthis against targets in Saudi Arabia. Such attacks risk further entangling Yemen in the wider regional confrontation, at a time when the region is already facing intense pressure and regional trade and energy flows are under severe strain.

Attacks and threats against shipping must also stop, and freedom of navigation in both the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden must be upheld.

We again call on the parties to respect their obligations to protect civilians, to protect civilian infrastructure. The Special Envoy, Hans Grundberg, has stressed this imperative in all his engagements with the parties.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

Turning to the Occupied Palestinian Territory. I can tell you that we are deeply alarmed by the continued deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation for Palestinian in the occupied West Bank.

Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that in the northern West Bank yesterday, Israeli forces instructed about 10 Palestinian families in Jabal An Nasr neighbourhood in Tulkarm to leave their homes for seven hours, due to military activities near the adjacent Nur Shams camp for Palestine refugees.

Israeli military bulldozers excavated part of a road, damaging water and sewage networks, and carried out excavation works on Palestinian land before withdrawing. Families reportedly returned to their homes, and municipal crews repaired the damaged infrastructure once Israeli security forces withdrew from the area.

These incidents are taking place against the backdrop of a broader deterioration in the West Bank, where escalating violence, expanding settler presence, severe restrictions on movement and access for Palestinians, and shrinking economic opportunities have become the norm.

Turning to Gaza, we and our partners continue to deliver aid, support essential services and facilitate critical humanitarian operations wherever it is possible for us to do so. Since Sunday, we and our partners have successfully coordinated with the Israeli authorities to carry out several missions in Gaza, including the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem and Rafah crossings, to monitor humanitarian cargo, and collect fuel and support medical evacuations.

The scale of needs remains immense. Our colleagues at the Food and Agriculture Organization also warned yesterday that Gaza’s agricultural capacity has been devastated. A new assessment found that only 3 per cent of cropland remains both accessible and undamaged, further undermining local food production and farmers’ livelihoods.

At the same time, our humanitarian partners are concerned about the impact of continued Israeli military activities on civilians. Since yesterday and as of this morning, our partners leading on security and safety reported incidents involving Israeli air strikes, shelling, gunfire and naval fire, primarily west of the so-called “Yellow Line,” that’s where most of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents are forced to be confined, and that is less than half of the Strip’s territory.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-08-18

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nDeZJ4-mqU

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Máximo Torero Cullen is one of the world’s leading voices on global hunger and food security. Currently serving as Chief Economist at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), he uses his economic expertise to work towards the goal of a world where nobody goes to bed hungry.

“I have been through many problems in life, which I have learned a lot as an economist. I was in the hyperinflation in Peru. I was in wars in Peru and terrorism… I have been in massive earthquake situations. So I have seen a lot, but I never expected how complex this sector would become.”

FAO partners with governments around the world to invest in areas with untapped agricultural potential, transforming lives in rural farming communities. It also works to secure the global food supply during crises such as the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, or the crisis in Strait of Hormuz. In this episode, Máximo Torero Cullen reflects on the process of dampening food price shocks, on investing in sustainable nutrition, and shares why he always trusts the knowledge of farmers.

[00:00] Introduction
[00:24] An accidental path into economics
[02:00] Growing up in Lima and discovering rural Peru
[04:45] Using technology, nutrition, and education to transform lives
[9:29] Choosing a career in international development
[12:06] His journey to FAO
[13:48] Investing in rural communities
[18:58] The challenge of producing food sustainably
[21:00] What keeps Maximo awake at night
[24:40] The hidden fragility of food systems
[28:40] Hunger crises around the world
[31:06] When evidence is ignored
[32:17] Life in Rome and family influences
[36:39] Closing remarks

Listen to more Awake at Night episodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwoDFQJEq_0b6hu1e8oxsch9W0D7vkNqt
#podcast #UnitedNations #AwakeAtNight #FAO #food #hunger #agriculture

About Awake at Night
Hosted by Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, the podcast ‘Awake at Night’ is an in-depth interview series focusing on remarkable United Nations staff members who dedicate their career to helping people in parts of the world where they have the hardest lives – from war zones and displacement camps to areas hit by disasters and the devastation of climate change.

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

Source: United Nations (video statements)

@unitednations
▶ https://youtu.be/XzRaFSKPW_s

Máximo Torero Cullen is one of the world’s leading voices on global hunger and food security. Currently serving as Chief Economist at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), he uses his economic expertise to work towards the goal of a world where nobody goes to bed hungry.

“I have been through many problems in life, which I have learned a lot as an economist. I was in the hyperinflation in Peru. I was in wars in Peru and terrorism… I have been in massive earthquake situations. So I have seen a lot, but I never expected how complex this sector would become.”

FAO partners with governments around the world to invest in areas with untapped agricultural potential, transforming lives in rural farming communities. It also works to secure the global food supply during crises such as the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, or the crisis in Strait of Hormuz. In this episode, Máximo Torero Cullen reflects on the process of dampening food price shocks, on investing in sustainable nutrition, and shares why he always trusts the knowledge of farmers.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ZjEuxh255UY

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Remarks by Yasmine Fouad, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification during the Opening Ceremony of the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to UNCCD COP17.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7lLhgnnY6A

Source: United Nations (video statements)

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

Highlights:

– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Lebanon
– Yemen
– Sudan
– Central African Republic

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

In the Occupied West Bank, UN humanitarian colleagues on the ground report that UN teams reached families in Qusra village in the northern West Bank, a village where Palestinian families had been trapped in following the establishment of an Israeli settlement outpost next to their homes and much tighter access restrictions imposed on them.

UNICEF team delivered water, food, medicines and hygiene items, as well as recreational kits for children.

As of earlier today, OCHA reports that three Palestinian families in the village remained surrounded by a heavy presence of Israeli forces as well as settlers.

Meanwhile, UN humanitarian colleagues say that separate efforts by municipal workers to repair water and electricity connections damaged over the past week faced serious impediments but were ultimately successful. Israeli settlers did attack the municipal workers, and Israeli forces detained some of them.

Israeli forces had also reportedly ordered a nearby Palestinian factory to suspend operations, affecting people’s livelihoods.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, UN humanitarian colleagues say that multiple people were injured over the weekend, including by live ammunition, in two incidents in Hebron governorate involving Israeli forces, settlers as well as Palestinians.

UN Deputy Special Coordinator Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, who also serves as the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator said that recent developments in the West Bank underscore the urgent need to protect civilians, safeguard homes and property, and ensure access to essential services. He stresses that what is happening in Qusra must not become the new normal.

In Gaza, UN humanitarian partners remain concerned about the impact of continued Israeli strikes on civilians.

Over the weekend, UN partners leading on security and safety have reported multiple air strikes and incidents of shelling, gunfire and naval fire, primarily west of the so-called "Yellow Line," which is where most of Gaza’s 2.1 million people are now confined, that is an area that is less than half of the Gaza Strip’s land. Civilians were reported among some of the casualties.

UN humanitarian partners also say that preparations for the coming rainy season are facing funding shortfalls and other limitations. It is critical that these preparations take place now.

They estimate that ahead of winter, the UN and its partners have been able to buy less than 30,000 tents, most of which are still stuck outside of Gaza. That’s compared with an estimated need of 80,000 to 130,000 tents, which depends on whether more durable supplies are allowed in.

Less than 40 per cent of the $4 billion required for humanitarian support across Gaza and the West Bank has been secured this year.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-08-17

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

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Remarks by Yasmine Fouad, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification during the Opening Ceremony of the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to UNCCD COP17.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7lLhgnnY6A

Source: United Nations (video statements)

UN Women’s Special Representative in Afghanistan Susan Ferguson urged governments and donors to continue investing in Afghan women and girls, stressing that their exclusion from public life should not be normalized.

Ferguson spoke to reporters via video link as Saturday (15 Aug) marks five years ago since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan for the second time.

The Special Representative said, “what’s unfolded since then has no parallel in the modern world. Year by year, the de facto authorities have systematically dismantled the rights of women and girls, issuing more than 100 decrees that have stripped away their rights and institutionalized discrimination against them.”

Ferguson continued, “Afghanistan is the only country in the world where women and girls face such far-reaching restrictions on their education, work movement, public participation and legal equality.”
The UN Women official also said, “in the past year alone, new decrees and edicts have further restricted women’s and girls’ access to justice and formally removed equality between women and men before the law.”

She took decree number 12 as an example, “a husband is only criminally liable for violence within marriage if he causes severe and visible physical injuries, and his wife must prove it in court with her male guardian, who may be the very person who harmed her,” Ferguson said.

Another example is under decree number 18, “men retain the right to divorce, but a woman either needs her husband’s permission, or has to go through a lengthy legal process. The decree also implicitly permits child marriage, further eroding the rights and protection of women and girls,” the Special Representative added.

Ferguson underscored, “enforcement of these decrees and edicts has intensified, with thousands of officials now patrolling the streets with broad powers of detention and surveillance.”

She said, “the gates of high schools remain locked to girls. The halls of universities remain open to men only, and a growing shortage of women health workers, a consequence of the education bans, is making it harder for women to receive health care, particularly in communities where custom prevents women from being treated by male doctors.”

The UN Women official also pointed out more than half of the 3,200 women the Agency surveyed leave their homes only once or twice a month. Nearly three quarters say they feel unsafe leaving home without a male guardian or mahram, and more than half avoid public spaces such as markets and health facilities altogether.

“Women described a constant need to be aware of their dress, speech and movements to avoid sanctions, scrutiny or judgment,” Ferguson said.

She reiterated, “this systematic loss of rights, freedoms and opportunities has triggered a mental health crisis among women and girls. Seven in ten women we surveyed describe their mental health as bad or very bad.”

The Special Representative stressed, “in the face of all these extraordinary restrictions, I hear the message over and over from the Afghan women I meet: see us, don’t leave us, stand with us and continue to support us.”

Yet, she said, “at precisely the moment when Afghan women need that support the most, it’s being pulled away. Across Afghanistan, international aid cuts are forcing women’s organizations to cut services, to lay off staff and in some cases, consider closing their doors altogether.”

Ferguson emphasized, “five years into this crisis, this is the moment to deepen our commitment to Afghan women, not to retreat from it,” urging governments and donors to continue investing in Afghan women and girls, “to increase, not cut, their foreign aid, because to do anything less is to walk away from Afghan women and girls,” sha said.

The UN Women official stressed, “there is nothing normal about excluding half a country’s population from public life. There was nothing normal about it five years ago, and there’s nothing normal about it today. And we must never allow it to become normal.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1-VSK8fMZc

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Opening session inaugurating the High-Level Segment of COP17.

The 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) under the theme Restoring Land. Restoring Hope held from August 17-28, 2026, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

More information: https://www.unccd.int/news-stories/media-advisory/unccd-cop17-opens-ulaanbaatar-land-restoration-and-drought-resilience

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

Source: United Nations (video statements)

The 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) under the theme Restoring Land. Restoring Hope held from August 17-28, 2026, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

The conference brings together representatives of 197 Parties, international organizations, financial institutions, businesses, scientistsand civil society to accelerate action on land restoration and drought resilience.

Over the next two weeks, governments will negotiate key decisions on drought resilience, rangelands and pastoralists, sustainable agriculture and soils, resource mobilization and private-sector engagement, while working to mobilize greater investment and strengthen implementation on the ground.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57f-Ok5OF6k

Source: United Nations (video statements)

The Global Peace Flag transforms discarded fabrics into interconnected canvases, diverting textiles from landfills while giving people around the world a space to express messages of peace. In the exhibition "Repurposing Fashion, Reimagining Peace", presented at United Nations Headquarters in New York, these canvases take on new life as dresses—bringing together fashion, sustainability, and the universal message of peace.

Organized by Runa Ray on behalf of Fashioning for Social Environmental Justice (FSEJ), the exhibition is endorsed by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_Ynlqjr2Ec