The UN Security Council meet this morning in New York to discuss the rapidly deteriorating situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), amid intensified fighting and mass displacement. The UN Peacekeeping chief briefed on recent peace efforts – including the Washington Accords between the DRC and Rwanda, signed just days before violence surged again – heightening fears of a worsening humanitarian emergency and regional spillover. Follow live below and UN News app users can click here. Find our recent reporting here on the crisis and go here for all our in-depth meeting coverage.
In Sudan, deep concerns persist for the many tens of thousands of people believed to still be trapped in El Fasher in the Darfur region, but UN aid agencies believe they may soon get access to the embattled city.
More than half a million people have now been uprooted by escalating violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) the UN said on Thursday, warning that the M23 rebel offensive is driving a rapidly worsening humanitarian emergency.
Intensifying fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has claimed more than 70 civilian lives, displaced over 200,000 people and cut thousands off from food assistance, prompting UN warnings of a rapidly expanding humanitarian emergency spilling across borders.
Nahed was visiting Sudan’s capital Khartoum with her family to celebrate Eid, a major Islamic holiday, when the war broke out between the rival armies vying for control of her homeland.
As Sudan’s civil war intensified on Monday, top UN officials condemned the killing of dozens of children in drone strikes in South Kordofan state – and the targeting of first responders trying to help the wounded.
The United Nations on Friday welcomed a newly signed peace accord between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda as a “critical step” toward restoring trust, while warning that active fighting near border areas continue to exact a heavy toll on civilians.
The ongoing emergency in northern Mozambique continues to worsen as prolonged attacks by non-state armed groups in Nampula trigger one of the largest displacement surges of the year, the UN warned on Friday.
Six African football legends are urging the continent to unite and step up efforts to vaccinate every child against the life-threatening polio virus.
As the world prepares to mark Human Rights Day on 10 December, the UN is warning that war-torn Sudan is in the midst of arguably the gravest human rights crisis of our time.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Thursday warned that Sudan risks “another El Fasher” as fierce fighting spreads across the Kordofan region, raising fears of a fresh wave of atrocities.
Civilians across Sudan’s Kordofan region are facing extreme hardship as conflict intensifies, warned the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) on Wednesday.
“They live in community shelters, they live in classrooms which are overcrowded,” the UN refugee agency’s (UNHCR) representative in Mozambique said on Tuesday, highlighting the plight of thousands searching for safety.
A woman living with disabilities in a camp for displaced people in Nigeria is demonstrating why it is essential that people like her are included in society and how dignity can be protected even in the harshest places.
The United Nations has strongly condemned the military coup in Guinea-Bissau, warning that the overthrow of elected authorities just days after national elections represents a grave violation of constitutional order and democratic principles.
The humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s El Fasher remains dire as mass displacement accelerates and aid access stays restricted, amid warnings of widespread trafficking, sexual violence and the recruitment of children.
Somalia is facing a rapidly worsening drought emergency, with vast swaths of the country now parched after four failed rainy seasons, leaving millions at risk of hunger and displacement, UN humanitarians warned on Wednesday.
Authorities in Nigeria are being urged to investigate the wave of abductions in the West African country, where attacks by insurgent groups are increasing.
The UN Country Team in Sudan met in Khartoum on Monday – the first time it has convened in the capital since conflict erupted in April 2023.
The UN Secretary-General says the world is shifting fast towards a multipolar system – where power is spread across several regions instead of concentrated in one or two.
Scolded for wanting to go to school as a girl and dismissed or ignored as an adult, Awrelia from Wau in South Sudan has learnt to advocate for herself, her children and for the women in her community.
The UN Deputy Secretary-General voiced deep alarm on Saturday over the latest mass abduction from a school in Nigeria, calling for the immediate release of those taken.
Seventeen civilians, including women in labour and patients receiving care, were slaughtered inside a Catholic Church-run health centre in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) last week.
Expanding terrorist networks, mass displacement and the collapse of essential services in West Africa and the Sahel are a growing concern worldwide.
UNICEF has strongly condemned a deadly attack on a school in Kebbi State, northwest Nigeria, which left the Vice-Principal dead and resulted in the reported abduction of at least 25 students.
UN relief chief Tom Fletcher held “useful” and “tough” discussions with the two sides battling for control of Sudan this week, pushing for access to aid for those in desperate need, he told journalists in New York on Monday.
In Somalia, where six out of ten births take place without a doctor, childbirth is often a matter of survival.
Just how many people are still trapped in the Sudanese city of El Fasher? That’s the burning question for relatives of the many thousands of people believed to still be there, since paramilitary fighters overran the regional capital of North Darfur last month, after a 500-day siege.
More than 21 million people in Sudan, 45 per cent of the population, are not getting enough to eat as the war between rival militaries continues, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).
The World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting Ethiopia as the country faces a suspected viral haemorraghic fever outbreak in the south, the UN agency said on Thursday.