official Archives - Career Meaning

Top UN official appeals for calm following wave of pager explosions in Lebanon

·September 18, 2024·1 min read

The coordinated attacks reportedly targeted the Hezbollah militant group, with hundreds of electronic pagers belonging to its members blowing up at the same time, according to international media reports. ‘Extremely concerning escalation’ “The developments today mark an extremely concerning escalation in what is an already unacceptably volatile context,” Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert...

UN peacekeepers saving lives but need stronger political support and resources, top official urges

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·September 10, 2024·2 min read

Addressing the Security Council, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, told ambassadors that UN operations “can only ever be as strong” as the collective support of nations. “As geopolitical tensions have mounted, including here in this Council, and amid shifting global and regional dynamics, peacekeeping operations are increasingly unable to...

INTERVIEW: Destruction, displacement, and grief. Senior UNRWA official reflects on ‘unprecedented’ conflict in Gaza

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·December 20, 2023·5 min read

135 UNRWA staff members are known to have been killed in Gaza since the escalation of fighting since the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel. That’s the most ever in one incident but, despite the danger and extremely difficult working conditions, UNRWA is continuing to assist those caught up in...

Civil society an ‘unwavering force’ for peace: UN official

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·December 1, 2023·1 min read

Elizabeth Spehar, UN Assistant-Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, emphasized the importance of civil society. “Civil society organizations are on the frontlines of peacebuilding, all over the world,” she said, adding: “As an unwavering force for peace, they are our strongest allies, from the grassroots to the global stage. We want to...

Diplomatic stakes ‘could not be higher’ warns senior UN official

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·October 20, 2023·1 min read

“Today the stakes for preventive diplomacy and dialogue could not be higher,” said Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific, in a meeting organized by the Brazilian presidency. Referring to the escalating situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, he warned that in the absence...

World News in Brief: West Bank violence, top aid official visits Hroza, Advisory Group on local governments

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·October 7, 2023·2 min read

“I condemn today’s attack by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property in the town of Huwwara in occupied West Bank,” the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, said in a statement. Huwara is located on the main road connecting the northern city of...

Sudan conflict creates world’s fastest-growing displacement crisis: UN aid official

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·October 5, 2023·2 min read

“The past six months have caused untold suffering in Sudan” and forced more than 5.4 million people from their homes, said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan. Speaking to journalists in Geneva, the UN official noted that approximately 30,000 a day...

No legal grounds for Russian ‘so-called elections’ in occupied Ukraine: UN official

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·September 8, 2023·1 min read

Briefing the Security Council, Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, reiterated the UN Secretary-General’s position that “any annexation of a State’s territory by another State resulting from the threat or use of force is a violation of the principles of the Charter and international law.” He voiced concern over reports...

DPR Korea: Dialogue ‘only way forward’, UN official says in wake of latest launch

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·August 26, 2023·1 min read

“I emphasize the importance of re-establishing communication channels, particularly between military entities,” said Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, briefing ambassadors at the Security Council. “Exercising maximum restraints is critical to avoid unintended escalation. Diplomacy and dialogue – not isolation – is the only...

Top UN aid official in Ukraine deplores latest wave of ‘massive Russian attacks’

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·August 24, 2023·2 min read

Denise Brown issued a statement deploring this “new wave of massive Russian attacks”, and appealed for the violence to end. “Grain storage facilities, vital for the Ukrainian farmers and global food security, have been hit in the Danube area,” she said. “A school in the Sumy region was damaged, and teachers were...

Top UN aid official in Ukraine condemns latest wave of indiscriminate attacks

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·August 15, 2023·1 min read

Denise Brown issued a statement deploring the “indiscriminate” attacks impacting civilians and civilian infrastructure. She stressed that people in the south, including in the Kherson and Odesa regions, had endured “a particularly harsh weekend” after reports that strikes left many civilians, including children, killed and injured. An entire family, including...

Negotiated solution only way to end Sudan war: senior UN official

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·August 10, 2023·2 min read

“There needs to be a negotiated solution to end this war as soon as possible. There is no other alternative,” said Martha Pobee, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, whose portfolio covers both political and peacebuilding affairs. “The longer this war continues, the greater the risk of fragmentation, and foreign...