Dr. Abdinasir Abubakar outlined how the UN agency has been supporting Lebanon’s Ministry of Health, including following the wave of electronic device explosions this week. Hundreds of pagers across the country simultaneously detonated on Tuesday, while walkie-talkies and even some solar panels blew up the following day. The attacks reportedly...
International media reported that walkie-talkies used by members of the Hezbollah militant group blew up on Wednesday, a day after hundreds of pagers across the country exploded simultaneously. Mr. Guterres was deeply alarmed by reports that a large number of communication devices exploded in Lebanon and Syria over the past...
The coordinated attacks reportedly targeted the Hezbollah militant group, with hundreds of electronic pagers belonging to its members blowing up at the same time, according to international media reports. ‘Extremely concerning escalation’ “The developments today mark an extremely concerning escalation in what is an already unacceptably volatile context,” Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert...
Issuing the appeal in Geneva on his behalf, Chief Spokesperson for his Office OHCHR, Ravina Shamdasani, “unequivocally” rejected the “false allegations” for which one staff member appeared to have been made to confess under duress. “These are completely made-up allegations,” she told journalists, highlighting “a video of our staff member...
“Silence the guns and return to dialogue – the suffering inflicted on civilians is too much to bear. More violence is not the answer. It will bring neither peace nor security,” Volker Türk said in a statement, voicing deep concern that negotiations towards a continuation of last week’s pause had...
António Guterres is in Antarctica this week, where he saw first-hand how climate change is impacting the world’s southernmost continent, which is mostly covered in ice. The heat is on “Fossil fuel pollution is heating our planet, unleashing climate anarchy in Antarctica,” said Mr. Guterres, adding that the Southern Ocean...
“Right now, parents in Gaza do not know whether they can feed their children today and whether they will even survive to see tomorrow. The suffering just meters away is unfathomable standing on this side of the border,” said Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP)....
In his message marking the International Day against Nuclear Tests, Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for key countries to ratify the international treaty that bans experiments for both peaceful and military purposes. ‘Recipe for annihilation’ “This year, we face an alarming rise in global mistrust and division,” he said. “At a...
The fighting between Palestinian armed groups at Ein El Helweh camp has also forced thousands to flee their homes that have been damaged. Ein El Helweh is one of 12 camps in Lebanon operated by the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA. It provides services to nearly 50,000 people....
He said citizens of the Caribbean nation are “trapped in a living nightmare” as armed gangs encircle the capital, Port-au-Prince, blocking roads, controlling access to food and healthcare, and undermining humanitarian support. Mr. Guterres was speaking at UN Headquarters fresh from a visit to the country and a summit of...
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk appealed to the leaders of the Sudanese Armed Forces and of the Rapid Support Forces, locked in conflict since 15 April, to “issue clear instructions” to those under their command that sexual violence will not be tolerated, and to ensure that all...
Today in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, more than eight million people require food assistance and around 332,000 “urgently need food, otherwise their lives are at risk”, said UNHCR spokesperson Olga Sarrado. A full eight in 10 of the displaced are women and children, the UNHCR official continued, while UN migration agency, IOM, warned...