UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson James Elder insisted that the Israeli proposal to create a handful of aid hubs exclusively in the south of the Strip would create an “impossible choice between displacement and death”. The plan “contravenes basic humanitarian principles” and appears designed to “reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic”, he […]
“I hate earthquakes. Earthquakes took my mother and my aunt away,” five-year-old Khin Yadanar told the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), after both her mother and aunt were killed when a brick wall collapsed on them. Around 6.5 million children were already in need of humanitarian assistance before the earthquake, which compounded existing vulnerabilities resulting from the […]
Introduced by the United States and supported by 11 other Council members, the resolution extended the mandate of UNMISS until 30 April next year. This action follows a short nine-day “technical rollover” approved by the Council on 30 April to allow more time for negotiations. Through the text – adopted on Thursday – the Security […]
His Holiness Pope Leo XIV – born Robert Francis Prevost – is the first person from the United States to lead the Catholic Church, although he also holds Peruvian citizenship after working in the Latin American country for many years. He was selected by cardinals voting at the Vatican and later greeted thousands gathered in […]
The landmark decision, announced on Thursday, also considered the harm caused to succeeding generations. “Forced displacement is permanent in nature until the victims benefit from a safe and dignified return to their place of habitual residence or are voluntarily resettled elsewhere,” said Committee member Hélène Tigroudja. Conflict, displacement and violations The Committee found that the […]
The Quartet is calling on the country’s leaders to end hostilities and return to dialogue to fully implement the 2018 peace agreement known as the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS). South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, gained independence in 2011 but soon descended into a […]
According to the agency, heavily armed personnel entered the schools in Shu’fat refugee camp on Thursday while classes were in session, forcing more than 550 Palestinian girls and boys – some as young as six – out of their classrooms. One UNRWA staff member was detained, and all of the agency-run schools in East Jerusalem […]
The UN chief warned that any further escalation of the conflict could result in massive civilian casualties and worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian situation across the country. “The expansion of the conflict into an area that has served as a place of refuge for a large number of displaced people is alarming,” he said in […]
Briefing ambassadors in the Security Council on Wednesday, Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari described a troubling pattern of weapons testing and growing nuclear ambition from DPRK – more commonly known as North Korea. This includes the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in October 2024 and an intermediate-range hypersonic missile last January. Meanwhile, the International […]
The escalation is occurring as war grinds on between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who appear to be targeting airports in each other’s areas of control. “Very concerned by ongoing drone strikes on Port Sudan,” UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher tweeted on Wednesday. “International humanitarian law must […]
Their paintings and drawings range from a portrait of an esteemed Palestinian poet and family members killed in conflict, to a sky blackened by thick smoke – and a child crying in front of his mother’s corpse. The poignant images are currently on display at UNRWA’s Remal School in Gaza City, which has been transformed […]
The UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, maintained that Israeli forces hit the school in Al Bureij, Middle Gaza, at around 6pm on Tuesday and again at 10.20pm. “The school sustained severe damage and a fire broke out in the shelter, making it difficult to evacuate the casualties. Residents had to open a hole in […]
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that trucks packed with cereals, beans and cooking oil reached the city of Beni in North Kivu province from neighbouring Uganda, amid clashes between Rwanda-backed M23 rebel fighters and Congolese forces. Aid for 140,000 WFP said that it intends to use the thousands of tonnes of relief supplies […]
In a note to correspondents issued by his spokesperson on Tuesday, Secretary-General António Guterres called for military restraint from both countries. “The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan,” the note said. On Monday, the Secretary-General had warned that the tensions between the two South Asian neighbours had reached “their highest in […]
But despite their critical role, UN support for midwifery is under serious threat due to severe funding cuts. Each year, three-quarters of all maternal deaths occur in just 25 countries, the majority of them located in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, according to the UN reproductive health agency, UNFPA. Midwives are often the first and […]
High Representative Christian Schmidt briefed on latest developments surrounding implementation of the 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which ended more than three years of bloodshed and genocide following the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. The accord, also known as the Dayton Peace Agreement, established a new constitution and created two […]
“It appears to be a deliberate attempt to weaponize the aid and we have warned against that for a very long time. Aid should be provided based on humanitarian need to whomever needs it,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for UN aid coordination office, OCHA. Speaking in Geneva, Mr. Laerke referred to a verbal brief delivered […]
“Every time this happens, people lose access to health services – and sometimes, to hope,” said Dr Humphrey Karamagi, the UN World Health Organization (WHO)’s Representative in South Sudan. “Health is the last safety net. If it fails, everything else will also fall.” The apparent airstrike on the hospital run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) […]
Nearly 20,000 people – mainly traumatized women and children – have reached Chad in the past two weeks, according to the UN refugee agency, UNCHR. “Most arrived in Chad with nothing – no food, money or identification,” said Magatte Guisse, UNHCR Representative in Chad. “Several wounded individuals, including children and elderly women, reportedly fell from vehicles […]
For several decades, human development indicators showed a steady, upward curve and UN researchers predicted that by 2030, a high level of development would be enjoyed by the global population. Those hopes have been dashed in recent years following a period of exceptional crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic – and progress has stalled across […]