Middle East

Drought hits the Sahel region hard, with more than 10 million people expected to need emergency food assistance, up from 7.1 million currently, if adequate assistance is not provided in time. Poor rains in 2017 are now deeply affecting parts of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced today that Chile had just acceded to the international conventions on statelessness.  The Office commended the country’s commitment to promote the fundamental right to nationality.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council meeting on the Middle East, in New York today:

Donors in Geneva today pledged $528 million to support the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian aid to millions of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The announcements were made at a humanitarian conference in co‑chaired by the United Nations, the European Union and the Netherlands.

The current state of chaos in the Middle East, including the conflict in Syria, had become a threat to international peace and security, Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council this morning, appealing to the 15‑member body to overcome divisions and prevent dangerous situations from spinning out of control.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that, in the last 48 hours, the largest United Nations medical shipment to have entered Gaza since the beginning of 2018 has provided hospitals there with lifesaving drugs and other supplies to meet urgent medical needs.  It will help respond to the needs of 100,000 children and mothers.

Forces from the Central African Republic and the United Nations Mission in the country launched a joint disarmament and arrest operation targeting criminal groups in the PK5 neighborhood in Bangui, resulting in arrests and the seizure of arms, ammunition and drugs.  The joint efforts will continue until the criminal groups are dismantled.

A new report by the United Nations Environment Programme found that solar energy dominated global investment like never before in 2017.  Investment in solar power grew by 18 per cent to $160.8 billion, surpassing new investments in coal and gas.

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

The Security Council members, in an emergency meeting tonight, condemned the killing of civilians in Gaza during a peaceful protest that had erupted in violence.