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Source: United Nations (video statements)

Press Conference by Pekka Haavisto, Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan, on the situation in the country.

Haavisto expressed alarm about ongoing hostilities around the city of El-Obeid, in North Kordofan State, and warned “a further escalation of the situation would place thousands of people at the risk.”

Haavisto told reporters in New York that hostilities, including frequent drone strikes, “are already affecting the civilians and affecting too humanitarian aid to the city.”

He said, “unfortunately, the situation reminds a little bit of the earlier developments in Darfur and around El-Fasher and reminds that there are immediate risks for the civilian population.”

The using of the drones, the Special Envoy said, “has been increasing and the drone attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure has been increasing,” adding that these drones “are not Sudan made. They come from the international market.”

He expressed hope that the so-called Quad (United States, Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt) “could advance with the humanitarian truce, which would help a lot the civilian situation on the ground, but also, help a lot our other goals to have a peaceful solution to the conflict.”

Haavisto said both the head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemedti) and the Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, “still think that something can be achieved militarily in this conflict.”

To conclude, he said, “there should be one Sudan. Its border should be respected. Its sovereignty should be respected. This would be a Sudanese owned, Sudanese led process in the end of the day. And what we are trying to do as United Nations and as a quintet, of course, is helping Sudanese to find a path towards that kind of future. And that’s our starting point.”

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

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Briefing by Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, on reports of the Secretary-General on the Sudan and South Sudan.

"The window to avert a wider escalation in El Obeid is rapidly narrowing," said Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs.

DiCarlo said, “Last week, the Secretary-General warned of the catastrophic consequences for civilians should the fighting in El Obeid intensify further. Over the past two weeks, drone attacks by both parties in the area have increased significantly, while the Rapid Support Forces have expanded their presence around the city.”

DiCarlo said the fighting was not confined to one city. “Beyond El Obeid, fighting in Sudan continues on multiple fronts. The wider Kordofan region remains the epicentre of the conflict, with intensified fighting taking place around Dilling, Kadugli and Babanusa as both parties continue to contest key strategic areas,” she said.

She also said, “The parties could not sustain this pace of fighting without the sophisticated weaponry they obtain through external support. We renew our urgent call on all external actors to use their influence to help end this war, rather than be complicit in it.”

DiCarlo warned, “There are clear warning signs of worse things to come if we don’t act. Sudan’s escalating conflict is unfolding amid rising tensions between Sudan and neighbouring states.”

DiCarlo added that a political settlement hinges on clarity over what comes next. “At the same time, it has become clear that knowing what Sudan’s political future looks like is key for the parties and their allies to agree to stop fighting. They want a road map for what happens the day after they agree to lay down their weapons,” she said.

She stressed the role of regional and international mediators. “Central to progress on the political front is the strong partnership among the Quintet members – the African Union, the European Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the League of Arab States and the United Nations,” DiCarlo said, before turning to the Council itself: “We welcome the recent Council press statement on El Obeid. Your words and your actions matter. We call on you to do more.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrwpEglGdV4

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Eighty-one years after the signing of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco, Guterres said the Charter “was a promise to the world that humanity can choose cooperation over chaos, law over lawlessness, dignity over domination, and hope over fear.”

He said, “for 81 years, we have strived to keep that promise alive.”

The Secretary-General said, “no border can hold back a warming planet. No country can govern artificial intelligence alone, and the pandemic alone, or shield its people from global shocks alone. In a world of shared dangers, cooperation is not naivete. It is the clearest idealism there is. But cooperation only works when it’s grounded in rules. Rules that apply to all. Rules that protect all, rules set out in the Charter.”

Since 1945 the Charter has been a cornerstone of the international order and guiding framework for multilateralism. The vision set out in the Charter, to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, remains one of the most consequential collective commitments made.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS1yo7piMxo

Source: United Nations (video statements)

New street drugs are now hundreds of times stronger than heroin, with traffickers seeking alternatives that can evade detection and regulations. The World Drug Report 2026 breaks down the profound implications that the shift from plant-based opioids to synthethics carries for the illicit drug supply and the harm it does to human health.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6UfZFNcsGCg