The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is deeply concerned by news of a boat carrying migrants adrift off the Canary Islands for almost a month before it was found. Spanish authorities recovered 44 survivors. More than 80 people are believed to have died or gone missing. Monitoring and rescue capacity along the West Africa Atlantic route remain limited.
In Ukraine, nearly 60 civilians were killed and 240 injured in attacks over the weekend, according to authorities. Kyiv and its surrounding region, were the hardest hit, with drone strike on an ammunition depot triggering an explosion that killed 38 people, including residents of an elder care facility.
In Nepal, over 500 people have been confirmed dead due to mass flooding, hundreds remain missing and over 3,700 have so far been rescued. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher said the UN and its aid partners are moving at speed, helping national authorities to deliver urgent, life-saving support.
In Djibouti, drier-than-normal, El Niño-driven conditions have left 256,000 people, a quarter of the population, acutely food insecure through December. Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has allocated $2 million from the Central Emergency Response to support over 53,000 of the most vulnerable people.
Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on the occasion of the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, observed on 9 September:
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
2025 saw the highest number of armed conflicts since the Second World War and some of the highest levels of acute hunger on record, the UN Secretary-General told the Security Council today. It was also the first time this century that two famines were confirmed simultaneously, in Sudan and in Gaza - a shameful milestone.
Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on the International Day for People of African Descent, observed on 31 August:
In Venezuela, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is supporting 80 international and local organizations, as well as the authorities, in recovery efforts following recent earthquakes and floods. More than 300,000 people have received food, health services, clean water and hygiene support.
Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan has systematically dismantled the rights of women — half its population — making it a global outlier with no parallel in the modern world, UN-Women reports. Half of Afghan women interviewed leave home only once or twice a month due to severe restrictions.
