Peace is in peril worldwide and avenues for diplomatic dialogue are shrinking, but young women peacebuilders are demonstrating that a better world is possible, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Tuesday. 

The ongoing escalation of violence in northwest Syria linked to the wider conflict in Gaza and Lebanon has left civilians dead and injured, hospitals “overwhelmed” with healthcare attacks on the rise, the UN warned on Tuesday.

Droughts across the world are intensifying and have become a “slow onset, silent killer” to which no country is immune, according to the UN’s most senior official working on desertification, drought and land restoration issues.

Marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Tuesday, UN Secretary General António Guterres emphasised the crucial need to increase the leadership of persons with disabilities in addressing global challenges, as essential to shaping technological advances and policy decisions.

UN independent human rights experts have called for urgent international intervention in Myanmar as civilian deaths hit 6,000 since the military junta seized power in February 2021 following a coup, leading to mass civilian resistance and international condemnation. 

A record number of oral statements are expected to be presented to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as highly awaited public hearings on States’ legal obligations with respect to climate change got underway on Monday.