Uncategorized Archives - Page 58 of 185

Libya: Mission chief updates Security Council on flood disaster ‘beyond imagination’

·October 16, 2023·2 min read

Briefing the Security Council, Abdoulaye Bathily noted the thousands of lives lost by the dam bursts which destroyed whole neighbourhoods after Storm Daniel slammed the region on 10 September. The Special Representative told ambassadors that despite the sense of national unity and compassion shown by ordinary Libyans, the disaster had...

Gaza: ‘History is watching’ warns UN relief chief, saying aid access is key priority

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·October 16, 2023·4 min read

“History is watching,” Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths told UN News in Geneva, highlighting the desperate situation facing around one million Gazans uprooted in the last week, after the Israeli military warned of an imminent offensive following the deadly 7 October attacks on Israel by militant group Hamas, which has...

Cutting disaster risk will boost equality, improve resilience

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·October 16, 2023·2 min read

According to various estimates, up to 75 per cent of extreme weather events are currently connected to climate change, fuelled by carbon emissions. The countries experiencing the greatest losses from disasters are those who contribute the least to the problem. UN figures reveal that from 1970 through 2019, some 91...

Middle East on ‘verge of the abyss’, UN warns as Israel-Hamas conflict deepens Gaza crisis

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·October 16, 2023·4 min read

The UN chief’s appeal comes as clean water and other vital supplies are dwindling inside Gaza in the wake of Israel’s blockade. UN and other humanitarian agencies have worked round the clock to preposition aid since the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas broke out following the militant group’s 7...

UN relief chief urges end to ‘humanitarian nightmare’ in Sudan

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·October 15, 2023·1 min read

Up to 9,000 people have been reportedly killed, more than 5.6 million driven from their homes and 25 million people need aid, because of the conflict that erupted in mid-April between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and other armed groups. In a statement marking...

First Person: ‘A handful of soil’ – refugee stories from Armenia

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·October 15, 2023·4 min read

Some 100,000 refugees have arrived in Armenia since the end of September and many have received support from the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM). Here are some of their stories. Ophelia Aghajanyan Ophelia Aghajanyan: We are pensioners. My husband, who used to be a soldier, is a disabled man. My...

UN voices concern over obstacles to Mali mission’s orderly withdrawal

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·October 15, 2023·1 min read

The peacekeeping mission which for many years has been the deadliest place to serve as a UN ‘blue helmet’, is due to draw down fully by 31 December, in accordance with its Security Council mandate. At that point, MINUSMA’s 12 camps and one temporary operating base will be closed and...

Tackling disasters means safer and fairer future for Caribbean: A UN Resident Coordinator blog

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·October 15, 2023·5 min read

Earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic activity and other natural disasters regularly cause destruction and the loss of life in parts of the Caribbean. On the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction marked annually on 13 October, UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Didier Trebucq and Nahuel Arenas, regional chief...

Gaza: UNRWA issues urgent call for civilians to be protected

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·October 14, 2023·5 min read

The statement came as the Israeli-imposed deadline for some 1.1 million civilians to leave the northern part of the enclave, ahead of what is expected to be a major advance into Gaza by Israeli ground forces, expired. “UNRWA shelters in Gaza and northern Gaza are no longer safe. This is...

Gaza: Nowhere to go, as humanitarian crisis reaches ‘dangerous new low’

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·October 14, 2023·6 min read

The development follows an announcement by UN Spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, just before midnight Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, that UN representatives in Gaza had been told by Israeli military liaison officers everyone living north of Wadi Gaza should relocate to southern Gaza within 24 hours. Some 1.1 million people would...

Israel-Gaza crisis dominates close of Human Rights Council session

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·October 14, 2023·3 min read

Some 22 countries and one non-governmental organization (NGO) took the floor, turning the meeting into a mini urgent debate on the crisis sparked by Hamas attacks against Israel and the capture of more than 100 Israelis who are being held hostage by militants inside the Gaza Strip. The surprise incursion...

International Criminal Court: Russia urged to withdraw arrest warrants for judges

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·October 14, 2023·1 min read

“We share the concerns expressed on Tuesday by the Presidency of the ICC’s Assembly of States Parties that these actions are unacceptable, and we call for them to be promptly withdrawn,” said Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani, speaking in Geneva. Last month, Russia issued arrest warrants against the President, deputy and one...