In The News

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the escalating Gulf war is “out of control”, urging all sides to step back from the brink and allow diplomacy to prevail, as he announced the appointment of a senior envoy to spearhead peace efforts.

The war in the Middle East is well into its fourth week and the humanitarian emergency it has sparked continues to be the focus of international attention, along with the energy crisis caused by attacks on shipping in key Strait of Hormuz and other oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf region.

More than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, “the violence is worse than ever” and far from abating, the head of UN political and peacebuilding affairs said on Monday in a briefing to the Security Council.

All-time high greenhouse gas concentrations in Earth’s atmosphere continue to drive heat records on land and sea, with long-lasting consequences for humanity, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned on Monday.

The crisis in the Middle East continues, with strikes and counter-strikes reported across the region, driving civilian casualties, displacement and rising humanitarian needs. Energy assets in Gulf States continue to be hit, with serious long-term damaged reportedly sustained at Qatar's Ras Laffan gas hub.

Ongoing strikes across the Middle East stemming from the US-Israeli bombing of Iran and subsequent counterstrikes in the Gulf by Tehran continue to drive humanitarian needs, civilian casualties and mass displacement.

The crisis in the Middle East continues, with ongoing strikes and rising humanitarian needs.

The crisis in the Middle East continues, with strikes and counterstrikes reported across the region as the humanitarian toll rises

The crisis in the Middle East has entered its third week, with fighting continuing across the region and humanitarian needs rising.

More than five years after Myanmar’s military coup, international resolve to hold the junta accountable must not weaken, an independent human rights expert warned on Friday, as escalating violence and growing humanitarian needs push millions of civilians deeper into crisis.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Thursday he was appalled by the devastating impact on civilians of increasing drone attacks in Sudan, amid reports that more than 200 civilians have been killed by drones since 4 March alone, in the Kordofan region and White Nile state.

The UN’s emergency relief chief on Wednesday condemned the “$1 billion-a-day” cost of the war in the Middle East, at a time when humanitarian needs are soaring and aid funding is falling dangerously short.

Toxic “black rain” linked to strikes on oil depots, mass displacement and continuing disruption to aid supply chains are upending lives across the Middle East and beyond after 10 days of war in the region, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

Crises in the region on both Afghanistan’s longest borders are undermining the country’s stability, a senior UN official warned the Security Council on Monday as concerns over Middle East crisis grow amid clashes with Pakistan and a worsening humanitarian crisis.

On 8 March 2026, rally with women and girls around the world to demand equal rights and equal justice to enforce, exercise, and enjoy those rights.

Lebanon has been “dragged back into a state of turmoil and violence”, the UN’s top envoy in the country warned on Saturday, after the latest round of regional strikes triggered a fast‑escalating crisis along the Blue Line. What had been fragile but real momentum, she said, has now collapsed in a matter of days.

Women have never been closer to equality and never closer to losing it, according to UN Women ahead of the start of the world’s largest gender equality gathering

As an increase in conflicts leads to a significant spike in gender-based violence, women across the world face a “justice gap” with discriminatory laws reported in most countries, according to a report from gender equality agency UN Women, released on Wednesday.

As US, Israeli and Iranian strikes continued for a fifth day, a top Human Rights Council probe warned on Wednesday that Iranian prisoners including detained protesters face expedited death penalty proceedings.

Zero Discrimination Day (1 March) calls attention to the right of every person to live with dignity and equality. This year, UNAIDS spotlights the ongoing discrimination faced by people living with and at risk of HIV.