UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls for Olympic Truce ahead of Paris Games

Ahead of the Paris Olympic Games, the United Nations has called for a global ceasefire. “In the spirit of the Olympic Truce, I call on everyone to lay down their arms, build bridges, foster solidarity, and strive for the ultimate goal: peace for all”,  UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement released earlier this week. He also extended his wishes for “every success to the Olympians and Paralympians”. The video message will be played at 7:20 p.m. CET during the opening ceremony on 26 July. The ancient tradition of the Olympic Truce—Ekecheiria— originating over 3,000 years ago, aims to halt hostilities to ensure the safe participation of athletes, while promoting global peace, solidarity, and respect.

Since 2017, a wave of violence has interrupted education, destroyed crops and public infrastructure, impacted livelihoods and forced people to flee their homes in northern Mozambique. More than 670,000 people are still displaced and left an estimated 1.3 million people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Attacks by armed insurgents have caused damage to infrastructure and disrupted the provision of basic services. The Northern Crisis Recovery Project is responding to these urgent humanitarian and development needs.

Parliamentary diplomacy is a way to build relationships and promote cooperation between national parliaments. Parliamentarians participate in inter-parliamentary organizations, bilateral exchanges, and other parliamentary diplomacy initiatives. In this way they can represent their countries' interests, foster dialogue and cooperation with counterparts from other nations, and work towards building consensus on international issues. The international Day of Parliamentarism, 30 June, is also the anniversary of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the global organization of parliaments.

Sexual violence and conflict in Sudan: A war on the bodies of women and girls

Aisha*, a 17-year-old from Khartoum, faced unimaginable hardship after losing both her parents last year. Isolated and unable to contact relatives due to the escalating conflict, her neighborhood was overtaken by an armed militia, effectively trapping her in her home. In the beginning, Aisha ventured out only for essential supplies. Although initially left unharmed by the soldiers, her situation deteriorated when two soldiers intruded her home, interrogating and then leaving her in fear. However, they returned, armed and intent on assault. Aisha endured repeated assaults over four days before escaping to a friend’s house in Kassala State. In Kassala, Aisha discovered she was pregnant. Rejected by her friend’s family, she faced isolation and despair. An attempted suicide underscored her desperation until a family directed her to a safe space for women and girls supported by UNFPA. Here, she received medical attention, counseling, and temporary shelter. Despite finding immediate help, her future remains uncertain as her due date approaches.

This is Gaza at the world’s watch. Survival is a daily struggle as families are displaced again and again, all the while being hungry and dehydrated.

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The escalating military activity in Rafah, southern Gaza, has triggered mass displacement and threatens a humanitarian catastrophe, with the World Food Programme urgently needing access and supplies to rebuild aid distribution systems.

Safeguarding future generations in a world at a crossroads. With that goal in mind, the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU WIDER) is organizing a three-day (May 14-16) conference in Maputo, Mozambique. The event will be attended by renowned researchers and policy experts who will discuss the greatest development challenges of our time -climate change, persistent inequalities, and growing political instability- and what action is needed now to best protect future generations.

Rooted in the UN's post-World War II mission to prevent conflict and uphold human rights, the UN General Assembly declared the International Day of Living Together in Peace (16 May) to emphasize the importance of accepting and respecting differences while striving for peace, tolerance, inclusion, and solidarity, and to promote reconciliation and sustainable development by encouraging forgiveness, compassion, and cooperation. Likewise, various UN initiatives emphasize that peace requires positive engagement and the elimination of discrimination and intolerance, not just the absence of conflict.

The outbreak of violence in Haiti in recent months has worsened food security, led to displacement, and left families struggling to meet basic needs amid an unprecedented crisis. Follow the latest events on this emergency.

An explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on 26 April 1986 spread a radioactive cloud over large parts of the Soviet Union, now the territories of Belarus, Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Nearly 8.4 million people were exposed to the radiation. Since then, international cooperation in nuclear safety has significantly intensified, but the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, has warned that the world is dangerously close to a nuclear accident. Recent developments at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine highlight the need to minimize risks.

The UN Charter states that one of the United Nations' purposes and principles is the commitment to settle disputes through peaceful means and the determination to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. Preventive diplomacy supports the UN's efforts towards peaceful resolution of disputes. The International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace renews our commitment to global multilateral solutions. As world leaders reaffirmed their commitment to peace and human rights at the UN Summit for the Future, multilateralism and diplomacy are more important than ever.

Sudan's ongoing war has led to widespread displacement, hunger, and a yearning for peace and normalcy among its affected population.

The Gaza conflict has been going on for over six months with devastating consequences. Thousands of Palestinian women have been killed, leaving children orphaned. Over a million women and girls face dire living conditions with limited access to necessities like food and medical care. Destruction of infrastructure has exacerbated the crisis, leaving many injured individuals without treatment. Urgent calls for humanitarian aid and a ceasefire are needed to prevent further suffering. Escalating violence in the West Bank and a potential regional conflict between Israel and Iran are also of concern.

There aren’t enough ventilators at Al-Emirati Hospital in Rafah, Gaza to support the babies being born there. Dr. Ahmed Al-Shaer, Deputy Head of the Incubator Care Unit at the hospital, describes the desperate situation.

It is estimated that around 60 million individuals are currently at risk of encountering mines and other explosive ordnance. Many of these individuals live in areas where conflicts have officially ended years or even decades ago, while others are in regions where wars are still ongoing. The active participation of women in addressing the challenges presented by explosive ordnance is now being recognized as a crucial factor in unlocking the sustainable development benefits of mine action. Read the testimonies of women who have cleared mines in Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Laos PDR after receiving training conducted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).