Albania

The new Permanent Representative of Albania to the United Nations, Suela Janina, presented her credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

As Ramadan begins, the soaring cost of food staples in import-dependent Middle Eastern and North African countries is creating ever greater challenges for millions of families already struggling to keep hunger at bay, the World Food Programme said, warning that millions will struggle to buy even basic foods.

The new Permanent Representative of Albania to the United Nations, Ferit Hoxha, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

Unrelenting drought in southern Madagascar is forcing hundreds of thousands of people to the brink of famine, the World Food Programme (WFP) reports.  At least 1.35 million people need emergency food and nutrition assistance.  Acute malnutrition in children under 5 has almost doubled over the last four months.

Following is UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ message on the sixty-fifth anniversary of Albania’s membership in the United Nations, today:

On 4 September, UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Fiona McCluney of the United Kingdom as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Albania, with the host Government’s approval.

Millions of refugees across Eastern Africa who rely on the World Food Programme (WFP) to survive will face serious hunger and malnutrition, the agency warned today, citing reduced donor funding due to the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  WFP needs $323 million to assist refugees over the next six months.

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

The Special Representative for Iraq told the Security Council that hundreds of thousands of Iraqis - from all walks of life – have taken to the streets out of love for their homeland, expressing frustration for the lack of progress and calling for the country to reach its full potential for the benefit of all Iraqis.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees welcomed today Somalia’s ratification of the Kampala Convention to protect internally displaced people in Africa as a “landmark achievement for the country and the African continent”.  Somalia became the thirtieth African Union member State to ratify it since 2009.