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Week in Review 28 March 2026

Middle East conflict: UN announces peace envoy, humanitarian task force As the crisis in the Middle East continues, the UN Secretary-General this week appointed veteran diplomat Jean Arnault to spearhead peace efforts and launched a task force to meet the immense humanitarian needs.  Nearly a month has passed since the conflict began, causing a sharp reduction in maritime trade through the Strait of Hormuz, putting global food security at risk.  Fighting also still rages in Sudan, where an attack on a teaching hospital left dozens dead and wounded, while the violence in Ukraine "is worse than ever," the UN political affairs chief told the Security Council. Check out some of our coverage of these issues along with other key stories from the past week.

MIDDLE EAST LIVE 27 March: Humanitarian crisis deepens across the region The war in the Middle East continues, with attacks causing further terror and suffering, deepening the humanitarian crisis across the region. The UN announced the launch of a task force to meet the immense needs.  In Geneva, diplomats at the Human Rights Council have been discussing the school strike in Iran's Minab that killed more than 100 children. Stay with us for live updates on this and from UN agencies providing relief. App users can follow coverage here. Read more Peace and Security Middle East war: Attacks on vital healthcare, evacuation strike fears Almost one month since Israeli and US airstrikes on Iran began, sparking a wider regional war, UN agencies and partners on Friday highlighted the terror among civilians fleeing bombardment, with "no safe space" to go. Read more Peace and Security DR Congo: violence intensifies as UN mission pledges continued support The security and political situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains "extremely tense", a senior UN official told the Security Council on Thursday. Read more Peace and Security Gulf war 'out of control', Guterres warns, as UN appoints envoy to push for peace 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. Read more Peace and Security Ukraine: danger is only increasing, warns UN human rights office More than four years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the "danger is only increasing", particularly from attack drones, a top UN human rights official warned on Thursday. Read more Peace and Security Persian Gulf crisis impacting food security, FAO warns The intensifying conflict in the Persian Gulf "has triggered one of the most rapid and severe disruptions to global commodity flows in recent times," the Chief Economist with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday.  Read more Peace and Security Sudan: Hospital strike highlights surge in drone attacks on civilians The death toll from a horrific attack on a hospital in Sudan's Darfur has risen further, amid a "sharp increase" in drone attacks against civilians this year, UN agencies said on Tuesday. Read more Peace and Security Gaza: Commitment to US-backed plan crucial to recovery, Security Council hears As tensions escalate in the Middle East, the international community must not lose sight of the situation in Gaza, an official with US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace across the shattered enclave said on Tuesday in his first appearance in the UN Security Council.  Read more Peace and Security Haitian gangs expand reach as police are accused of 'summary executions' Deadly gangs in Haiti are expanding their reach to include control over key sea and road routes as police in the beleaguered Caribbean island nation are being accused of using "unnecessary and disproportionate lethal force and summary executions." Read more Peace and Security Myanmar: WFP reports fragile recovery one year after deadly earthquake A "new wave of global instability is hitting Myanmar at the worst possible moment," a UN official in the country warned on Friday, as increases in fuel, food, and fertilizer prices due to the ongoing Middle East conflict push vulnerable families closer to hunger one year after a devastating earthquake.   Read more Humanitarian Aid Ukraine violence 'worse than ever', Security Council hears 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.  Read more Peace and Security Syria: UN Commission documents grave violations in July 2025 escalation in Sweida More than 1,700 people were killed and nearly 200,000 more displaced in the July 2025 massacres in Sweida, Syria, UN human rights investigators said on Friday in a report that called for greater action towards accountability.  Read more Human Rights How Kyrgyzstan built a system to support domestic violence survivors Domestic violence was not something people spoke about openly in Kyrgyzstan in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union, but after a long road of dedicated efforts, there are now laws addressing family abuse, crisis centres and hotlines while human rights defenders tackle such new challenges as sexual slavery. Read more Women 'Truly transformative' new diagnostic tools can help end tuberculosis The World Health Organization (WHO) called on Tuesday for countries to step up action to end tuberculosis (TB) – one of the world's deadliest infectious killers – by expanding access to new diagnostic tools that can help save lives.  Read more Health UN resolution urges reparations for slavery's 'historical wrongs' Applause erupted in the UN General Assembly Hall on Wednesday as Member States adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity.  Read more UN Affairs UN chief calls for immediate release of 118 detained UN staff UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for the immediate release of the 118 UN staff currently detained worldwide as attacks against the United Nations increase with 179 personnel arrested or detained last year alone. Read more UN Affairs War in the Middle East: Cultural treasures damaged, with more at risk Since the outbreak of war on 28 February, several unique sites of cultural significance have been damaged in Iran, Israel and Lebanon, alongside immense suffering, displacement and death. Read more Peace and Security UN weather agency warns of record 'climate imbalance' as planetary warming accelerates 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. Read more Climate and Environment

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