“The scale of this tragedy, its impact on survivors, families and communities and the frequency with which we witness deaths in transit constitute an intolerable and utterly soluble, humanitarian crisis,” said Pär Liljert, director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Office to the UN, referring to one of the...
The High-Level Meeting was held to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, observed annually on 26 September. “There should be no place for these devices of death in our world,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Nuclear ‘spectre’ looming He warned, however, that “not since the...
The situation is critical, said UN General Assembly President Philémon Yang, who convened the high-level meeting. He noted that estimates indicate up to 1.2 billion people could be forcibly displaced. “For those on the front lines, the impacts of rising seas threaten livelihoods, inflict damage to settlements and critical infrastructure, and...
Both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), along with their allied militias, continue to flout international humanitarian and human rights laws, said Martha Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa at the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), while addressing the Security Council. “Violations...
As COP28 entered its final 48 hours, the UN chief delivered a clear message to government negotiators: “We must conclude the conference with an ambitious outcome that demonstrates decisive action and a credible plan to keep 1.5-degree goal alive, protecting those on the frontlines of the climate crisis.” ‘The clock...
Top UN officials echoed that call to improve conditions for Gaza’s 2.3 million people, 1.7 million of which have been displaced since the 7 October Hamas attack in Israel resulted in the killing of 1,200 Israelis and capture of 240 hostages. Since then, more than 11,000 people have been killed...
More than 64 people are missing and feared dead after the vessel they were travelling in capsized on Sunday. Approximately 90 migrants, including 60 women, were on board the vessel, which was heading to Yemen from the coast of Djibouti. Twenty-six survivors were rescued by the Yemeni Coast Guard. Global...
Her comments came amid reports on Wednesday morning of an ongoing Israeli Defense Forces raid inside Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital, where patients including premature babies have died over the course of the past days after incubators and other life-saving equipment lost power. “Hospitals are not battlegrounds,” UN relief chief Martin...
In a statement, the Israeli military denied that it had targeted Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which they claim is above a Hamas command post, but have acknowledged that fighting is happening “around” the facility. UN relief and humanitarian affairs chief, Martin Griffiths, tweeted that in light of “horrific reports...
“Water is scarce and fear is pervasive” in Gaza, Mr. Türk told journalists in Amman, recounting a conversation he had minutes earlier with a colleague in Gaza who had to flee Israeli bombardments with his family. “His children, aged nine and seven, are asking him questions he does not know...
Nepal has lost almost a third of its ice volume in 30 years, with glaciers melting 65 per cent faster in the last decade than in the previous one. “The rooftops of the world are caving in,” the UN chief said, warning that the “disappearance of glaciers altogether” looms even...
Peace remains elusive despite compromises by the Yemeni government and welcome support from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Oman, as well as the UN, to end years of strife in the country, President Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi told the high-level debate at the UN General Assembly. “We hope that the...