Noon Briefings

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that volcanic activity on Vanuatu’s Ambae Island, which has a population of more than 10,000 people, has intensified in the last few weeks.  The Vanuatu Council of Ministers has called for the immediate compulsory evacuation of Ambae residents to the neighbouring island of Maewo.

The Food and Agriculture Organization appealed today for $120 million to reach 3.6 million people urgently requiring humanitarian and agricultural aid.  A new FAO report identifies the world’s most underfunded crises, including Afghanistan, Sudan and Syria — all hit by drought — monsoon‑affected Bangladesh, the Central African Republic, as well as Iraq, Myanmar and the Sahel.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern over continuing arrests and apparently arbitrary detentions of human rights defenders and activists in Saudi Arabia.  Since 15 May, at least 15 Government critics have been detained, their whereabouts unknown, in some cases, amid a serious lack of transparency.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has found that children make up nearly 30 per cent of all identified victims of human trafficking.  In regions such as sub‑Saharan Africa and Central America and the Caribbean, the proportion is more than 60 per cent.

Recovery and response efforts are continuing in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic following the 23 July dam collapse, according to the humanitarian community.  The United Nations is working closely with the Government to provide any support requested.

The United Nations country team in El Salvador will meet tomorrow to develop a plan of action following the Government’s declaration of a red alert emergency due to the severe drought affecting some 77,000 farmers growing corn, one of the country’s main staple foods.  Eastern El Salvador has reported 33 consecutive days without rain, and record temperatures reaching 41°C.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed deep alarm today at persistent reports of human rights violations and abuses in Cameroon’s English‑speaking north‑west and south‑west regions, as well as in the extreme north.  He said it is regrettable that the Government failed to grant the Human Rights Office access to the two regions despite repeated requests.

At the Global Disability Summit in London, the Deputy Secretary-General said that Governments’ commitments often does not translate into major improvements for the 1.5 billion persons with disabilities across the world, adding that the United Nations has launched a review of its approach, institutionally and operationally, to disabilities.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees condemned the attack on its compound in South Sudan's north-western town of Bunj, in which two United Nations staff were injured when demonstrators forcefully entered the premises and looted offices and residences.  Peacekeepers were immediately deployed to re-establish order.

Increasing violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to negatively affect the humanitarian situation there, forcing people to flee their homes, United Nations humanitarian affairs staff say.  Violence between Hema herders and Lendu farmers in Ituri has displaced some 420,000 people in 2018.