At the beginning of each year, UNICEF looks ahead to the risks that children are likely to face and suggests ways to reduce the potential harm. The latest report, Prospects for Children 2025: Building Resilient Systems for Children’s Futures, demands strengthening national systems that are designed to mitigate the impacts of...
In his briefing, UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen underscored the delicate nature of the transitional phase, describing it as a moment of “great opportunities and real dangers.” He urged careful navigation to ensure that decisions taken now lead to long-term stability. The humanitarian situation remains critical, with nearly...
Muhannad Hadi, who is also the Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, made the appeal during a visit to Gaza City, where he met with representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The senior official also visited Holy Family Church, where he recorded a video message on the church...
Thirteen civilians were killed, and 110 injured, when two aerial bombs struck an industrial facility in the southern city. This marks the largest number of casualties the HRMMU has recorded since a residential building in Dnipro city was struck on 14 January 2023, and the deadliest since a supermarket in...
It has been almost three years since the 24 February 2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has killed thousands of civilians and destroyed vital infrastructure, putting the economy under enormous strain. The UN has recorded more than 28,000 civilian casualties and over 10,000 deaths, but acknowledges that the actual...
The fires, described as some of the worst in the city’s history, have burned thousands of acres, destroyed homes and left firefighters battling to contain multiple blasts in unprecedented conditions. “The Secretary-General is shocked and saddened by the widespread devastation caused by the fast-moving wildfires,” said his Spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric,...
On Thursday, only 10 out of 21 planned humanitarian movements were facilitated by the Israeli authorities. Seven were denied outright, three were impeded and one was cancelled due to security and logistical challenges, said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, at Friday’s media briefing in New York. OCHA is also deeply concerned...
The World Food Programme (WFP) provided lifesaving assistance to 7.8 million people, while the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reached nearly three million children with essential nutrition support. This was done in the face of an escalating crisis resulting from the brutal war between rival militaries which erupted in April 2023...
The ICC issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Go here to read our analysis of the decision and the likely next steps, and here for our ICC explainer. Asked by...
“We saw extraordinary land, sea surface temperatures, extraordinary ocean heat accompanied by very extreme weather affecting many countries around the world, destroying lives, livelihoods, hopes and dreams,” WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis said. “We saw many climate change impacts retreating sea ice glaciers. It was an extraordinary year.” Four of the...
That’s according to Najat Rochdi, the UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, who is in Damascus meeting several members of the transitional authorities to ensure all Syrians are able to participate in the country’s future, which is struggling to cope with an acute humanitarian crisis and faltering economy. In an...
“Allowing hate speech and harmful content online has real world consequences. Regulating this content is not censorship,” Volker Türk wrote on X. In a longer LinkedIn post on the same theme, Mr. Türk maintained that labelling efforts to create safe online spaces as “censorship…ignore[s] the fact that unregulated space means...