Holland’s outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Sigrid Kaag will facilitate, coordinate, monitor and verify aid consignments to the embittered enclave, in line with a recent Security Council resolution. She will also establish a mechanism to accelerate humanitarian relief shipments through States that are not party to the conflict. She is expected...
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...
“Today the stakes for preventive diplomacy and dialogue could not be higher,” said Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific, in a meeting organized by the Brazilian presidency. Referring to the escalating situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, he warned that in the absence...
“There needs to be a negotiated solution to end this war as soon as possible. There is no other alternative,” said Martha Pobee, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, whose portfolio covers both political and peacebuilding affairs. “The longer this war continues, the greater the risk of fragmentation, and foreign...
The call comes amid reports that the situation in Haiti is deteriorating by the day, with citizens facing spiralling violence, human rights, and food emergencies, as well as a cholera epidemic. The influence of armed gangs is growing exponentially in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and beyond, reaching the Department of Artibonite,...
Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Deputy Special Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, updated journalists in New York on developments in a country where 28 million people now depend on aid to survive. Immense humanitarian needs “Afghanistan remains the world’s largest humanitarian crisis in 2023, notwithstanding, of course, the recent devastating earthquakes...
The UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ilze Brands Kehris, concluding a 10-day visit to the country on Wednesday, reported a resurgence of attacks by armed groups and the devastating toll on communities alongside the need for action. “The violence must stop,” she said, encouraging authorities to redouble their efforts...
“The violent trends that dominated the last months of 2022 continue to take a devastating human toll,” said Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. Citing rising political tensions and the long-stalled peace process, he said preventing more loss of life must go hand-in-hand with the international community’s...
In a statement released on Saturday, Mr. Guterres announced that he had full confidence in the UN system in Burkina Faso, as well as in Ms. Manzi’s commitment and professionalism. For years, Burkina Faso has suffered from political instability, and saw two military coups in 2022 alone. This year also...