Peacekeeping

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are deeply saddened over the tragic capsizing of a boat off the coast of Malaysia and Thailand carrying up to 70 people from Myanmar, including Rohingya. Some 13 people were brought ashore by Malaysian authorities; at least 21 people died.

With developments in South Sudan moving “in a negative and possibly dangerous direction”, briefers urged the transitional Government to recommit to the Revitalized Peace Agreement before the situation descends into violence threatening political stability and the UN Mission in the country.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that this year, more than 42,000 refugees have returned home voluntarily in the West and Central Africa region, bringing the total to more than 272,000 since 2021. The majority have returned to Nigeria and the Central African Republic.

The war in Sudan and political uncertainty in South Sudan continue to stall progress in political dialogue on the final status of Abyei — the disputed area along the border between the two countries — a senior UN official informed the Security Council today, as its members urged robust support for the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) ahead of its expiration on 15 November.

Led by Resident Coordinator Pauline Tamesis, the UN is supporting Viet Nam’s efforts to respond to one of the most damaging typhoon seasons in decades. Between May and early October, 11 typhoons and tropical depressions, including Bualoi and Matmo, struck within days of each other, affecting over a million people across six provinces.

A 2025 report released today by the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, produced in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), warns that ongoing dependence on fossil fuels and insufficient adaptation to a warming world are already taking a devastating toll on human health.

The UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) published a report on the far-reaching human rights impacts of last month’s telecommunications shutdowns in the country, citing delayed or no access to healthcare and emergency services, and disruption to humanitarian operations, among them.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic — a lynchpin country for broader regional stability — requires strong financial support amid UN systemwide liquidity constraints, the Organization’s top official in the country told the Security Council today, as several delegates hailed the Mission’s work to date as a “success story of UN peacekeeping”.

A new report from the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), titled “At Risk and Underfunded”, warns that sweeping aid cuts are jeopardizing the organizations essential to ending violence against women and girls.

In the Central African Republic, the UN Mission there continues to support the country’s peace process, including through the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process. From 16 to 20 October, it facilitated the disarmament and demobilization of ex-combatants in Bangui and in Mobaye.