The United Nations Support Mission in Libya today strongly encouraged the House of Representatives to consider the vote of confidence in the cabinet to be proposed by the Prime Minister-designate. The Mission also said it is not in a position to comment on allegations of bribery during the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum.
In progress at UNHQ
Ethiopia
The United Nations team, led by Resident Coordinator Stefan Priesner, is helping authorities in Malaysia launch a national COVID-19 vaccination programme. More than 500,000 people have registered to receive the vaccine, which aims to reach 80 per cent of the population, 24 million people, by March 2022.
Cabo Verde is among the first African countries to receive the first allocation of COVID-19 vaccines under the COVAX facility, the United Nations team there reports. In the next few weeks, thanks to additional World Bank funding of $5 million, Cabo Verde will be able to buy vaccines for almost 35 per cent of the population.
The period following the start of Afghanistan’s peace negotiations in September 2020 has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of human rights defenders and media professionals killed in the country, a new report issued today by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) says.
Humanitarian officials are seriously concerned about the rapidly deteriorating food security situation in southern and eastern Madagascar, where more than 1.3 million people face severe hunger. The third drought in a row is compounding the effects of COVID-19 and the extremely limited access to essential services.
The International Organization for Migration is calling today for urgent action by the European Union and its member States to end pushbacks, collective expulsions and the use of violence against migrants and refugees at the regional bloc’s external land and maritime borders.
The United Nations team in Indonesia is supporting efforts to vaccinate 80 per cent of the population, over 216 million people, against COVID-19. Work has begun to bring the country into the COVAX facility, and the World Health Organization helped finalize a vaccine introduction road map and guidelines.
The United Nations Humanitarian Response Plan for Niger, launched on 5 February, seeks $523.2 million in 2021 to assist 2.1 million people. The combined effects of conflict, chronic food insecurity and health emergencies, including COVID-19, have severely impacted the economy, as well as access to basic services, such as health and education.
The World Food Programme, with support from the United Kingdom, is accelerating global cooperation on the use of humanitarian drones. While calling for their ethical and responsible use, officials say drones can be a game-changer for fast, accurate, low-cost disaster assessment and response.
A report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan finds increasing reports of torture in that country’s detention facilities. Almost a third of those detained for security or terrorism-related offences reported torture or other ill-treatment.