Azerbaijan

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

The Nobel Committee has awarded this year’s Peace Prize to the United Nation World Food Programme (WFP).  The Secretary-General congratulates David Beasley, WFP’s Executive Director, as well as the agency’s entire staff.  The Programme is on the frontlines of food insecurity, serving the most vulnerable of the world.

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 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:

Without aid, more than 5 million people in Somalia could face acute food insecurity by the end of 2020 due to the combined effects of flooding, the desert locust infestation, and the COVID-19 pandemic, among other challenges, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

A planetary emergency is upon us, driven by the dual threats of the climate crisis and biodiversity collapse, the Secretary-General said in a video message today, to leaders who took part in the virtual Pledge for Nature.  He added that we have failed to meet any of the biodiversity targets set in Japan 10 years ago.

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

A UNICEF research brief published today warns that at least 40 million children around the world have missed out on early childhood education in their critical pre-school year as COVID-19 shuttered childcare and early education facilities.  Lockdowns also left parents struggling to balance childcare and paid employment.

Officials at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) say locust swarms linked to climate change remain a serious threat to food security in parts of East Africa, India and Pakistan.  United Nations agencies are helping affected areas by providing data on weather, climate and the desert locust life cycle.