Bangladesh

The number of migrant deaths and disappearances over the past three years is likely to be much higher than the 23,000 that the International Organization for Migration has reported globally since 2014, since many deaths are not recorded, according to a report released by the agency today.

Mark Lowcock, the new head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), will travel to Niger and Nigeria from 9 to 12 September to raise the profile of the Lake Chad Basin crisis impacting some 17 million people.  He will seek additional humanitarian support to avert the risk of famine.

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

The World Food Programme (WFP) is delivering emergency supplies to some 200,000 people in northwest Bangladesh after massive floods inundated more than half the country.  Many survivors have lost everything.  Nearly 7 million people have been affected by the floods; more than 580,000 hectares of crop land has been destroyed.

The Secretary-General welcomed the adoption today of General Assembly resolution A/71/L66, which endorsed his proposal for a new United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism.  He stressed that combatting terrorism and preventing violent extremism was one of the Organization’s highest priorities in its work towards international peace and security.

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

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is appealing for urgent safe passage and admission for 41 Syrian refugees stranded in dire circumstances on the remote Algerian-Moroccan border since 17 April.  Both Algeria and Morocco consider the group not to be in their respective territory.