In Afghanistan, the United Nations and humanitarian partners report that they will seek $1.3 billion this year to assist almost 16 million people with life-saving aid, up from 2.3 million people in 2017, as ongoing conflict, natural disasters, chronic poverty and the COVID-19 pandemic continue to devastate the population.
Deeply concerned by the deteriorating human rights situation in Uganda ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections on 14 January, the United Nations Human Rights Office calls on authorities there to protect the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and take steps to prevent electoral violence.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Mette Knudsen of Denmark as his new Deputy Special Representative (Political) for Afghanistan in the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
United Nations humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock has allocated $1.5 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to the Food and Agriculture Organization for desert locust control operations in Kenya. Swarms could threaten livelihoods and food security of 3.6 million people across the region if they are not controlled.
A new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warns that if greenhouse gas emissions are not drastically reduced, all of the world’s coral reefs will bleach by the end of the century, and calls for even more urgent action to limit ocean temperature rise.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Ramiz Alakbarov of Azerbaijan as his new Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), serving also as the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator.
Reporting on promising developments in peace talks between the Government of Afghanistan and its Taliban opposition, the top United Nations official for the country warned the Security Council during a 17 December videoconference meeting that future progress is imperilled by a relentless upsurge in violence which requires urgent international attention.
The head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan told the Security Council that Afghanistan and the Taliban made genuine progress in peace talks, agreeing to rules and procedures; forming a working committee to discuss the agenda; and presenting each other initial lists of topics for negotiations.
Children make up nearly half the people who have fled Ethiopia’s Tigray region for Sudan, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports. Their most urgent needs are clean water and sanitation, as well as child-protection and gender-based violence services for the most vulnerable and at-risk refugees, the agency says.
Citing the threat posed by chronic terrorist violence in Afghanistan, delegates commended fresh progress in peace talks and exchanged views on the best way to help the nation move into a new era of stability and prosperity, as the General Assembly adopted, by a recorded vote, its annual resolution on the situation in the country.
Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message, “Together to End Domestic Violence and Intimate Partner Violence in Central Asia and Afghanistan”, at the high‑level launch event of the Spotlight Initiative Regional Programme for Central Asia and Afghanistan, today:
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) today launched its largest ever humanitarian appeal, $818 million, to fund critical assistance for 54 million women, girls and young people in 68 countries, including for sexual and reproductive health care as well as services to prevent gender-based violence.
Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video remarks to the Afghanistan Conference 2020, held in Geneva today:
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) still desperately needs $70 million in contributions to avoid painful measures in the coming weeks and to limit the amount of liabilities carried over into 2021, Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini has told the Agency’s Advisory Board.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said carbon dioxide continues to be at record highs, despite COVID-19 lockdowns around the world. According to the WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, carbon dioxide levels saw a growth spurt in 2019 and the annual global average breached the significant threshold of 410 parts per million.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary‑General António Guterres:
Following is the text off UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the virtual high-level consultation on “Return and Reintegration: Building a Future for All Afghans”, held today:
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Inga Rhonda King (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines):
Experts at the Pacific Disaster Centre estimate that 70,000 people in Nicaragua and over 483,000 people in Honduras are vulnerable to the impact of Hurricane Eta, which is poised to make landfall as United Nations teams, national authorities and regional partners prepare response plans.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
