Afghanistan

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs today said that they remain deeply concerned about the ongoing hostilities along the line of contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, calling on all sides to immediately end the fighting and respect international human rights and humanitarian law.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

We are devastated by the sudden passing of our long-time friend and colleague Reynaldo Naval of the Media Documents Centre.  Rey proudly served the United Nations for 39 years, and we always appreciated his kindness, sunny disposition, dedication and pride in belonging to the Organization.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Abdou Abarry (Niger):

The Security Council today decided to extend the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for another year, welcoming newly launched intra-Afghan negotiations and encouraging the parties to work towards a permanent, comprehensive ceasefire and an inclusive political settlement.

In Sudan, nearly 720,000 people have been affected by floods, with more than 100 deaths reported, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.  While the United Nations and its partners have reached 200,000 with health, food and other assistance, the $1.6 billion Humanitarian Response Plan is less than half funded.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the start of intra-Afghan negotiations, in Doha today:

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are helping the Government of Cambodia with distance learning programmes for the more than 3 million students who are out of school due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A survey by the United Nations Children’s Fund found that 535,500 children in Burkina Faso under five years old are acutely malnourished, including 156,000 who suffer from severe acute malnutrition and are at imminent risk of death.  Community health workers have been mobilized to screen and treat children in the most remote areas.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres: