Category: United Nations

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Remarks by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, on the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine.

Mr. President,
With your permission, I will make some brief remarks and Assistant Secretary-General Khiari will provide a detailed briefing.
Mr. President, Excellencies,
Allow me to make a direct appeal.
The large-scale strikes launched by the Russian Federation across Ukraine on 23-24 May – and the prospect of further such attacks – underscore the gravity of this moment.
Since February 2022, more than 15,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine – nearly 800 children among them, as verified by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Reports from the Russian Federation indicate a growing number of civilian casualties – including children.
Humanitarian personnel have come under attack.
Serious violations of international humanitarian law continue.
The human toll is increasing.
In the first four months of this year, more civilians have been killed in Ukraine than in the same period in 2025.
Or 2024.
Or 2023.
The front line is virtually frozen with swarms of drones inflicting heavy casualties.
Civilian infrastructure is being destroyed on a vast scale – especially energy infrastructure.
This could go on and on and on.
But the direction of the war – the escalation and the intensification that we are witnessing – risks to get out of control.
The risk of miscalculation.
The risk of escalation with unknown and unintended consequences.
And so, let’s speak plainly.
The current course is not sustainable.
This trajectory must change.
The death spiral must stop.
What is needed now is de-escalation – immediate and sustained.
What is needed now is a full and unconditional ceasefire.
What is needed now is more diplomacy.
What is needed is to create the conditions for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace — in line with the Charter of the United Nations, international law, and UN resolutions.
Mr. President, Excellencies,
The choice is clear.
The responsibility is clear.
The time for peace is now.
Thank you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkA8ecvU7ew

Source: United Nations (video statements)

UN agencies and humanitarian groups are mobilizing rapidly as the WHO Director-General lands in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to spearhead Ebola containment efforts.
Since 15 May, UN agencies have been supporting the DRC and neighbouring Uganda to contain the outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which there is no treatment.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0K20Gep9wxk

Source: United Nations (video statements)

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

Highlights:
– UN Peacekeepers Day
– UN80
– Ukraine
– Lebanon
– Democratic Republic of the Congo
– Uganda
– Haiti
– World Meterological Organization
– Senior Personnel Appointment/UNOCA
—————————————————————–
UN PEACEKEEPERS DAY

Tomorrow is the International Day of UN Peacekeepers. This year’s theme for the Day is “Invest in Peace.” In his message to mark the day, the Secretary-General said that we honour peacekeepers past and present and reaffirm our shared responsibility to respect and strengthen their work.

As usual, there will be ceremonies to mark the day here, but they are scheduled to take place next week, on 5 June. In the meantime, we can already tell you about the recipients of prizes awarded each year on Peacekeepers Day.

The Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal for Exceptional Courage will be awarded to the late Sergii Prykhodko of Ukraine as well as to Corporal Matias Reyes of Uruguay.

Major Abhilasha Barak of India will receive the Military Gender Advocate Award and Inspector Stephanie Königs of Germany will receive the Woman Police Officer of the Year Award. These awards will be officially presented to them next Friday. You can find more details about those receiving awards and about the ceremonies in press releases that we are sharing with you as I speak.

UN80

The Secretary-General briefed the General Assembly this morning on his UN80 initiative and said that the UN Secretariat has realized a 21 percent reduction in posts for 2026 – while also minimizing impact on staff, facilitated by actions we began taking in early 2024.

Among other steps, he said the Secretariat launched a Digital Hub in Valencia to support Secretariat-wide digital service delivery; consolidated 10 payroll centres into a single global team; and relocated 220 Secretariat posts from high-cost locations, plus approximately 1,900 more across the UN system.

Mr. Guterres added that the UN has begun piloting the New Humanitarian Compact – a push for innovation, impact, and integration as we grapple with soaring needs and plummeting resources. This includes simplifying humanitarian planning and unifying humanitarian supply chains, which account for 70 percent of overall humanitarian spending.

The Secretary-General reminded the Member States that decisions about structural reforms rest in their hands. He reminded them that change is a given, but the question is whether it will be reform that is planned and strategic, or change that is haphazard, costly, and driven by events beyond anyone’s control.

UKRAINE

The Secretary-General will make some introductory remarks on Ukraine to Security Council members at their formal meeting at 3:00 pm today. He will discuss the recent escalation of the conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation and will call for de-escalation and for a full and unconditional ceasefire. Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari will also brief the Council this afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that the UN and our humanitarian partners continue to provide life-saving assistance across Ukraine, while increasingly coming under attack, with several incidents of violence against aid workers and their assets reported over the past few days.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-05-28

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n–GDwjDNvo

Source: United Nations (video statements)

This year’s Eid al-Adha comes as Gaza faces one of its worst humanitarian crises since the beginning of the war. Residents say this has transformed the holiday, making survival and securing basic necessities their primary concern.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/911uSss81Sk

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Secretary-General António Guterres says the wide-ranging UN80 Initiative, a major reform and restructuring project, is helping the United Nations better serve people and the planet.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IJyh947T1X8

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Remarks by António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, on the Informal meeting of the plenary to hear a briefing on the UN80 Initiative – General Assembly, 80th session.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-qIPmXe2M0

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Video Message by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, on the International Day of Peacekeepers.

"Right now, more than 50,000 UN peacekeepers are deployed across the globe protecting civilian lives.

Far from home, in some of the world’s most dangerous settings, they deescalate tensions between hostile parties, oversee aid delivery, support elections, and create space for political solutions to grow.

On this International Day, we honour peacekeepers past and present, and reaffirm our shared responsibility to respect and strengthen their work.

We pay tribute to the nearly 4,500 peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948, including 59 last year.

No one should die serving the cause of peace.

Attacks on peacekeepers are grave violations of international humanitarian law, and Member States must uphold their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel at all times.

In an era of rising tensions, peacekeeping is a proven and cost-effective way to restore stability and hope.

But it requires steady political backing – and reliable financial support.

This year’s theme, Invest in Peace, calls for decisive action to ensure peacekeepers have the resources to carry out their vital mandates.

An investment in peacekeeping is an investment in a safer future.

Let us always support the people who help make peace possible.

Thank you."

More info: https://peacekeeping.un.org/en

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

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Briefing by Wang Yi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, on Upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and strengthening the UN-centered international system – Security Council Media Stakeout.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DukOZsi5n4

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Press conference by Vassily Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, regarding the strike on the college in Starobelsk.

Following the 22 May drone attack on a student dormitory and educational buildings in Starobelsk, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya told journalists in New York that Russian investigative authorities have opened a criminal case on charges of terrorism, and said, “all those responsible will be identified and will face inevitable and severe punishment.”

Nebenzya said “86 students aged 14 to 19 were among – with one staff member – were living in the dormitory,” stressing that “these were children and teenagers. They were not on the front line.”

According to the latest reports, he said, “21 people, mostly young girls, were killed and 63 students were injured in this horrific attack.”

The Russian Ambassador said, “the deliberate nature of the attack is further confirmed by the fact that 16 UAVs targeted the same location in three successive waves, causing the five-storey dormitory building to collapse down to the second floor. Yet another glaring manifestation of the Nazi and terrorist character of the Kyiv regime, which does not hesitate to kill minors in cold blood.”

Starobelsk is located in Luhansk Oblast, in eastern Ukraine. The city is under Russian control.

Nebenzia said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “is exterminating his former fellow citizens for refusing to live under his neo-Nazi rule,” adding, “how can he hypocritically argue that people matter more than territories when he is responsible for such terrorist attacks?”

He insisted the Russian Federation does not “target civilians deliberately. Unlike what the Ukrainian armed forces are doing, not just in Starobelsk, which we are discussing today, but they were doing that on a regular basis. Even before that.”

According to news reports, Ukraine admits striking a military site in Starobelsk on 22 May but denies striking any civilian infrastructure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urI3moGB9F4

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk today (26 May) “strongly condemned Russia’s escalating attacks” against civilians, civilian objects, and Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure, as they “constitute grave violations of international humanitarian law and must cease immediately” and called for “a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire.”

Melnyk, together with ambassadors from 49 member states and the European Union, told reporters in New York that “on the night of May 23rd to May 24th, Russian armed forces launched one of the largest combined attacks against Ukraine, employing hundreds of aerial weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles.”

For the city of Kyiv, he said, “this was one of the most devastating attacks recorded to date” while “other regions of Ukraine were also severely affected” and “many civilians have been killed and injured across Ukraine.”

Moreover, Melnyk continued, “the Russian Federation appears to have struck the city of Bila Tserkva with an Oreshnik medium range ballistic missile specifically designed to carry nuclear warheads.”

He said, “Russia’s repeated use of nuclear capable missiles constitutes an unacceptable escalation.”

The Ukrainian Ambassador said Russia’s “ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine constitutes a grave and continuing violation of the Charter of the United Nations, and of fundamental principles of international law, and undermines the rules based international order as well as international peace and security.”

He welcomed “the sustained efforts of the United States, European countries and other member states aimed at bringing this war to an end” and said, “we stand united in our determination to achieve a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace for Ukraine consistent with the UN charter, including the principles of sovereign equality and territorial integrity of states.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYmkQ2e018k