Speaking ahead of Sunday’s grim milestone, Spokesperson Liz Throssell reiterated the need for OHCHR staff to have access to Israel and all parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory to investigate human rights violations by all parties. Fourteen weeks have passed since Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups carried out bloody...
The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator said in a statement that as the conflict continues to spread “human suffering is deepening, humanitarian access is shrinking and hope is dwindling.” He said a grim turning point between government troops and their rival RSF militia has been reached with the recent fighting in...
Pramila Patten, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, called for the immediate, safe, and unconditional release of all those who remain in captivity. Ms. Patten met this week with the mother of one of the young women taken hostage who expressed the pain, despair and helplessness that...
135 UNRWA staff members are known to have been killed in Gaza since the escalation of fighting since the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel. That’s the most ever in one incident but, despite the danger and extremely difficult working conditions, UNRWA is continuing to assist those caught up in...
The Global Study on Homicide analyzes the complex dynamics behind these violent deaths and includes a special section on how organized crime is driving death rates up in Latin America and the Caribbean. The report examines homicides related to criminal activities and interpersonal conflict, as well as “socio-politically motivated homicides”...
The fallen colleagues worked for the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, providing life-saving aid to Gaza’s 2.2 million people, amid constant bombardment over the past month and a complete siege of the enclave. They were school principals, teachers, health workers, including a gynaecologist, engineers, support staff and a...
The assessment by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) looks at preliminary socio-economic impacts, warning that poverty could spike while Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could plummet by 8.4 per cent, which translates into a loss of $1.7 billion. Lamenting the loss...
Mr. Wennesland told the Security Council that he “watched in horror and in real time” as reports of mass casualties emerged from Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday. “The circumstances of this catastrophe and responsibility remains and still needs to be clarified. And we will need a fact-based, full...
The past 10 days of conflict have claimed the lives of 4,200 people, forced more than one million individuals to flee their homes following an order from the Israeli authorities and left large areas in the Gaza Strip “reduced to rubble”, according to the Office of the High Commissioner for...
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...
“The past six months have caused untold suffering in Sudan” and forced more than 5.4 million people from their homes, said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan. Speaking to journalists in Geneva, the UN official noted that approximately 30,000 a day...
Since the crisis began when rival military groups clashed in mid-April, projections of growing numbers of people trying to escape fighting have sharply spiked upwards. “The crisis has triggered an urgent demand for humanitarian assistance, as those arriving in remote border areas find themselves in desperate circumstances due to inadequate...