Iraq

In Syria, a United Nations‑Syrian Arab Red Crescent‑International Committee of the Red Cross inter‑agency convoy entered Douma, in besieged eastern Ghouta, for the first time since 15 November 2017.  Teams delivered food for 27,500 people, along with health and nutrition supplies, while fighting and air strikes continued.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees warned today that a extraordinary humanitarian disaster  is about to hit south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, as the Province of Tanganyika plunges further into violence, triggering spiralling displacement and human rights abuses.

Held up as a shining example of positive developments in the region, Iraq had succeeded in overcoming many obstacles, yet challenges remained to establish lasting stability, the Special Representative of the Secretary‑General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) told the Security Council today.

Following is UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ statement, as prepared for delivery, to the Conference on Reconstruction in Iraq, in Kuwait City today:

Aid agencies launched the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan for Mali, seeking $263 million to provide humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people.  Some 4.1 million people in the country require aid in 2018, versus 3.8 million in 2017.  More than 1 in 5 Malians are facing food insecurity this year.

Civilian returns to Iraq’s newly accessible areas continue to increase since the conclusion of major counter‑Daesh military operations late last year; 3.2 million previously displaced people have now returned home, surpassing the total number of displaced in the country for the first time since the crisis began four years ago.

The International Civil Service Commission of the United Nations reported that at least 71 United Nations and associated personnel — 53 peacekeepers and 18 civilians — were killed in malicious attacks in the line of duty during 2017.  The casualties in 2017 are the highest number ever recorded by the Commission.

Despite making headlines for its nuclear programme, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea topped the list of the 10 most under-reported humanitarian crises of 2017, according to a study released today by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and its partners. 

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

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) launched its revised Multi-Year Humanitarian Response Plan 2017-2018 for Haiti, requiring $252 million to provide assistance to 2.2 million of an estimated 2.8 million people in need. The launch coincides with the eighth anniversary of the 12 January 2010 earthquake in Haiti.