Humanitarian issues

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has released $8 million from the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund to help refugees and returnees from Sudan who are seeking shelter in South Sudan. The funds will help provide food, water, shelter and medical care to those affected by the ongoing violence.

Over 200,000 people have fled the crisis in Sudan to seek refuge in Chad. United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths has allocated $6 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to host communities in eastern Chad who need food and livelihood support.

Describing a worsening humanitarian and security situation in Syria, amid an uptick in violence in the north-west of the country and with 90 per cent of Syrians living below the poverty line, senior United Nations officials called for the Humanitarian Response Plan to be fully funded and the cross-border aid mechanism to be renewed for another 12 months, as they briefed the Security Council today.

Prior to adopting two draft texts by consensus, the General Assembly voted on a contentious resolution that created a new mechanism to respond to the missing persons crisis in Syria, with some speakers arguing it could contribute to national reconciliation and sustainable peace and others stressing that, not only was Damascus not consulted, but the mechanism interferes with Syria’s internal affairs.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that, halfway into 2023, it has only received 20 per cent of the $54.8 billion needed to help the one in 22 people globally that require assistance. Further, unequal funding across emergencies has challenged the Office’s ability to respond to surging needs.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message at the Opening of the Economic and Social Council Humanitarian Affairs Segment, in Geneva today:

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the Seventh Annual Brussels Conference “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region”, today:

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ flagship annual report, Global Trends in Forced Displacement, noted that by the end of 2022, the number of people displaced by war, persecution, violence and human rights abuses stood at a record 108 million people, up 19.1 million people from 2021, the biggest increase ever.

The Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory warned of the imminent risk of forced eviction in the old city of Jerusalem. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at least 970 Palestinians, including 424 children, are at risk of forced eviction in East Jerusalem.

In Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, along with five United Nations agencies and some non-governmental organizations, were in Kherson today to assess the impact of the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam and coordinate the humanitarian response with local organizations and authorities.