Briefing ambassadors in the Security Council, Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations at the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), described the situation as a “crisis of staggering scale and cruelty”. “It demands sustained and urgent attention,” she emphasized. Ms. Wosornu detailed the catastrophic toll of the conflict, which...
A team from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on Syria visited former prisons and detention centres, including the notorious Sednaya and the Military Intelligence Branch 235 prisons. It is the first time the team has been able to access Syria, as the former regime denied all previous requests...
“We are not promoting large-scale returns; the communities frankly are just not ready to absorb the people who are displaced and would come home…it will overwhelm the country,” said Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). “Many have returned to find their find their homes reduced...
In a new report, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) has detailed the catastrophic humanitarian situation unfolding in El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state. The city has been under siege for seven months by fighters from the powerful militia known as the RSF, which has been battling...
Leonardo Santos Simão, highlighted upcoming presidential elections in Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau, and the adoption of constitutional reforms amid a strained political environment in Gambia. He also commended recent successful elections in Ghana and Senegal, noting the signing of a “Peace Pact” by all presidential candidates in Ghana and the...
“The world is not seeing what’s going on with these people, it’s impossible for families to shelter in these conditions,” said Louise Wateridge, from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). Speaking from Nuseirat in central Gaza after heavy winter rains overnight and into Friday morning, the UNRWA Senior Emergency Officer...
UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters at the daily briefing on Thursday that bakeries in Aleppo are at near full capacity – “but partners report that they have seen long queues and crowding.” The UN aid coordination office, OCHA, reports that the rehabilitation of key facilities has begun in the northwest of Syria...
Addressing ministers and ambassadors, António Guterres warned that rapid developments in AI are outpacing humanity’s ability to govern it, raising important questions about accountability, equality, safety and human oversight in decision-making. “Every moment of delay in establishing international guardrails increases the risk for us all,” Mr. Guterres said. “No country...
Speaking to correspondents via video link on Thursday, the senior OCHA official underscored the grim reality facing over two million people trapped in Gaza, where basic necessities like food, shelter, and safety have become scarce. “Dying hungry and in pain” is an increasingly likely outcome for children, mothers, aid workers,...
That’s the warning from UN Secretary-General António Guterres speaking to reporters in New York on Thursday morning. He said there is “a real risk that progress could unravel,” without an “inclusive, credible and peaceful” political transition that is Syrian led, on behalf of all its citizens. “The people of Syria stand...
“It’s early days,” Geir Pedersen said referring to the dramatic events of less than two weeks ago that ended decades of dictatorship. “But I think it is important to say that there is a lot of hope that we can now see the beginning of a new Syria.” He emphasised...
The storm struck over the weekend, affecting at least 184,000 people. According to authorities, some 45 people have been killed and a further 500 injured, primarily in Cabo Delgado province. More than 35,000 homes were destroyed or severely damaged. Almost 50 health centres and nearly 150 schools were also damaged...