The United Nations remains concerned about reports of continued tensions in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. All efforts must be made to ensure full respect for the ceasefire and full implementation of agreed commitments.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees today said the number of Nicaraguan refugees and asylum seekers in Costa Rica has doubled in the last eight months, reaching more than 150,000 people. This represents 3 per cent of Costa Rica’s total population of 5 million.
In Tajikistan, the United Nations is mobilizing $40 million to help authorities address the needs of over 14,000 refugees and asylum seekers, nearly all of them from Afghanistan. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is coordinating the effort, with over 30 humanitarian and development partners.
On the heels of International Water Day, which was yesterday, humanitarian staff in the Horn of Africa say millions of people face severe water shortages and are going hungry due to the devastating drought in that region, which risks becoming one of the Horn’s worst climate-induced emergencies in the last 40 years.
Stephanie Williams, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Libya, welcomed in Tunis today members of the High Council of State, who will participate in determining the constitutional basis for national elections. It is extremely important to respect the will of 2.8 million registered Libyan voters, she said.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today released a report that says that groundwater, which accounts for 99 per cent of all liquid freshwater on Earth, is being undervalued, mismanaged and even abused.
United Nations staff in Myanmar report that civilians continue to suffer amid a worsening humanitarian crisis and continued fighting. Nearly 890,000 people are displaced across the country, humanitarian needs are rising and aid workers face limited access, which is hampering the planned scale-up of assistance for 2022.
A total of 36 donors at yesterday’s pledging event for Yemen pledged nearly $1.3 billion, only 30 per cent of the roughly $4.3 billion required for an efficient and effective response to the humanitarian crisis. Unprecedented funding shortages are forcing reductions and closures of life-saving aid.
Four peacekeepers were injured near Tessalit yesterday, following an attack on their convoy using an improvised explosive device, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) reports. They were evacuated to Bamako, the capital, for medical treatment.
Humanitarian affairs officials in Somalia say an estimated 4.5 million people — including 671,000 who are internally displaced — are affected by the intensifying drought emergency. Health authorities have reported a measles outbreak, and at least nine related deaths in Jubaland state.