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.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
Emergency fuel stocks at a number of critical health, water and sanitation facilities in the Gaza Strip have almost run out, creating enormous risks for the population, according to United Nations humanitarian personnel. The immediate lack of fuel is due to Israeli restrictions on imports, which also apply to United Nations‑procured emergency fuel.
The United Nations refugee agency said today that more than 2,000 Somalis have returned home from Yemen since 2017, as part of an assistance programme carried out jointly with the International Organization for Migration and authorities in Yemen and Somalia. Yemen currently hosts more than 270,000 refugees, the vast majority of them Somalis.
United Nations humanitarian officials say violent protests in Ethiopia’s Somali region have led to at least 29 deaths, and that houses of worship, homes and businesses have been attacked and destroyed. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that some 22,000 households were already provided with emergency supplies, but more than 150,000 still need assistance.
UNHCR says that more than 1,500 refugees and migrants have lost their lives attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea in the first seven months of 2018. The bleak milestone was confirmed after more than 850 lives were lost in June and July alone, marking the Mediterranean crossing as the world’s deadliest sea route.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that volcanic activity on Vanuatu’s Ambae Island, which has a population of more than 10,000 people, has intensified in the last few weeks. The Vanuatu Council of Ministers has called for the immediate compulsory evacuation of Ambae residents to the neighbouring island of Maewo.
The Food and Agriculture Organization appealed today for $120 million to reach 3.6 million people urgently requiring humanitarian and agricultural aid. A new FAO report identifies the world’s most underfunded crises, including Afghanistan, Sudan and Syria — all hit by drought — monsoon‑affected Bangladesh, the Central African Republic, as well as Iraq, Myanmar and the Sahel.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern over continuing arrests and apparently arbitrary detentions of human rights defenders and activists in Saudi Arabia. Since 15 May, at least 15 Government critics have been detained, their whereabouts unknown, in some cases, amid a serious lack of transparency.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has found that children make up nearly 30 per cent of all identified victims of human trafficking. In regions such as sub‑Saharan Africa and Central America and the Caribbean, the proportion is more than 60 per cent.
Recovery and response efforts are continuing in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic following the 23 July dam collapse, according to the humanitarian community. The United Nations is working closely with the Government to provide any support requested.