Humanitarian issues

The Head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) met Thursday at the UNIFIL base in Ibl el-Saqi with the mayors and religious authorities of south-eastern towns to discuss local needs and the UN’s humanitarian support to impacted communities, including to restore stability along the Blue Line.

Following the official installation of the Transitional Presidential Council in Port-au-Prince today, the Secretary-General reiterated his call for the swift deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti to assist the Haitian National Police in addressing the dire security situation in the country.

The Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza urged the Security Council today to scale up assistance to meet the immense needs of the civilian population in Gaza, also warning that an Israeli military operation in Rafah would compound the existing humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugeess (UNHCR) today launched its Climate Resilience Fund, seeking to raise $100 million by 2025 to boost the protection of refugees and displaced communities who are most threatened by climate change.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and its Neighbours, in Paris today:

In Zimbabwe, humanitarian officials say they are concerned over the impact of the drought brought about by El Niño, which last week prompted the country to declare a state of emergency. Authorities in Zimbabwe say that more than 2.7 million people there are facing food insecurity as a result.

In Madagascar, the United Nations and its partners are supporting the Government’s response to Tropical Cyclone Gamane. According to the Government, the tropical cyclone — which hit the country on 3 April — killed 19 people, injured 3 others and left some 22,000 people displaced.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Kamal Kishore of India as Assistant Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).

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

In Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that new strikes across the country over the weekend left hundreds of thousands of people in Kharkiv, Odesa and Kryvyi Rih without electricity and heat.