Briefing the Security Council, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher called on the international community to step up support and do more to protect civilians under fire. In recent weeks, continued Russian strikes on cities have seen civilian casualties rise – including children – and damaged critical infrastructure including healthcare...
The clearly identified humanitarian workers from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, Palestinian Civil Defence and the UN had been despatched to collect injured people on 23 March in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, when they came under fire from Israeli forces who were advancing in the area, said the...
Tom Fletcher was addressing the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) which was set up by the UN General Assembly in the early 1990s as a coordination forum for humanitarian aid worldwide. “The humanitarian community confronts a massive funding, morale, and legitimacy crisis,” he said, framing his remarks as personal reflections based...
“Today marks one of the rare times we are able to highlight positive developments, albeit amid catastrophic humanitarian needs in Gaza,” Mr. Fletcher began. He noted that the recent ceasefire has provided a much-needed reprieve from relentless hostilities, allowing for a surge in life-saving humanitarian aid. Mr. Fletcher expressed gratitude...
Following the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, the UN Security Council is meeting in New York to hear from the Secretary-General and foreign ministers from the Middle East and beyond. UN chief António Guterres told the meeting there must be “irreversible action” to realise the two-State...
Mr. Fletcher, a former UK Ambassador and policy adviser to three British Prime Ministers, was appointed UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator by Secretary-General António Guterres last month. In his new role, he will also head the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). He succeeds...
Speaking at the International Conference in Support of Lebanon’s People and Sovereignty held in Paris, Imran Riza expressed grave concerns for civilians. “As hostilities persist, humanitarian needs grow unchecked, and suffering intensifies,” he expressed. The Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, told the conference concrete action to end hostilities was need...
“Even if there is no ceasefire, you would expect humanitarian corridors to operate… in a much more sustained way than what’s happening now,” said Sean Casey, Emergency Medical Teams Coordinator for the World Health Organization (WHO), speaking from Rafah in southern Gaza. Humanitarian assistance – and particularly food – is desperately...
“Its people are witnessing daily threats to their very existence – while the world watches on”, warned Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths in a statement, adding that “hope has never been more elusive” amidst deteriorating conditions. “The humanitarian community has been left with the impossible mission of supporting more than...
“The entire Rohingya population” from Myanmar will benefit, according to the UN agency, which increased the value of its monthly food voucher from $8 to $10 per person on 1 January. Until early last year vouchers were worth $12 but WFP was forced to reduce their value in March to...
According to media reports, ongoing negotiations over the Israel-Hamas agreement on a four-day humanitarian pause and the freeing of hostages held by the Palestinian armed group since its 7 October terror attacks indicated that the deal’s entry into force was believed to be unlikely before Friday. Amid rising hunger, UN...
More than 1.5 million Gazans are displaced, 18 hospitals have shut down, and hundreds of thousands are living in fear and under continuing Israeli bombardment. “Casualties continue to mount, with the dead reportedly exceeding 11,000 people – the majority of them children and women,” said Emergency Relief Coordinator and Humanitarian...