Category: United Nations

Source: United Nations (video statements)

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

Highlights：
– Hiroshima
– Bougainville Peace Process
– Lebanon
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Security Council
– Sudan
– Chad
– Democratic Republic Of The Congo
– Haiti
– Afghanistan
– International Day

HIROSHIMA

Earlier today in Japan, our High Representative for Disarmament, Izumi Nakamitsu, delivered the Secretary-General’s message marking 81 years since the bombing of Hiroshima, saying that we honour the memory of those who lost their lives and we pay tribute to the survivors — the hibakusha — whose numbers grow smaller each year, but whose message of peace is as vital as ever.

The Secretary-General warned that we are in a time of deepening geopolitical division, rising mistrust, and intensifying competition. The norms and guardrails that have helped prevent a nuclear cataclysm are under strain.

He stressed the need to build a world in which the threat or use of nuclear weapons becomes unthinkable. Peace is not secured through fear and might, the Secretary-General said; peace is built through trust.  He called on all to move closer to a world where the tragedy of Hiroshima is never repeated.

BOUGAINVILLE PEACE PROCESS

The Secretary-General welcomes the participation of the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea and the President of the Autonomous Bougainville Government in a meeting of the Joint Supervisory Body this week.

This reflects the parties’ continued commitment to dialogue and to advancing the implementation of the Bougainville Peace Agreement through peaceful means.

As the Secretary-General emphasized during his visit to Papua New Guinea in September 2025, the Bougainville peace process has shown the world a path of healing through dialogue, perseverance and mutual respect.

The United Nations will continue to accompany the parties on their journey, as requested by the two Governments.

As we look ahead to the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Bougainville Peace Agreement on 30 August, the Secretary-General encourages the parties to honour the Agreement’s enduring legacy by continuing to engage in a spirit of dialogue and mutual respect, building on the commitments reflected in the Melanesian Agreement to identify an agreed way forward and secure lasting peace.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-08-06

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6GVolhux4c

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Informal comments to the media by Christina Markus Lassen, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the UN and the President of the Security Council for the month of August, as well as Colombia, France, Greece, Latvia, Liberia, Panama, United Kingdom on Women and peace and security.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saK2xoGHRl8

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Street Child United Young Leader Samantha Richards joined the Football for the Goals panel at the UN General Assembly to highlight the importance of ensuring that street-connected children are not only included in conversations that affect their lives but are empowered to lead them. When youth lead, communities grow stronger, and football can help amplify their voices.

Learn more about Football for the Goals and the Young Leaders driving change worldwide at https://www.un.org/en/footballforthegoals

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TR1-1mlzeHI

Source: United Nations (video statements)

How can football support mental health?

At the UN General Assembly, Football for the Goals Champion Daniel Amokachi shared his personal mental health journey and encouraged others to speak openly about mental well-being.

Football has the power to create safe spaces, spark conversations, and drive positive change on and off the pitch.

Learn more about Football for the Goals and how the Champions are driving change worldwide at https://www.un.org/en/footballforthegoals

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/C_BV8UsITk0

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Football is more than a game.

At the UN General Assembly, Football for the Goals Champion Eni Aluko reflected on how football can be used as a tool to shape lives, strengthen mental well-being, and inspire people to create positive change in their communities.

Together, we can use the power of football to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.

Learn more about Football for the Goals at https://www.un.org/en/footballforthegoals

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/M9RB2kKIEc4

Source: United Nations (video statements)

On 9 August 2026, on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, the UN Movie Society of the United Nations Staff Recreation Council is honoured to present a special conversation with filmmaker Taratoa Stappard, director of the MĀRAMA.

MĀRAMA is a groundbreaking Māori film written and directed by Taratoa Stappard. Set in 1859, it follows a young Māori woman who arrives alone in North Yorkshire, England, only to discover that the grand manor she now inhabits holds stolen Māori treasures, dark secrets, and a horrifying truth about her own colonial heritage. As she unravels it all, she reclaims her identity, her ancestral spiritual powers, and her right to justice. MĀRAMA premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2025 and has since captivated festival audiences around the world. Speaking directly to the United Nations’ commitment to the rights, dignity, and self-determination of Indigenous Peoples, MĀRAMA is a fitting centrepiece for the UN Movie Society’s commemoration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples reminds us that no sustainable future is possible without justice for Indigenous Peoples – justice for their land, their languages, and their cultures – and calls on us to recognize the resilience, knowledge, and contributions of the world’s Indigenous communities. MĀRAMA embodies that call: a story of a young Māori woman who reclaims her identity, her ancestral power, and her right to justice in the face of colonial violence and cultural theft.

Movies hold the unique power to promote universal ideals, principles, and values so deeply enshrined by the United Nations, including peace, development, respect for human rights, cultural appreciation, the dignity of the human person, and equal rights for all. Founded at the United Nations Headquarters by Brenda Vongova, the UN Movie Society is committed to championing the goals and values of the United Nations through the universal language of motion pictures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km5GKG7grSc

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Briefing by Oguljeren Niyazberdiyeva, Chief of the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism at the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), on Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.

The Security Council was told Wednesday that the Islamic State (ISIL/Da’esh) remains a resilient and adaptive threat despite sustained counter-terrorism pressure that has degraded its central leadership, as the Council reviewed the Secretary-General’s 23rd biannual strategic report on the group.

Oguljeren Niyazberdiyeva, Chief of the Office of the Under-Secretary-General at the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, said Da’esh has continued to evolve even as its command structure has been disrupted.

“While sustained counter-terrorism operations have disrupted Da’esh’s senior leadership and reduced its ability to direct operations centrally, the group has continued to adapt. Although its structure is increasingly dispersed, Da’esh remains resilient, with its affiliates united by a shared ideology,” she said.

Niyazberdiyeva said the threat remains most acute in Africa.
“Today, the threat remains particularly acute in parts of Africa, notably in the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin, where several affiliates continue to strengthen their capabilities, expand their operational reach and adapt their tactics,” she said, adding that the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) “continues to be the most active Da’esh affiliate globally and has demonstrated an increasing capacity to acquire and employ commercial drone technology.”

On Iraq, she said counter-terrorism operations had significantly weakened the group’s capabilities there but cautioned that gains must be consolidated.
“In Iraq, continued counter-terrorism pressure has significantly constrained Da’esh’s capabilities. The challenge now is to consolidate these hard-won gains through strong and accountable institutions, effective administration of justice, rehabilitation and reintegration efforts; and measures that address the conditions that could enable the group’s resurgence,” she said.

She called for deeper international cooperation, warning that “no Member State can address this threat alone.”
Niyazberdiyeva also flagged the group’s use of emerging technology. “The growing exploitation by Da’esh and its affiliates of advances in artificial intelligence, encrypted communications, digital platforms, virtual assets and unmanned aircraft systems underscores the need to strengthen governance, oversight and international cooperation, including with the private sector,” she said.

“The threat posed by Da’esh will continue to evolve. Our collective response must evolve with it,” she said.

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

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Informal comments to the media by Christina Markus Lassen, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the United Nations and President of the Security Council for the month of August 2026, on Sudan.

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

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Olga Cherevko, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Afghanistan, briefs the press on the situation of women and girls in the country from #kabul .

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/y6JWGOHKGq8

Source: United Nations (video statements)

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

Highlights:
– Ukraine
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Lebanon
– Jordan
– Security Council
– Somalia
– Democratic Republic of the Congo
– World Food Programme/El Niño

UKRAINE

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, today condemned a new wave of large-scale attacks by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and called for the protection of civilians. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) notes that following the deadliest month for civilians in Ukraine since April 2022, August began with two consecutive nights of large-scale attacks that killed and injured civilians in the capital Kyiv and surrounding region, while intensified hostilities also impacted other parts of the country.

According to the authorities, attacks between yesterday and this morning killed at least 20 civilians and injured more than 120 others, including children. The Kyiv region was the hardest hit, with overnight attacks killing at least 14 people and injuring 22 others. Search-and-rescue operations are ongoing. The attacks also damaged warehouses, a logistics enterprise and railway infrastructure. Elsewhere, attacks killed and injured civilians across the regions of Donetsk, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia.

OCHA is also concerned about the ongoing impact of the hostilities on humanitarian operations. Attacks damaged a mobile health vehicle in the Zaporizhzhia region on Monday and a warehouse holding essential supplies for children yesterday. No aid workers were injured in either incident.

UN humanitarian partners quickly mobilized in response to the attacks in Kyiv City and the Kyiv region. National NGOs, supported by UN agencies, deployed mobile response teams to provide emergency shelter materials, psychological first aid, social support for affected families and humanitarian cash assistance.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

In a social media post, the Deputy Special Coordinator, Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, who also serves as the Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Coordinator, yesterday expressed concern over the recent Israeli strikes in Gaza, which reportedly resulted in civilian casualties and damage to critical medical supplies and civilian infrastructure. Dr. Alakbarov reiterated that civilian and humanitarian facilities must be protected, humanitarian operations facilitated, and all parties must implement their commitments in full, in good faith, and in accordance with international law.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that ongoing military operations near the so-called “Yellow Line” – coupled with strikes reported in other parts of the Strip – are disrupting civilian life, damaging shelters, driving renewed displacement, and restricting access to life-saving services.

Meanwhile, the UN and its partners are responding wherever and whenever they can. On the shelter front, just last week, humanitarians improved nearly 3,000 makeshift shelters in Gaza City and distributed emergency shelter and essential items to 9,000 households, including kitchen sets, tarpaulins, blankets, mattresses, solar lights and clothes.

However, to scale up assistance and carry out further upgrades of makeshift shelters, it is critical that timber, ropes, more solar lights and tools are allowed to enter Gaza in a timely manner. 

On the education front, UN partners continue to provide support. More than a quarter million pre-school and school-aged children are participating in summer learning activities, helping to provide a sense of routine and stability, while helping students recover some of the learning lost during the hostilities.

Yesterday, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) brought into Gaza more than 600 pallets of recreational kits, school bags and soap. These supplies will be distributed ahead of the new school year, expected to begin in about two weeks.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-08-05

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5GiXxuitDg