The new Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations, Ghulam M. Isaczai, presented his credentials to the Secretariat today.
The new Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations, Ghulam M. Isaczai, presented his credentials to the Secretariat today.
The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon expressed deep regret over the inability of Lebanon’s leaders to reach agreement on the formation of a new Government that is urgently needed to address the country’s numerous challenges.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) cited a tight window for farmers in hunger-stricken northern Ethiopia to get crops in the ground ahead of upcoming seasonal rains. It appealed for $30 million in urgent support, noting that farmers have seen seeds and animals looted and credit lines disappear.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned of a looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan as escalating conflict has displaced 270,000 Afghans inside the country since January, bringing the total uprooted population to more than 3.5 million. UNHCR said the needs of those who have fled are “suddenly acute”.
Humanitarian officials in the Occupied Palestinian Territory said the entry of goods into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing remains limited, and some 250,000 people are still without regular access to piped water. They called for a return to the predictable entry of goods and the easing of movement restrictions.
Some 1.47 million refugees will be in need of resettlement in 2021, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced today. The agency said that, despite the coronavirus pandemic, wars and conflict continue to rage across the world, displacing millions and barring many from returning home.
Clashes in northern Mozambique are driving one of the world’s fastest-growing displacement crises, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), says with the number of people who have fled their homes in Cabo Delgado having surged by nearly 650 per cent in 2020, and more than 732,000 people currently displaced.
Amid the swift withdrawal of troops by the United States and its allies from Afghanistan, the Taliban is flexing its military muscle to gain greater control of the country’s territory, speakers warned the Security Council in a videoconference meeting today, as one civil society leader urged members to help avert a “Rwanda-type genocide” in the conflict-plagued country.
A new World Health Organization (WHO) report calls for immediate, binding action to protect children, adolescents and expectant mothers at risk from exposure to toxins in discarded electrical or electronic devices, or e-waste. As many as 12.9 million women and some 18 million young people work in the informal waste sector.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Sven Jürgenson (Estonia):
The onset of winter — compounded by the devastating effects of the coronavirus — poses a direct threat to the health and livelihoods of Venezuelan refugees and migrants, nearly 2 million of whom have settled in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, the United Nations refugee agency warned today.
UNICEF announced today it has signed a long-term agreement with Moderna to supply vaccine for the COVAX facility. Through the agreement, the agency and its partners will have access to up to 34 million doses for some 92 countries and territories in 2021. This is the fifth vaccine-supply agreement it has signed.
The United Nations and the Government of Timor-Leste have launched a $32 million joint appeal to provide food, shelter, water and sanitation to some 65,000 people impacted by flooding in April. Nearly 34,000 homes were destroyed amid a strict COVID-19 lockdown in the capital, Dili, which has seen a surge in cases.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is calling for more international support for the people of Afghanistan amid continued violence that has internally displaced over 100,000 people so far this year. UNHCR’s $123.5 million humanitarian appeal for 2021 is only 24 per cent funded.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo near Gomas has caused 13 deaths and destroyed the homes of 5,000 people, humanitarian colleagues report. The United Nations is assisting with water, shelter, health and family reunification, and peacekeepers are set to clear the main roads into Goma.
United Nations officials in the Central African Republic report that 300 peacekeepers have been deployed to Bakouma, one of several places where security concerns prevented the holding of elections in 2020. They will protect the civilian population and help organize legislative elections later in May.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Zhang Jun (China):
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
The United Nations country team in Myanmar calls for the immediate release of dozens of journalists who are detained more than three months after the military seized control of the Government. To date, military authorities have revoked the operating licenses of six Myanmar media outlets; 82 journalists have been arrested, more than half of them are still detained.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Zhang Jun (China):