In an emergency Security Council meeting on Afghanistan following the Taliban’s seizure of the capital city, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today sent a firm message that the world body will not abandon the people of the war-torn country, and its personnel will stay and continue to deliver critical services.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President T.S. Tirumurti (India):
United Nations personnel in Lebanon are responding to a fuel tank explosion in the northern district of Akkar, which killed 28 people and injured over 80 others on 15 August. The incident comes as the country grapples with a deepening crisis and electricity shortages have forced hospitals to operate at reduced capacity.
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council meeting on Afghanistan today:
Heavy rains and flooding have claimed dozens of lives in Chad and Niger, impacting over 100,000 people in recent weeks. The United Nations is supporting Governments in providing health care, food, shelter, water, hygiene and sanitation, and warns that the Sahel region’s weather variability has been worsened by climate change.
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) reports that it has facilitated discussions between the Hema and Bira communities in Irumu territory in Ituri. As a result, the rival groups signed a protocol of non-aggression and cessation of violence.
Health authorities in Guinea, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), have confirmed the country’s first case of Marburg virus. The United Nations team on the ground is bolstering urgent infection prevention and control measures, such as contact tracing, while strengthening treatment capacity and risk communication.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) regained access to two refugee camps previously cut off by clashes in Ethiopia’s Tigray Province. It is calling for urgent support amid rising displacement, as well as safe passage to transfer refugees to a safer site, 135 kilometres away.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said today that, despite numerous challenges, it has delivered food to more than a million people in the north-western and parts of southern Tigray in June and July. More than 175 trucks arrived in Tigray during the first week of August, and an additional 90 are expected in the coming days.
Humanitarian officials warn that, without sustained funding, millions of people in in north-eastern Nigeria’s Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states will struggle to feed themselves during the lean season due to conflict, COVID-19, high food prices and the effects of climate change.
