The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today that the food security situation remains dire in the Sahel. It appealed to the international community to increase funding for aid to the most vulnerable farmers and herders. The agency said about 11 million people in the Sahel are still severely food insecure.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The Secretary-General today held a telephone call with Dr. Åke Sellström, head of the United Nations mission to investigate allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria, who briefed him on the next stages of the investigation process. All preparations for classifying the samples are progressing well, and transfer of the samples to laboratories will begin tomorrow.
The Secretary-General met today with Angela Kane, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, who briefed him on the current status of the investigation into the use of chemical weapons in Syria, reporting that the mission will be able to transmit its conclusions to the Secretary-General when it receives the results of the laboratory analysis of its samples.
The Secretary-General cut short his visit to Europe to return to New York last night with the aim of reaching out to Member States and he started that today, with the permanent members of the Security Council. He gave an overview of the work that has been done by the chemical weapons inspection team, which arrived in Damascus on 18 August.
The Secretary-General said today that the chemical weapons investigation team in Syria will continue its activities in the country until Friday and will leave Syria by Saturday morning. He expects to be briefed by the team after they come out of Syria. For that reason, he would cut short his visit to Austria, and is on his way back to New York.
Speaking about Syria today, the Secretary-General said the use of chemical weapons by anyone, for any reasons, under any circumstances, would be an atrocious violation of international law. It is essential to establish the facts and a UN investigation team is now on the ground to do just that. It needs time to do its job.
The UN chemical weapons team was to continue its investigation at a different site today, but following yesterday's attack on the convoy, an assessment determined that the visit should be postponed by one day in order to improve preparedness and safety. Confirmation of access is expected later today.
A vehicle of the chemical weapons investigation team in Syria was deliberately shot at by unidentified snipers this morning. The team later returned to work in the area and visited two hospitals, where they interviewed witnesses, survivors and doctors, and collected some samples.
With the Syrian crisis into its third year, the number of Syrian children forced to flee their country as refugees has now reached 1 million, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN refugee agency announced today. They said that children make up half of all refugees from the conflict. UNICEF estimates that more than 2 million have been internally displaced within Syria.
The Secretary-General remains deeply troubled by the reports of the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria and says those incidents should be investigated without delay. He has been in touch with world leaders on the matter and he calls for the United Nations mission in Damascus to be granted permission and access to investigate.