Ukraine

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that shelling yesterday damaged a power line near a main lift pumping station of the South Donbas Waterway in eastern Ukraine.  It interrupted safe water supply for 1.1 million people in 50 nearby settlements on both sides of the “contact line”.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya today strongly encouraged the House of Representatives to consider the vote of confidence in the cabinet to be proposed by the Prime Minister-designate.  The Mission also said it is not in a position to comment on allegations of bribery during the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum.

The General Assembly decided today to convene a high-level meeting from 8 to 10 June to take stock of global efforts to end the HIV/AIDS crisis by 2030, adopting a draft resolution to that effect after a lengthy debate on the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

The situation in eastern Ukraine will remain fragile until a way is found to calm rising tensions, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs warned during a Security Council videoconference briefing today.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has asked for $1.5 billion to fund its education, health, social services, infrastructure and other essential services, as well as emergency appeals and priority projects for 2021.

The World Food Programme, with support from the United Kingdom, is accelerating global cooperation on the use of humanitarian drones.  While calling for their ethical and responsible use, officials say drones can be a game-changer for fast, accurate, low-cost disaster assessment and response.

The United Nations is increasingly concerned about the impact of Syria’s economic downturn.  Food prices there have more than tripled in the past year, a record 9.3 million people are food insecure, and without future support, over 2 million more risk being pushed further into hunger, according to the World Food Programme.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has put two reports online, one detailing violations in eastern Ukraine and Crimea, and the other warning that accountability for violations committed in the context of demonstrations remains elusive, despite promising steps by the Government of Iraq.

In Zimbabwe, where 60 per cent of the population is projected to be food insecure by the end of 2020, the World Food Programme appealed for $250 million to prevent a human catastrophe.  A nationwide COVID-19 lockdown has led to joblessness in urban areas, growing hunger in rural areas and hyperinflation that has made basic goods unaffordable.

Exceptional and prolonged heat in Siberia has fuelled devastating Arctic fires, the World Meteorological Organization said today, noting that temperatures in Siberia again topped 30°C this week.  The heat will influence weather and climate in lower latitudes, where hundreds of millions of people live, it warned.