Yemen

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that since 2023, 13 Eastern and Southern African countries, particularly Zimbabwe and Zambia, have battled one of the worst cholera outbreaks in years. As of 15 January 2024, more than 200,000 cases, including some 3,000 fatalities, have been reported.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General informed that the first phase of the disengagement of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from South Kivu has begun, with a plan to complete its withdrawal from the area by June 2024.

Following strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen launched by the United States and United Kingdom on 11 January — a day after the Security Council adopted a resolution demanding that the Houthis cease attacking merchant and commercial vessels — a senior United Nations official today warned the 15-nation organ of the consequences of further escalation and urged restraint by all concerned parties.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) officially confirmed in a statement today that 2023 was the warmest year on record — by a huge margin — as the annual average global temperature approached 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. WMO will issue its final “State of the Global Climate” report for 2023 in March.

In South Sudan, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is extremely concerned about the well-being of refugees and returnees fleeing the current hostilities in Sudan — as South Sudan continues to see an influx of new arrivals from across the border.

The acting Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen has called for a thorough and expeditious investigation into the killing of an aid worker on 5 January

In Sudan, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced today that it is temporarily suspending food assistance in some parts of Al Jazirah state, as fighting has spread south and east of the capital, Khartoum

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said today that 65 journalists have been killed in the line of duty in 2023, compared with 88 in 2022. The Head of UNESCO said that this drop conceals an alarming phenomenon: an increase in the number killed in conflict zones and more is online.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Sarhad Fatah of Iraq as Deputy Head of Mission for the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen. Mr. Fatah succeeds Muin Shreim of the United States, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his commitment and decades of dedicated service to the Organization.