“The current conditions are among the worst we’ve seen during the entire war and are not set to improve,” Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, warned the Security Council during a meeting on ending the war in Gaza and Lebanon and securing durable peace in the Middle East, as Member States echoed the need for a ceasefire and voiced concern over developments that jeopardize the two-State solution.
In progress at UNHQ
Israel
Despite pledges to slash methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 — key to getting global warming under control, only 1 per cent of the Methane Alert and Response System in the past year were responded to, a UN Environment Programme report released today states. The system is an untapped opportunity for climate action.
In Haiti, over 4,300 people were forced to flee their homes in Port-au-Prince and neighbouring towns since 10 November, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports. Starting today, the World Food Programme (WFP) is delivering assistance to over 50,000 internally displaced people in the capital Port-au-Prince.
More than 100 employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) are involved in terrorism, some holding simultaneous positions within Hamas and the Agency, Israel’s delegate told the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today while representatives of States in the region and beyond expressed concern about that country’s systematic disinformation campaign against the Agency.
The collapse of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) will threaten lives, regional stability and the integrity of the multilateral system, its chief warned the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today, pointing to recent legislation passed by the Israeli Parliament that could end the Agency’s operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in less than three months.
Speakers urged the Security Council today to prevent northern Gaza’s descent into famine amid relentless death and destruction, as the 15-member body convened an emergency meeting in response to experts’ warnings that immediate action is required within “days, not weeks” to avert the scourge.
The United Nations refugee agency today released a report warning that people forced to flee war, violence and persecution are increasingly finding themselves on the front line of the global climate crisis, exposing them to a lethal combination of threats but without the funding and support needed to adapt.
In West and Central Africa, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that the region continues to experience catastrophic flooding, with more than 7 million people impacted across 16 countries. Chad, Niger, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been the most affected.
The thirtieth United Nations International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East this afternoon resumed and concluded its activities, holding a session on the topic of Behind the Headlines of Gaza: Media Challenges and Perspectives.
Journalists, media experts, policymakers and scholars gathered for the opening of the thirtieth annual International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East today, held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.