Speakers from Member States that host, or have hosted, United Nations peacekeeping missions voiced their suggestions for making the Organization’s flagship enterprise — marking its seventy-fifth anniversary this year — more effective in the face of increasingly complex challenges, as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) wound up a three-day general debate on peacekeeping operations in all their aspects.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that, on 31 October, 59 trucks carrying water, food and medicines entered through the Rafah crossing with Egypt. This is the largest convoy since delivery of aid resumed on 21 October, bringing the total number of trucks up to 217 since that date.
In Ukraine, an Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs official, briefing the Security Council today, said that more than 9,900 civilians have been killed since the start of the invasion and damage to infrastructure continues to impact civilians’ access to electricity, heating, water and telecommunications.
In Haiti, the World Food Programme (WFP) reports that since mid-August, violence in Port-au-Prince has forced about 40,000 people to flee from their homes. These recent movements bring the total number of displaced people across the country to 200,000.
The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today began its general debate on United Nations peacekeeping operations, which mark their seventy-fifth anniversary this year, with senior UN officials and delegates alike calling for greater safety and security for blue helmets and a greater role for women in the 12 missions deployed worldwide.
The Government of the Central African Republic must engage in inclusive dialogue with opposition parties and armed groups to build trust among stakeholders ahead of local elections in October 2024, the United Nations top official there told the Security Council today, as she highlighted progress in the country’s peace process.
In Libya, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that, five weeks after Storm Daniel brought catastrophic flooding to the country’s north-east, more than 43,000 people are still displaced.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) warned today that at least 10,000 children in Sudan under the age of five may die by the end of this year due to increased food insecurity and disruptions to essential services since conflict broke out in the country.
The Security Council today adopted a presidential statement on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, commending the stabilizing actions of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and reiterating its call on all parties to continue their efforts to ensure full cooperation with it.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has relocated its main operations and staff to southern Gaza to continue aid operations. Since last night, the UN Secretary-General has been in constant contact with Israeli authorities urging them to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.
