United Nations HumanRights: I condemn disinformation campaigns & attempts to undermine the credibility of the UN human rights system, including United Nations Special Procedure Experts mandate holders. Criticism & debate are legitimate & necessary; efforts to intimidate, discredit, or even sanction, are not. They are unacceptable. - UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk

@UNHumanRights

I condemn disinformation campaigns & attempts to undermine the credibility of the UN human rights system, including @UN_SPExperts mandate holders. 

 

Criticism & debate are legitimate & necessary; efforts to intimidate, discredit, or even sanction, are not. They are unacceptable. - UN Human Rights Chief @volker_turk

 

https://x.com/UNHumanRights/status/2066558393678999873 

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UN Special Procedures

@UN_SPExperts

The Special Procedures of @UN_HRC are human rights experts independent from any govt or organisation, serving in their individual capacity. #StandUp4HumanRights

Geneva, Switzerland

It’s time to invest in the architecture of peace, not the tools of war. That means living up to disarmament obligations. Rebuilding trust. And strengthening the systems and tools that prevent the proliferation, testing and use of deadly weapons. Together, we can prevent catastrophes and ensure a safe and peaceful world for all.

 António Guterres 

@antonioguterres

 

Feb 28, 2026 

 

I condemn the military escalation in the Middle East today. 

 

The strikes by the US & Israel against Iran & the subsequent attacks by Iran undermine international security. 

 

These actions carry the risk of igniting a chain of events that no one can control in the most volatile region of the world. 

 

Lasting peace can only be achieved through peaceful means, including genuine dialogue and negotiations. 

 

The United Nations @UN Charter provides the foundation for the maintenance of international peace & security.

https://x.com/antonioguterres/status/2027855751155212760/photo/1 

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António Guterres

 

@antonioguterres

 

All the unlawful attacks in the Middle East and beyond are causing tremendous suffering and harm to civilians throughout the region – and pose a grave a risk to the global economy, particularly to the most vulnerable people. 

 

The situation could spiral beyond anyone’s control. It is time to stop the fighting and get to serious diplomatic negotiations. The stakes could not be higher. 

 

António Guterres

 

@antonioguterres

 

As global tensions are pushing military spending to stratospheric levels, I urge leaders to halt the arms races. 

 

We must invest in the architecture of peace, not the tools of war. Together, we can build a safe & peaceful world for all.

 

 https://disarmament.unoda.org/en/sgstatement 

 

5 March 2026

 

Secretary-General's Message for the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness

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Statements | António Guterres, Secretary-General

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Our dream of peace is in peril.

The threat of nuclear weapons use is the highest in decades. Global tensions are pushing military spending to stratospheric levels. Small arms and light weapons are proliferating. And emerging technologies are making conflicts even deadlier.

We must lower the temperature. On this International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness, I urge leaders to step back from the brink. Stop rattling the nuclear saber. Halt the arms races.

It’s time to invest in the architecture of peace, not the tools of war. That means living up to disarmament obligations. Rebuilding trust. And strengthening the systems and tools that prevent the proliferation, testing and use of deadly weapons.

Together, we can prevent catastrophes and ensure a safe and peaceful world for all.

https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statements/2026-03-05/secretary-generals-message-for-the-international-day-for-disarmament-and-non-proliferation-awareness 

 

Acting together for a shared future- Each 20 December, International Human Solidarity Day renews the United Nations’ founding promise: our shared future is secured not by standing apart, but by acting together.

Solidarity becomes real when it is organized—through cooperation, predictable support, and shared responsibility.  Photo:AI-assisted illustration by Sadek Ahmed

Acting together for a shared future

Each 20 December, International Human Solidarity Day renews the United Nations’ founding promise: our shared future is secured not by standing apart, but by acting together. 

Rooted in the UN Charter and affirmed by the General Assembly, it calls for cooperation across economic, social, cultural and humanitarian fronts. 

It also spotlights the Sustainable Development Goals, helping the poorest communities, and invites governments, civil society, business and citizens to turn the 2030 Agenda into tangible progress.... READ MORE   https://www.un.org/en

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International Human Solidarity Day (20 December) is an opportunity to reaffirm a simple truth: our shared future depends on how well we act together. Solidarity is woven through the United Nations Charter and the Organization’s daily work—uniting countries and communities to advance peace, human rights, and social and economic development.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is centred on people and planet, underpinned by human rights, and supported by a global partnership determined to end poverty and reduce inequality. International Human Solidarity Day invites everyone—governments, civil society, the private sector, and individuals—to translate that commitment into practical cooperation.

International Human Solidarity Day is:

• a day to celebrate our unity in diversity;
• a day to remind governments to respect commitments to international agreements;
• a day to raise public awareness of the importance of solidarity;
• a day to encourage debate on ways to promote solidarity for achieving the SDGs, including poverty eradication;
• a day of action to encourage new initiatives for poverty eradication.... READ MORE https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-solidarity-day

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Global cooperation drives efforts to uphold human rights, combat climate change, and promote peace in conflict-affected regions. Photo:UN

"Around the world lives are being ripped apart, childhoods extinguished, and basic human dignity discarded, amidst the cruelty and degradations of war." UN Secretary-General António Guterres

2025 Theme: Act Now for a Peaceful World

In a time of turbulence, tumult, and uncertainty, it is critical for everyone to take concrete action to mobilize for peace.... READ MORE   https://www.un.org/en/observances/international-day-peace

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United Nations  @UN

“The perverse and prolonged suffering must end.” As 1.6 million people in Gaza face extreme levels of acute food insecurity and malnutrition, 

 

@antonioguterres  says the ceasefire must be fully implemented and the endless cycle of violence must be broken.  https://x.com/UN/status/2002091814656835946/photo/1

  

 19 December 2025

".... We need a truly durable ceasefire.

We need more crossings, the lifting of restrictions on critical items, the removal of red tape, safe routes inside Gaza, sustained funding, and unimpeded access – including for NGOs.

And we cannot lose sight of the rapidly deteriorating situation in the West Bank.

Palestinians there face escalating Israeli settler violence, land seizures, demolitions and intensified movement restrictions.

Tens of thousands have been displaced following operations by Israeli forces in the northern West Bank.

International law – including international humanitarian law and international human rights law -- must be upheld across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

The International Court of Justice indicated provisional measures.  These are binding and must be implemented.

The Court’s Advisory Opinion of 22 October 2025 was clear:  Israel is under the obligation to allow and facilitate humanitarian aid, to cooperate with the United Nations in carrying out our mandates, and to respect the privileges and immunities of the United Nations and its personnel, including in times of armed conflict.

I reiterate my support for UNRWA, which plays an indispensable role in serving the Palestinian people — in Gaza and elsewhere in the region.

This is a crisis born of human decisions.

It can be resolved through human choices – if there is the political will to act.

The perverse and prolonged suffering must end. 

Palestinians need a horizon of hope. 

The ceasefire must be implemented in full. 

The endless cycle of violence must be broken. 

And the way must be cleared to an irreversible path to a two-state solution."

https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statements/2025-12-19/secretary-generals-press-encounter-gaza

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"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world..."   https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

UN general assembly votes to back Hamas-free government for Palestine. Compromise plan sees Arab states condemning 7 October attacks in return for clear UN support for a Palestinian state

The declaration contains some of the sharpest criticism of Hamas ever endorsed by the UN. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters

Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

Fri 12 Sep 2025 08.26 EDT

The UN general assembly has voted to back a Hamas-free government for Palestine as part of a carefully crafted compromise that sees Arab states go further in condemning its October 2023 attack on Israel in return for clear support for a Palestinian state.

The aim is to show that Israel and the US are isolated in opposing a long-term solution to the Gaza war, and how countries such as Germany, a strong supporter of Israel, are backing a solution in which the Palestinian Authority governs the West Bank and Gaza.

The 142-10 vote on Friday was to endorse the so-called New York declaration, a statement calling for a two-state solution, crafted by France and Saudi Arabia in July.

It includes some of the sharpest criticism of Hamas ever endorsed by the UN. The text states: “We condemn the attacks perpetrated on 7 October by Hamas against civilians,” and “Hamas must release all hostages” held in Gaza.

Israel, the US, Hungary and Argentina were among the countries voting against. There were 12 abstentions.

The vote for the declaration will be seen as paving the way for the one-day UN conference on a two-state solution, due to be held in New York immediately before the UN general assembly high level week. At that conference a host of states, including France, UK, Canada and Australia, will formally recognise the state of Palestine.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, insisted on Thursday that Israel would never accept a Palestinian state. Around three-quarters of the 193 UN member states recognise the Palestinian state proclaimed in 1988 by the exiled Palestinian leadership... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/12/un-general-assembly-to-back-hamas-free-government-for-palestine

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Agree to disagree… and let people live their lives.

“Take the nuclear option off the table — for good.” At Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial, UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres , urges nations to commit to ‘no first use’ and eliminate #nuclear stockpiles.

“Take the nuclear option off the table — for good.” At Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial, UN Secretary General @antonioguterres , urges nations to commit to ‘no first use’ and eliminate #nuclear stockpiles.

5 August 2022 Peace and Security

It is totally unacceptable for states in possession of nuclear weapons to admit the possibility of a nuclear war, António Guterres underscored early on Saturday in Japan at a ceremony marking the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

“Nuclear weapons are nonsense. Three-quarters of a century later, we must ask what we’ve learned from the mushroom cloud that swelled above this city in 1945”, he urged during the solemn event at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park attended by dozens of people, including hibakusha, young peace activists, Japan’s Prime Minister and other local authorities.

The UN Secretary-General warned that a new arms race is picking up speed and world leaders are enhancing stockpiles at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars with almost 13,000 nuclear weapons currently held in arsenals around the world.

“…Crises with grave nuclear undertones are spreading fast — from the Middle East to the Korean peninsula, to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine… Humanity is playing with a loaded gun”, he cautioned.

UN Photo/Mitsugu Kishida

Hiroshima, shortly after a nuclear bomb was dropped on this city in August 1945.

Signs of hope

Mr. Guterres called the current Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in New York a ‘sign of hope’.

“Today, from this sacred space, I call on this Treaty’s members to work urgently to eliminate the stockpiles that threaten our future, to strengthen dialogue, diplomacy and negotiation, and to support my disarmament agenda by eliminating these devices of destruction”, he emphasized.

Tweet URL

He underscored that countries with nuclear weapons must commit to the “no first use” of them, and assure other states that they will not use –or threaten to use—nuclear weapons against them.

“We must keep the horrors of Hiroshima in view at all times, recognizing there is only one solution to the nuclear threat: not to have nuclear weapons at all”, the UN chief stated.

Time to proliferate peace

Guterres stressed that leaders cannot hide from their responsibilities.

“Take the nuclear option off the table — for good.  It’s time to proliferate peace. Heed the message of the hibakusha: “No more Hiroshimas! No more Nagasakis!”, he said, recognizing that in 1945, two atomic bombs were detonated over the skies of Japan – first in Hiroshima on 6 August, and Nagasaki three days later, on 9 August.

Mr. Guterres also sent a message to the young people urging them to finish the work that the hibakusha have begun.

“The world must never forget what happened here. The memory of those who died — and the legacy of those who survived — will never be extinguished”...READ MORE https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/08/1124112

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His watchwords were "encounter," "dialogue," "reconciliation" and "build bridges, not walls." Pope Francis, who reached out to the margins of society, has died at 88

"Francis repeatedly railed against the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, urging negotiations to end the fighting. In November 2024, he voiced his frustration to diplomats at the Vatican, saying, "I simply mention two failures of humanity today: Ukraine and Palestine, where there is suffering, where the arrogance of the invader prevails over dialogue."" 

Pope Francis, who reached out to the margins of society, has died at 88

Pope Francis exits the memorial to the victims of the 9/11 attacks on Sept. 25, 2015, in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images.

ROME — Pope Francis, the first non-European head of the Roman Catholic Church in more than a millennium, died at age 88.

He died Monday at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta, according to a statement from the Vatican.

Francis was one of the most popular popes in decades and a towering figure on the world stage, addressing not just Catholics but the men and women of our time.

The outspoken pope lent his voice to almost every modern issue facing the world, often taking the side of the marginalized and vulnerable. He spoke out against commercial exploitation of the environment, rich countries' unwillingness to accept migrants, the alienation caused by technology and the lucrative sale of weapons of war... READ MORE  https://www.npr.org/2025/04/21/1013050313/pope-francis-dead 

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ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS

Sala Regia
Monday, 25 November 2024

"In this regard, how can I not refer to the many ongoing armed conflicts that remain still unresolved, despite the fact that they cause immense sufferings for the countries at war and the entire human family. Here I would point to the hypocrisy of speaking of peace and dabbling in war. In some countries where there is much talk of peace, the highest yielding investments are in the production of arms. This hypocrisy always leads to failure. The failure of fraternity, the failure of peace. May the international community make the force of law prevail through dialogue, for dialogue “must be the soul of the international community”. [14] I simply mention two failures of humanity today: Ukraine and Palestine, where people are suffering, where the arrogance of the invader prevails over dialogue. Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you most heartily for taking part in this commemorative ceremony. Through the intercession of Mary, Queen of Peace, our Mother, I invoke God’s blessing upon the beloved nations of Chile and Argentina, which I likewise invoke upon all peoples who long for peace and concord, and to every man and woman committed to the cause of fraternity and social friendship."   https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2024/november/documents/20241125-atto-commemorativo.html

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ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
TO THE DELEGATION OF THE ʺUNIVERSAL PEACE COUNCILʺ

Consistory Hall
Monday, 25 November 2024

[Multimedia]

______________________________________

Dear friends,

I am pleased to have this opportunity to meet with you during your visit to Rome and I commend your dedication to the cause of peace in the Holy Land, which sadly has witnessed much violence and suffering through the centuries. Unfortunately, our own day is no different and for over a year now, the dark clouds of conflict have once more engulfed the region of the world you call home. It is terrible, terrible. 

The current situation makes the promotion of peace all the more important and I am delighted to see that your delegation is composed of young people from different backgrounds and faiths. This is a clear sign that the desire for peace is rooted in the human heart and is able to bring about unity in diversity. We all know, however, that your task is not easy. As a result, I would like to offer you three brief points to consider.

The first is that we need young people to carry out this important service because they possess a certain idealism, enthusiasm and hope that reminds all of us that a better world is possible, peace is possible. In particular, young people can help others to discover the crucial elements that prepare the way for peace: forgiveness and a willingness to let go of past prejudices and hurts. Young people are creative, but it is terrible to meet young people who have fallen prey to ideologies. In these cases, ideology takes the place of rational thought and the desire to do good. While we must always remember and learn from history, an unhealthy attachment to past hurts and prejudices can never lead to true and lasting peace. In fact, it only perpetuates the spiral of conflict and division.

The second point is always to engage in dialogue, since it is the principal tool at our disposal. “Approaching, speaking, listening, looking at, coming to know and understand one another, and to find common ground: all these things are summed up in the one word ‘dialogue’” (Fratelli Tutti, 198). Dialogue is the only path for peace, for encountering one another. Young people can be great artisans of peace through dialogue. 

The third is never to lose hope. Hope never disappoints. Do not lose hope. It is so easy to become discouraged when we see the devastating effects of war and hatred, not to mention poverty, hunger, discrimination and various other realities that threaten the prospect of peace. They are the fruit of war. This may lead us to think that our engagement in dialogue is futile because it produces few concrete results. Perhaps you may have even been criticized for focusing on the need to dialogue in order to advance the cause of peace. In those moments, remember that anything worth doing is not easy. It requires sacrifice and a willingness to recommit ourselves each day, especially when things seem not to go our way. Keep hope alive, dear young people, always bearing in mind that we are all part of one human family. We are all brothers and sisters, and efforts to promote reconciliation, harmony and peace will always be worth our time and effort. And of course, never lose your sense of humour, that healthy joy! That is very important! Do not lose the capacity for joy, which helps us to see things more clearly.

Thank you for your visit and I assure you of my prayers for your commitment to peace in the Holy Land. I bless all of you and I ask, please, to remember me in your prayers. Thank you!

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Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2024/november/documents/20241125-universal-peace-council.html 

 

From Buenos Aires to Rome: Key dates in the life of Pope Francis

March 13, 2013: Elected 266th pope, the first from the Americas, the first Jesuit and the first to take the name of Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi.

Dec. 17, 1936: Jorge Mario Bergoglio is born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the eldest of five children to Mario Jose Bergoglio, an accountant from Italy, and Regina María Sívori, the daughter of Italian immigrants.    READ MORE  https://www.reflector.com/news/national/from-buenos-aires-to-rome-key-dates-in-the-life-of-pope-francis/article_d36561a2-681a-5aef-8334-d5e00b596159.html