Europe

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are deeply saddened over the tragic capsizing of a boat off the coast of Malaysia and Thailand carrying up to 70 people from Myanmar, including Rohingya. Some 13 people were brought ashore by Malaysian authorities; at least 21 people died.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Peter N. Due of Denmark as his new Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

The Food and Agriculture Organization today released a report showing that deforestation has slowed in all of the world’s regions in the last decade. More than half of forests are now covered by long-term management plans, and one fifth are within legally established protected areas.

Warning of political deadlock and growing tensions, the top United Nations official in Kosovo stressed need for Belgrade and Pristina to “avoid measures that might erode trust”, as he briefed the Security Council via video link on the Secretary-General’s latest report on developments in the area.

The World Food Programme (WFP) today reported that millions in Somalia are at risk of worsening hunger and malnutrition as critical funding shortfalls have forced the agency to reduce the number of people it supports by over two thirds to just 350,000 in November, down from 1.1 million in August.

Sexual violence in armed conflict rose 25 per cent over the past year, with the highest number of cases recorded in the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Somalia and South Sudan, according to the Secretary-General’s annual Report on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence published today.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns the worsening cholera outbreak – which has caused nearly 950 deaths since January – urgently demands a scaled up response. The Central Emergency Response Fund on Thursday allocated an additional $750,000.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks, delivered by Chef de Cabinet Courtenay Rattray, to the General Assembly on the observance of the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica, in New York today:

In Gaza, United Nations humanitarian colleagues warn that the already catastrophic conditions on the ground are deteriorating even further. The UN continues to receive reports of tents, schools, homes and medical facilities coming under attack, with scores of people killed or injured every single day.