Iran

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

In the Central African Republic, where, following a violent attack two weeks ago that caused the death of 23 civilians in the Lim-Pendé prefecture, United Nations peacekeepers are continuing to provide protection to the population and helping to secure the area to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The international community must exhaust “all available diplomatic avenues” to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran’s nuclear programme, the United Nations’ top political and peacebuilding official told the Security Council today, even as participants to that Plan disagreed on how to achieve this.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President José Javier De la Gasca LopezDomínguez (Ecuador):

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on 28 August signed an agreement with health authorities to provide midwifery and nursing skill-based education to Afghan women and girls who are currently in Iran.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Linda Thomas-Greenfield (United States):

Stalled efforts to restore implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action have been complicated further by allegations that Iran transferred unmanned aerial vehicles to the Russian Federation for use in Ukraine, speakers told the Security Council today, with members — divided from the start — voting on whether to allow Ukraine to participate in the debate in the first place.

A new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization says that more than one in two preschool-aged children – approximately 372 million children, three quarters who live in South and East Asia, the Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa - suffer from the lack of at least one of three micronutrients; iron, vitamin A or zinc.

The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria strongly condemned the “shocking” ambush and killings of more than 30 civilians — fisherman, farmers and displaced persons — in Borno state, a reminder of the toll of more than 13 years of conflict in the region.

According to a new report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP), one in three schools in the world still lack access to drinking water and basic sanitation facilities.