More than 54,000 Iraqis have been internally displaced, as military operations to retake Mosul from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) continue. The World Food Programme have provided food assistance to more than 100,000 people fleeing and are working to reach those trapped in Mosul and surrounding areas.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, has called for immediate action to fulfil the rights of victims and survivors of atrocities in Iraq as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) appears to continue killings based on decisions of its self-appointed ‘courts’.
In Geneva, Jan Egeland, Special Adviser on Syria told the press that reports from east Aleppo were saying that the last food rations were being distributed, with nothing more to distribute next week. There was now a four-part United Nations initiative aimed at delivering food and other urgent supplies to that city.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq briefed the Security Council on the progress of Iraq’s forces in the battle to liberate Mosul, underlining the importance of civilian protection, preventing revenge attacks and dealing fairly with accountability issues of captured Da’esh fighters.
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) reports that an explosion in Goma this morning killed a girl and wounded 32 peacekeepers from India. MONUSCO dispatched a Quick Reaction Force at the scene and all the injured are receiving medical treatment in Goma.
The Secretary-General in Mont Pèlerin, Switzerland, this morning, opened a week of intensive negotiations between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders aimed at reaching a settlement this year to their long-standing conflict. He commended their vision and said the prospect of a solution is within their reach.
The Human Rights Office says it has received reports that Da’esh has continued to forcibly transfer civilians in Iraq. It was told that trucks full of abducted civilians were taken from Hamam al-Alil to Tal Afar city. Credible reports also say 180 people were killed in Kokjali town, in eastern Mosul, on Wednesday.
A new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) finds that the world must urgently curb emissions by 25 per cent from the predicted 2030 levels, and that even with the Paris Agreement, the world is still headed for a temperature rise of between 2.9 to 3.4 degrees centigrade this century.
In marking the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, the Secretary-General said that attacks on journalists violate the human rights of individuals and undermines freedoms of information and expression across societies. He notes that impunity, which makes this terrible situation worse, is rampant.
The humanitarian community repeats its call for the strict adherence to international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians in Iraq. The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs said he was deeply concerned for the safety of civilians in Mosul as fighting reaches the city.