The deadly legacy of landmines

More than two decades since the adoption of the landmark Mine Ban Treaty and the creation of the UN Mine Action Service, millions of landmines have been destroyed, but land in nearly 70 countries globally is still contaminated and innocent Read More …

Secretary-General, in Message for Mine Action Day, Urges Member States to Ratify, Fully Implement Conventions Banning Explosive Ordnance, Cluster Munitions

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, observed on 4 April: For the millions living amidst the chaos of armed conflicts — especially women and children — every Read More …

Sri Lanka: UN pre-deployment team scheduled to inspect troops for deployment in Mali

A high-level UN Assessment and Advisory Team are scheduled to inspect self-sustenance equipment, combat vehicles and accessories, de-mining devices, Explosive Ordnance Devices, logistic and medical equipment, military hardware and witness mock demonstrations during their visits (March 20-25) to the 1 Read More …

UN report: Uranium particles enriched to 83.7% found in Iran

Inspectors from the United Nations nuclear watchdog found uranium particles enriched up to 83.7% in Iran’s underground Fordo nuclear site, a report seen Tuesday by The Associated Press said. The confidential quarterly report by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency Read More …

Afghanistan’s demining program needs $18.3 million – OCHA

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Afghanistan has one of the highest levels of explosive ordnance contamination globally. The statement tweeted on Monday saying that in 2023, some $18.3 million is needed for Read More …

Cambodia deploys 98 deminers to Central African Republic

Cambodian deminers departed Phnom Penh on Tuesday to the Central African Republic to as part of the UN peacekeeping force. They will be part of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). Read more… Read More …

Mali: Three UN peacekeepers die in a roadside bomb explosion

Three United Nations peacekeepers were killed and five others seriously injured on Tuesday when their convoy struck a roadside bomb in central Mali, the UN mission said. “A MINUSMA Force convoy hit an Improvised Explosive Device IED today,” it said Read More …

Japan contributes to UN Mine Action Service for humanitarian mine action and peacebuilding in Sudan

The Government of Japan has contributed USD 980,000 to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), a component of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), to advance Sudan’s peacebuilding efforts through humanitarian mine action. Aiming to Read More …

Chinese peacekeepers safeguard peace with practical actions

Leaving Beirut, capital of Lebanon, all along the coastal highway southward and passing through bustling towns, you can see more checkpoints and armored vehicles of the United Nations peacekeeping force on road. In the south Lebanese city of Tyre about Read More …

UN reports tense situation in eastern DR Congo after rebel attacks, deadly blast

Attacks by the M23 Movement rebels and an explosion wounding 18 civilians leave a tense situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a UN spokesman said on Thursday. One clash was in the southeast of Kitchanga, in Read More …

At Least 32 Peacekeeping, Associated Personnel Killed in Malicious Attacks during 2022, United Nations Staff Union President Says

At least 32 United Nations peacekeeping personnel — 28 military and four police, including one woman police officer — were killed in deliberate attacks in 2022, the United Nations Staff Union said today. For the ninth year in a row, Read More …

Central African Republic: Weapons and Ammunition Management Country Insight

UNIDIR defines WAM in a comprehensive manner covering the oversight, accountability and governance of conventional arms and ammunition throughout their management cycle, including the establishment of relevant national frameworks, processes and practices for the safe and secure production and acquisition Read More …

UNDOC: Opium cultivation in Afghanistan

Since the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban in August 2021, opium cultivation increased by 32%, or 56,000 hectares, compared to the previous year. This represents the third largest area under cultivation since the beginning of systematic monitoring. The area Read More …

Russia submits to UN detailed info on Ukraine’s use of Lepestok mines

Russia on Monday submitted to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and to the UN Security Council president the details on the use by Ukraine of Lepestok anti-personnel mines against civilian targets in Donbass, said Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the Read More …

2021 Year in Review: UN support for countries in conflict

Long-running conflicts continued in Syria and Yemen this year, whilst fresh unrest caused serious instability in Myanmar, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Sudan. United Nations “Blue Helmet” peacekeepers suffered losses and injuries, particularly those serving in the peacekeeping missions in Mali and Read More …

‘Everything Living Is Dying’: Environmental Ruin in Modern Iraq

As far back as 2005, the United Nations had estimated that Iraq was already littered with several thousand contaminated sites. Five years later, an investigation by The Times, a London-based newspaper, suggested that the U.S. military had generated some 11 Read More …

How is the reconstruction of Iraq going?

In July 2017, the last Islamic State fighters left in the city of Mosul attempted to flee by swimming across the mighty Tigris River that runs through Iraq’s second largest city. They had been defeated. As patriotic music blared out Read More …

Qatari charity on new terror list has ties to USAID, UN

A charity in Qatar that was recently sanctioned for links to terrorism by some Arab countries has worked with the U.S. government’s main aid agency and several United Nations agencies, Fox News has learned. The sanctions came as a result Read More …