The timelines envisaged in the November ceasefire agreement “have not been met”, according to a joint statement by UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and head of the UN peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, and force commander Aroldo Lázaro. The agreement between Israel and armed group Hezbollah had been reached after...
Since the fierce bombardment of Gaza by Israel began in October 2023, in response to a deadly Hamas attack on the country, over 45,000 Palestinians have been killed, and over 100,000 injured. The vast majority of Gazans, around 90 per cent, are internally displaced, forced to relocate several times to...
“I am continually inspired by the strength and courage of the Ukrainian people. As I have travelled to Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, and most recently to Kramatorsk and Lyman, I have seen for myself how the disruption of essential services such as electricity, water and heating affects people. I...
The violence comes after the top court in Mozambique confirmed on 23 December that the ruling Frelimo party won the disputed presidential election held in October, sparking protests. The southern African country is also still recovering from the devastating effects of Cyclone Chido, which hit just weeks ago. The current...
According to local media reports, 30 Palestinians were killed in the central Gaza area overnight on Friday due to airstrikes, said Louise Wateridge, Senior Emergencies Officer with UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA, speaking to reporters in Geneva from central Gaza. “We’ve seen absolutely horrific images from the scene. There are...
“The world is on fire…We are dealing with a polycrisis right now globally and it is the most vulnerable people in the world who are paying the price. We are dealing with the impact of conflicts – multiple conflicts – and crises of longer duration and of more intense ferocity” said...
Abdulrahman Alfadley, the Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture was speaking as the 16th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) got underway in the capital of the Middle Eastern country. The meeting, according to UNCCD, represents a “moonshot...
The alert from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) follows a new dire assessment from UN-partnered food insecurity experts has shown the hunger crisis is affecting much of the vast central African nation. The embattled east is a particular concern, where the situation is deteriorating after...
Briefing reporters in Geneva from central Gaza, UNRWA senior emergency officer Louise Wateridge warned that amid looming famine in the Gaza Strip and as winter approaches, those forcibly displaced are sleeping on the floor in makeshift shelters surrounded by sewage. “We are extremely concerned when the rains come to the...
The decision announced on Friday will benefit 335,000 longtime residents and members of officially recognized minority ethnic groups, along with approximately 142,000 of their children born in Thailand. ‘Historic development’ “This is a historic development,” said Ms. Hai Kyung Jun, UN refugee agency (UNHCR) Bureau Director for Asia and the...
Akua Kuenyehia, chair of the independent expert mechanism on advancing racial justice said, “Manifestations of systemic racism against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement and in criminal justice systems are still predominant in many parts of the world, and broad impunity persists.” While also dealing with “broad...
In a situation update published on Monday the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 11 health workers had been killed and 10 injured between 17 and 28 September. Some 37 health centres have been forced to close due to the fighting out of 317 in total, and three hospitals treating...