Middle East

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned in a new report that millions of children in Yemen could be pushed to the brink of starvation due to huge shortfalls in humanitarian aid funding amid the COVID-19 pandemic.  So far, the COVID-19 response is only 10 per cent funded, as UNICEF appeals for $53 million.

A new report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that ongoing efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions are expected to spur further investments in green energy production. These investments have been steady, standing at $600 billion per year on average.

Calling on Israel to abandon plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, the Secretary-General told the Security Council during a 24 June videoconference meeting that such a move would threaten the vision of a two-State solution.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ briefing to the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question, in New York today:

In Nigeria, where the number of COVID-19-related deaths has doubled in the past month, with total virus cases reaching 20,000, the United Nations is providing vital medical kits and equipment to further support Government efforts in addressing the pandemic.

The United Nations is scaling up life-saving aid for north-west Syria, including health items to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic.  In May alone, it sent 1,781 trucks from Turkey, the highest number since cross-border operations began in 2014, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports.

In Bangladesh, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) confirmed today that a 71-year-old Rohingya man is the first refugee in the Cox’s Bazar camp to die from COVID-19 and some 30 other people have tested positive so far, yet the numbers are likely higher as testing is ramping up.

The Secretary-General welcomed the agreement between representatives of the Government of Venezuela and the Advisory Team of the National Assembly on responding to COVID-19.  He encouraged parties to respect humanitarian principles in implementing the accord and to continue seeking common ground to overcome the protracted crisis.

An Ebola outbreak has been identified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s western Equateur province.  The health ministry has identified six cases, including four people who have died.  The World Health Organization has staff in Mbandaka, the main city impacted by the outbreak, to support the response.

The twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will now take place from 1-12 November 2021, in Glasgow.  United Nations Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa said that if done right, recovery from the COVID-19 crisis can foster a more inclusive climate path.