Maldives

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Hao Zhang of China as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Maldives, with the host Government’s approval, on 1 May.

In Afghanistan, the United Nations today released a record $16.6 million to help vulnerable communities mitigate the effects of drought in the north and north-east of that country. This new financing includes $6.6 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund and $10 million from the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund.

The new Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations, Ali Naseer Mohamed, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

The United Nations-Energy Plan of Action Towards 2025 was launched today, presenting collective action by 30 United Nations entities and international organizations aiming to enable 500 million more people to gain access to electricity, and to create 30 million jobs in renewable energy and energy efficiency, among other targets.

United Nations officials in Myanmar report worsening humanitarian conditions due to conflict, political instability and COVID-19 since the military seized control of the Government in February.  More than 230,000 people have been displaced since then, with food running desperately short in some host communities.

The Secretary-General regrets the use of violence and the subsequent loss of life reported at the residence of the presidential candidate Yaya Dillo in N’Djamena, Chad.  He deplores the use of force in the context of the electoral process and urges the authorities to foster an inclusive political process.

Thilmeeza Hussain, the new Permanent Representative of Maldives to the United Nations, presented her credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that 40,000 people have been displaced after violent clashes between the army and Mai Mai Yakutumba militia on 15 September in South Kivu and Maniema Provinces.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says it is gravely concerned about reports of Zambia’s forced return of a Zimbabwean asylum-seeker to his home country.  A senior Zimbabwean politician expressed his intention to seek asylum at the border yesterday, but Zambia reportedly handed him over to Zimbabwe authorities today despite a court order to the contrary.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have agreed with the United Nations on the modalities to transfer, by the end of March, $930 million in support of the 2018 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan, according to Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock.