Category: United Nations

Source: United Nations (video statements)

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

Highlights:
Secretary-General Travel
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Syria
Ukraine
South Sudan / Peacekeeping
South Sudan/ Humanitarian
Mozambique
Capital Punishment Trends
Contingent-Owned Equipment Working Group
Honour Roll

SECRETARY-GENERAL TRAVEL

The Secretary-General is currently near Geneva, Switzerland, where he is meeting with his Special and Personal Representatives and Envoys. Following these meetings, he will return to New York and has cancelled his planned trip to Davos due to a bad cold.

On Saturday, the Secretary-General was in London, where he addressed a special commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the first meeting of the General Assembly. The event, organized by the UN Association of the UK, took place in Methodist Central Hall, the very place where the first meeting was held.  

In his remarks, he said that we must ensure full respect for international law and defend multilateralism and strengthen it for our times. Mr. Guterres pushed for reform of the UN system to reflect the world of 2026 and not 1946. He said, “As global centres of power shift, we have the potential to build a future that is either more fair — or more unstable.” He added that it is manifestly in the interests of those who hold the most power to be on the frontlines of reform. He warned that those trying to cling to privileges today risk paying the price tomorrow.  

As we move forward in a moment when the values of multilateralism are being chipped away, he said, it is up to us, in our capacity as professionals, as voters, and as members of civil society, to take a stand.

Later that day, the Secretary-General was hosted by the UK Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, for a working lunch, during which they discussed a wide range of issues, including Ukraine, Sudan and UN reform. 

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

Turning to the Gaza Strip, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that the ceasefire agreement – which has crossed the 100-day mark – must hold so that more civilian lives can be saved. As we have been telling you, the scale-up of humanitarian work continues to be held back by restrictions and impediments, with recent harsh weather also setting back some of the progress. 

In a statement issued today, the World Food Programme warned of how fragile the situation remains, even as the agency reaches more than one million people every month through food parcels, bread bundles, hot meals and school meals – making real progress in pushing back famine. WFP called for additional safe humanitarian corridors from Egypt and Jordan, and along the Salah Ad Din Road inside Gaza, to increase volumes and reduce insecurity. 

Yesterday, our colleagues from the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) launched the second round of a routine immunization catch-up campaign, together with our partners and in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. This round will run until next Thursday and aims to further protect children under three from vaccine-preventable diseases. The campaign is being delivered by 170 teams at nearly 130 health facilities, with seven mobile teams deployed to hard-to-reach areas. A third and final round is planned for April 2026. 

Turning to the West Bank, OCHA says Israeli forces have placed an estimated 25,000 Palestinians under curfew in parts of the Israeli-controlled H2 area of Hebron city, as they launched a large-scale operation today. Initial reports point to a heavy deployment of military vehicles and snipers on rooftops, as well as the closure of six internal roads. 

As a result, four bakeries have been forced to suspend their operations, and two shops where about 4,000 people regularly obtain essential supplies through UN-issued vouchers remain closed. Education in more than a dozen schools has also been suspended, affecting thousands of students. 

OCHA adds that the area has been affected by a major electricity cut since the weekend, following damage to a local power station. With a curfew now in place, efforts are underway to allow technicians into the area to restore electricity. Steps are also being taken to facilitate emergency medical evacuations and for students to attend school online where possible. Meanwhile, families are confined to their homes, making it difficult for them to obtain food, medicine and other essential supplies.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-01-19

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

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Informal comments to the media by ICC Caucus on behalf of the members of the Security Council that are States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC): Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Greece, Latvia, Panama, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Liberia, on the situation in Darfur.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjONbLoDNB8

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Press conference by Jorge Moreira da Silva, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), virtually from Jerusalem, on his ongoing trip to the region.
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UNOPS Executive Director Jorge Moreira da Silva visited the Gaza Strip and met with UNMAS teams at a site in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, alongside the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ramiz Alakbarov.

Da Silva also visited the headquarters of Gaza’s main and only power generation company, inspecting the plant that has been out of service since the outbreak of the war in October 2023. The visit comes as part of UN efforts to support the restoration of critical energy infrastructure in the Strip.

Da Silva stated that energy is a key enabler for all vital sectors, including health and education, and that rehabilitating the power plant is an urgent priority.

He added that immediate support to repair the plant, its fuel tanks, and the electricity grid could be provided with a sum not exceeding $10 million, emphasizing the need to allow all necessary spare parts to be brought in to ensure a sustainable return of electricity to Gaza’s residents.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEpSacpgb5w

Source: United Nations (video statements)

The President of the General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, said, “we meet in challenging times, but if our predecessors could emerge from devastation with the resolve to chart a better path forward, how can we credibly argue that we are incapable of doing the same?”

Baerbock said, “we need to summon the same resolve found by the delegates in this Hall eighty years ago, to form a cross-regional alliance to defend our international rules-based order and the Charter every single day.”

She said, “how many blows can an international order, can our United Nations endure? Or can any country truly sleep in peace if we simply accept that more and more Member States, including some Permanent Members of the Security Council, violate the Charter’s core principles? When compromise shifts from mutual accommodation to the slow erosion, or the deliberate dismantling of the very foundations of this institution, it is no longer a compromise but compromising.”

At the beginning of 2026, the PGA said, “we are not only standing at a crossroads, but history will show whether we find the same courage and determination as our founding fathers and our founding mothers did 80 years ago.”

Organised by the United Nations Association-UK, Saturday’s anniversary event gathered over 1,000 delegates from across the world. The event also marks the 80th anniversary of the first UN Security Council, which took place on 17 January 1946 at nearby Church House.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1Ca6ilwUdA

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Addressing a landmark event in London today (17 Jan) commemorating the 80th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary-General António Guterres said the multilateral system “is under threat” and called on civil society “to take a stand.”

Speaking at Methodist Central Hall, the very same venue where the first-ever UN General Assembly was held on 10 January 1946, Guterres said, “for eight decades, the General Assembly has been the place the world comes together to help advance peace, promote sustainable development, and safeguard human rights,” and is “the stage on which our shared story plays out.”

He said, “today, we are entering a new chapter of that story.”

The Secretary-General said, “if this period has taught us anything, it is that our challenges are ever more borderless, and ever more interconnected. And the only way to address them is together. And that requires a robust, responsive and well-resourced multilateral system. Yet as we speak, that system is under threat.”

He highlighted the “quiet victories of international cooperation” such as “the wars prevented, the famine averted, the vital treaties secured,” stressing that “if we wish to secure more such victories, we must ensure the full respect of international law and defend multilateralism, strengthening it for our times.”

Guterres said, “the world of 2026 is not the world of 1946. As global centres of power shift, we have the potential to build a future that is either more fair — or more unstable.”

He said, “in this moment when the values of multilateralism are being chipped away, it is up to us — in our capacity as professionals, as voters, and as members of organizations like the UNA-UK — to take a stand. More than ever, the world needs civil society movements that are fearless and persistent — that make it impossible for leaders to look away.”

To conclude, the Secretary-General said, “the General Assembly which we celebrate today exists because of a simple truth — humanity is strongest when we stand as one.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH33tyWqB9o

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Addressing a landmark event in London today (17 Jan) commemorating the 80th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary-General António Guterres said the multilateral system “is under threat” and called on civil society “to take a stand.”

Speaking at Methodist Central Hall, the very same venue where the first-ever UN General Assembly was held on 10 January 1946, Guterres said, “for eight decades, the General Assembly has been the place the world comes together to help advance peace, promote sustainable development, and safeguard human rights,” and is “the stage on which our shared story plays out.”

He said, “today, we are entering a new chapter of that story.”

The Secretary-General said, “if this period has taught us anything, it is that our challenges are ever more borderless, and ever more interconnected. And the only way to address them is together. And that requires a robust, responsive and well-resourced multilateral system. Yet as we speak, that system is under threat.”

He highlighted the “quiet victories of international cooperation” such as “the wars prevented, the famine averted, the vital treaties secured,” stressing that “if we wish to secure more such victories, we must ensure the full respect of international law and defend multilateralism, strengthening it for our times.”

Guterres said, “the world of 2026 is not the world of 1946. As global centres of power shift, we have the potential to build a future that is either more fair — or more unstable.”

He said, “in this moment when the values of multilateralism are being chipped away, it is up to us — in our capacity as professionals, as voters, and as members of organizations like the UNA-UK — to take a stand. More than ever, the world needs civil society movements that are fearless and persistent — that make it impossible for leaders to look away.”

To conclude, the Secretary-General said, “the General Assembly which we celebrate today exists because of a simple truth — humanity is strongest when we stand as one.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH33tyWqB9o

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Speaking at Methodist Central Hall, the very same venue where the first-ever UN General Assembly was held on 10 January 1946, Secretary-General António Guterres reflected on the symbolic location of the commemoration. The first General Assembly took place within the same walls four months after the end of the Second World War, in a heavily bombed London where tens of thousands had been killed, a powerful reminder as to why the UN had been created

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TNX_EE9S-Vo

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Press conference by Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, on his recent trip to the Middle East.

After visiting the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in Lebanon and Syria, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix told journalists in New York that “a number of aggressive incidents” have been putting peacekeepers “in danger coming from the Israel Defence Forces.”

Briefing remotely from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Lacroix said, “until 31 December 2026, UNIFIL will continue to support Lebanese Armed Forces, will continue to deliver on its mandate. So, there is no pre-drawdown mandate. We want to do our best and our colleagues in UNIFIL want to support as best as they can the further progress in the implementation of resolution 1701.”

UNIFIL’s mandate was granted a final extension until the end of the year by the Security Council.

The peacekeeping Chief said, “the number of aggressive incidents or hostile incidents or at least incidents that have been really putting our colleagues in danger coming from the Israel Defence Forces, the frequency of these incidents has been quite high, has been increasing.”

He said, “when meeting with the Israeli counterparts, I indicated to them that this was extremely concerning, that a number of these incidents could have been, could have had very tragic consequences on our peacekeepers. And I called upon them to do what it takes to avoid, these incidents moving forward.”

Regarding UNDOF, Lacroix said, “the military observers operate under a context that has changed dramatically since the Israel Defence Forces entered in the area of separation, where there can be only UNDOF as a military presence, and there are currently ten positions from the IDF in that area, the so-called area of separation. And that is of course creating a different environment, which of course the impact of which we are trying to mitigate.”

He stressed that “UNDOF’s mandate is based on the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement between Syria and Israel. And of course, the, what we would want is a return to the situation where, you know, that agreement is fully implemented. That is to say, where UNDOF would be the only military presence in the area of separation and the other provisions of that agreement would be fully respected.”

Lacroix Middle East trip included visits o UN peacekeeping in Lebanon and Syria, as well as Jordan and is currently in Jeddah discussing regional stability and UN peacekeeping roles amidst ongoing tensions, particularly concerning the Israel-Palestine conflict.

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

Source: United Nations (video statements)

The Security Council adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution extending until 15 July the Secretary-General’s monthly reporting requirement on Houthi attacks against merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea, with 13 votes in favor and two abstentions.

Humanitarian officials said insecurity and continued restrictions on UN operations are worsening an already dire crisis. Ramesh Rajasingham said, “the continued detention of 73 UN staff continues to severely restrict critical humanitarian work,” reiterating the Secretary-General’s call for the immediate release of detained UN, NGO and diplomatic personnel.

Rajasingham said “any further deterioration in security will worsen Yemen’s already dire humanitarian crisis,” warning of increased displacement and loss of access to life-saving assistance. He said more than 18 million Yemenis – or half the population – “will face acute food insecurity next month,” adding that “tens of thousands” face famine-like conditions and that “women and girls are hit hardest, often eating last and least.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGBAiu6DoRU

Source: United Nations (video statements)

After enlisting at 18, Cheryl Pearce battled rigid gender barriers to rise through the military ranks. Now the UN’s Acting Military Adviser for Peacekeeping Operations, the Australian-born Lieutenant General is the highest ranking woman in uniform within the United Nations.

“Peace for me, is seeing communities having food security, having water security, education, knowing, you know, as a mum myself, knowing that my children can grow up to feel like that. They can have a life and a future and fulfill their dreams and goals.”

Lieutenant General Pearce knows what it takes to serve in some of the most difficult places on earth, from East Timor to Afghanistan. In this episode, she reflects on the sources of her mental and physical resilience, on making a robust case for peacekeeping in an age of disinformation, and shares why her family wants her to show her chaotic side once in a while.

[00:00] Introduction
[01:05] Advising global missions and supporting peacekeepers worldwide
[03:46] Service, sacrifice, and belief in the UN’s purpose
[04:32] Peacekeeping in a more dangerous world
[08:51] Redefining peace
[09:34] What keeps Cheryl awake at night
[10:49] Why invest in peacekeeping?
[11:57] The dangers of misinformation and disinformation
[13:52] Navigating gender barriers in a male-dominated space
[17:35] Perseverance over fear of failure
[19:06] A single moment of belief that changed everything
[22:08] Leadership, vulnerability, and letting go of perfection
[25:55] Motherhood, career, and community
[27:58] Deploying while raising a family
[30:40] Staying grounded under pressure
[34:19] Closing remarks

Listen to more Awake at Night episodes https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwoDFQJEq_0b6hu1e8oxsch9W0D7vkNqt
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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=CFzbfJ6Q_qM