Humanitarian issues

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that the voluntary repatriation of registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan has been suspended and it has closed several repatriation centres until further notice due to the Government’s precautionary steps to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

In north-east Nigeria, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that 7.9 million people — more than 1 out of every 2 people in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States — need aid in 2020.  With an upsurge in attacks in the area over the past year, aid agencies have been forced to scale down their work.

The border area of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger has become the epicentre of a fast-growing crisis marked by unprecedented levels of armed violence, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says.  Armed assailants have forced more than 3,600 schools and 241 health centres in those countries to close.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees today said it is deeply saddened by reports of the deaths of at least 20 people during a stampede for food and cash in Niger’s Diffa region on Sunday.  The number of victims could rise as more information is received.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, observed on 13 October:

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

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Humanitarian Day, observed today:

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at a wreath-laying ceremony on World Humanitarian Day, in New York today:

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

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to the International Donors Conference in Beira, Mozambique, today: