Middle East

The United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees released a report today showing a decline in the number of refugees and migrants arriving in Europe, but warned that many migrants still risk death, serious abuses or both by continuing to resort to smugglers and trafficking networks.

Against the backdrop of heightened tensions and multiple violent incidents in and around Jerusalem — as well as a worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip — the top United Nations political affairs official today urged the parties to the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict to recommit to ending the occupation of Palestinian lands and realizing a two-State solution.

In Ethiopia, the fifth round of food distributions has reached 330,000 of the targeted 3.3 million people in the Somali region, where successive failed rains have exacerbated the food insecurity crisis.  The ongoing distributions are expected to be completed by mid-September.

The International Organization for Migration has released a report profiling migrants passing through its West Africa transit centres.  It reveals wide-spread misinformation about what awaits migrants on their journeys and in countries of temporary residence, particularly Algeria and Libya, where migrants reported abusive treatment, physical violence, and/or threats.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Liu Jieyi (China):

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

The Secretary-General joins Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, in conveying profound sympathies to the families and loved ones of the two German peacekeepers killed in a helicopter crash near Tabankort, in the Gao region of northern Mali, and offers condolences to the Government of Germany, as well as the United Nations Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali.

Despite declining violence in some parts of Syria in recent months, the country’s humanitarian and protection situation remained extremely difficult for civilians, Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Ursula Mueller told the Security Council today.

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

Swift, decisive action was required to revive negotiations and end the crisis in Jerusalem and beyond before rising tensions dragged both Israel and Palestine into a vortex of violence and a religious conflict, the Special Coordinator of the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council today.