United Nations

In western Gaza City, displaced people live crammed into cramped tents, and a human tragedy is unfolding across a landscape of hunger.

A senior UN official on Friday warned of mounting civilian casualties and worsening humanitarian conditions in Ukraine, as a wave of Russian missile and drone strikes this week killed dozens and injured scores across multiple regions – including pregnant women and children.

As Gaza faces famine-like conditions, large numbers of people reportedly continue to be killed and injured while searching for food, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday. 

Nearly 3.2 million people in the English and Dutch-Speaking Caribbean struggle to get enough to eat, according to the latest Food Security and Livelihoods Survey conducted by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). 

The UN Security Council meets Friday afternoon to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, where recent attacks have left dozens dead or injured. A senior UN political affairs official is expected to brief on the situation. Follow our live coverage from UN News, in coordination with UN Meetings Coverage, for real-time updates and key developments from the chamber. UN News App users can follow the coverage here.

Two gangs in Haiti took over a radio station in April. They broadcasted propaganda and played hip-hop supportive of their activities. Upon leaving, they took all the equipment with them and burned down a nearby market — a reminder that armed violence in Haiti is not only taking people’s lives but also destroying their livelihoods.  

Sub-Saharan Africa has taken a cautious but critical step toward greater health self-reliance as locally produced HIV medicines and diagnostic tests begin reaching national programmes – including, for the first time, procurement of African-made treatment for Mozambique.

Despite Israel’s 27 July announcement of daily military pauses in western Gaza “to improve humanitarian responses,” Israeli forces continued attacks along food convoy routes and near Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid sites, according to the UN human rights office in Palestine (OHCHR). 

Millions of lives have been improved by the mandates assigned to the UN. Yet duplication, fragmentation and outdated tasks are stretching resources and undermining the organization’s ability to deliver for those who need it most. As part of the UN80 Initiative, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has presented a set of proposals to Member States to make the UN more efficient, coherent and impactful.

In early August, Heads of State, ministers, investors and grassroots leaders will gather in Awaza on Turkmenistan’s Caspian coast for once-in-a-decade UN conference aiming to rewire the global system in support of 32 landlocked developing countries whose economies are often “locked out” of opportunity due to their lack of access to the sea.

As Myanmar reels from deadly floods, renewed fighting and widespread displacement, the United Nations warned on Thursday that urgent humanitarian needs are going unmet due to escalating violence and blocked access.

Famine conditions are tightening their grip on the Gaza Strip, as the latest UN humanitarian update warns of soaring malnutrition-related deaths, relentless civilian attacks, and mounting obstacles to aid access amid deepening crisis. 

The first UN inter-agency mission to embattled Sweida governorate in Syria arrived there on Thursday, UN aid coordination office OCHA has reported. 

Trade must be part of the solution to end plastic pollution – a global problem which disproportionately affects developing countries.

The Ambassador of Nepal to the United Nations, Lok Bahadur Thapa, was on Thursday elected president of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) at what he called a “historic moment” for his country and its enduring commitment to multilateralism.

What began as protests against fuel price hikes in Angola have escalated into deadly unrest across the country, with at least 22 people killed and more than 1,000 detained, prompting calls from the UN for restraint and urgent investigations into possible rights violations by security forces.

At least 11 civilians were killed and over 130 injured in Russian strikes overnight in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country, HRMMU, reported on Thursday. 

The UN Security Council met on Thursday morning to discuss threats to international peace and security, with a focus on the situation in Ukraine. The meeting was requested by Russia. Follow our live updates as UN News, in coordination with UN Meetings Coverage, brings you key highlights and takeaways from today’s session. UN News app users can follow the coverage here.

In Gaza, UN aid teams continued their efforts on Thursday to help people of the war-shattered enclave by retrieving urgently needed fuel and other supplies from the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south of the Strip.

With Gaza in ruins and the two-State solution in jeopardy, ministers convened at the United Nations this week to jumpstart political momentum toward ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a crisis Secretary-General António Guterres warned is “at a breaking point”.