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In the heart of Kharkiv, a school that once brimmed with life and energy has become a quiet monument to the challenges faced during war. The playground stands mostly empty, serving as a quiet testament to the devastating impacts the war has had on this school and the surrounding communities. Despite being struck three times, the school has been repaired through the project, funded by the European Union and implemented by . The restoration of this school is part of a broader effort to repair educational facilities across Ukraine, with plans to restore over 75 schools in total.
If one of the most iconic physical symbols of peace at United Nations Headquarters in New York is the famous Knotted Gun sculpture, the most symbolic and emblematic sound of peace that echoes through the Organization's airwaves each September comes from the ٱƵapp Bell. Ahead of this year’s International Day of ٱƵapp, Secretary-General António Guterres is at 9:30 am EDT on 13 September and calling for a culture of peace. The bell was cast from coins and medals donated by Member States’ representatives, the Pope, and people from over 60 nations and donated to the UN in June 1954.
Education is a basic human right and essential to fulfilling all human rights. On International Day to Protect Education from Attack (9 September) we are reminded of the devastating impact of war on young learners. Education provides knowledge, skills, and support for future generations, particularly for vulnerable groups such as girls, migrants, refugees, and people with disabilities. Places of education should be safe havens, but they are often targeted in conflict-affected areas, resulting in serious repercussions for students and teachers.
“Shootings, that’s why I left. Rapes. All that. I could not stay [back home]” – Solona, 14
Armed groups in Port-au-Prince and the Artibonite region are terrorizing entire communities. As streets, schools and playgrounds have been turned into battlefields, many have had . Thousands are now stranded in makeshift displacement sites. Struggling to access electricity, food, water, and adequate sanitation. Entire families are sleeping outside on the ground, at the mercy of torrential rains and disease-carrying insects. Children unable to go to school.
Violence in Haiti has reached shocking levels. continues to call for an end to the violence.
Across nearly eight decades, more than 2,000 nuclear tests were conducted at more than 60 sites around the world. These tests left a legacy of destruction, rendering lands uninhabitable and creating long-term health problems for people. Recent calls for the resumption of nuclear testing demonstrate that the terrible lessons of the past are being forgotten — or ignored. On the International Day Against Nuclear Tests (29 August), the world must speak with one voice to end this practice once and for all.
Women’s rights remain threatened over two decades after the highlighted the issue. On 7 August, the Council will address “Women ٱƵapp and Security” () amid the accelerated drawdown of peace operations, focusing on implementing the WPS agenda and ensuring gender equality during and after the reduction and termination of . Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, UN Women Executive Director Sima Sami Bahous, and a civil society representative are expected to brief the Council.
Every year, the City of Hiroshima holds the ٱƵapp Memorial Ceremony to console the souls of those lost to the atomic bombing on 6 August 1945, as well as pray for the realization of lasting world peace. Weapons of mass destruction, in particular nuclear weapons, continue to be of primary concern, owing to their destructive power and the threat that they pose to humanity. The UN has sought to eliminate such weapons ever since its establishment. Let’s work together to banish these devices of destruction to the history books, once and for all.
The Olympic Truce – Ekecheiria – seeks to halt hostilities, ensuring safe participation in the Games and upholding the timeless Olympic values of peace, solidarity, and respect while promoting dialogue and reconciliation.
On average, one Palestinian child was killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, every two days since October 2023, a nearly three-and-a-half-fold increase from the previous nine months.
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.
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 . 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.