Humanitarian issues

The United Nations Environment Programme today released a report saying sand, the world’s second most exploited resource, must be recognized as a strategic resource and its extraction from rivers and marine ecosystems and its use must rethought, as they can cause erosion and threaten livelihoods.  

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) today strongly condemned the widespread sexual violence, as well as killings of civilians, and attacks on aid workers in Leer County.  UNMISS has carried out 10 verification missions and says that 72 civilians were killed, and 64 cases of sexual violence have been recorded.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and United Nations Environment Programme expressed grave concern today over the arrest, detention and sentencing of four environmental human rights defenders in Viet Nam on charges of tax evasion and urged Vietnamese authorities to ensure environmental advocates can operate freely.

Over 1 million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have received one or more doses of the world’s first malaria vaccine thanks to a pilot programme coordinated by the World Health Organization.  The agency estimates that, if widely deployed, the vaccine could save the lives of an additional 40,000 to 80,000 children annually.

United Nations staff in South Africa say they are working closely with national and local authorities to support regions impacted by last week’s devastating floods, including providing dignity packs, blankets, food and other necessities in Kwazulu-Natal and Eastern Cape Provinces, and working to restore access to services and Internet connectivity.

The number of hungry people in the Horn of Africa could soar from 14 million to 20 million by the end of 2022 without desperately needed rains and urgent humanitarian funding, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned today.  Somalia faces famine, half a million Kenyans are a step away from catastrophic hunger, and Ethiopia is already well above emergency thresholds.

As the humanitarian situation in Ukraine continues to deteriorate — at an alarming scale and speed of displacement not seen since the Second World War — briefers and delegates in the Security Council today called for the Russian Federation to uphold their international-law obligations, cease attacks on civilians and end the war.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the press on the Easter appeal for Ukraine today:

The Houthis movement — also known as Ansar Allah — have signed an action plan with the United Nations to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict, the killing and maiming of boys and girls, attacks on schools and hospitals and other grave violations.  Virginia Gamba, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, signed the action plan as a witness in New York.

The World Food Programme (WFP) says its operational costs for West Africa are expected to expand by $136 million as a result of rising fuel and food prices.  Some 43 million people are expected to face acute food insecurity by June.  Before the Ukraine conflict WFP had already forced to cut rations in Nigeria, Central African Republic, Chad, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali and Niger.