The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is calling for calm and restraint after reports of a refugee protest turning violent in Rwanda’s Kiziba refugee camp. The camp hosts over 17,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, around 77 per cent of which are women and children.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The Secretary-General said that he was deeply saddened by the terrible suffering of the civilian population in eastern Ghouta in Syria, noting 400,000 people lived in hell on earth. He appealed to all those involved for an immediate suspension of all war activities in the region.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees warned today that a extraordinary humanitarian disaster is about to hit south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, as the Province of Tanganyika plunges further into violence, triggering spiralling displacement and human rights abuses.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and humanitarian colleagues express concern about persistent forced displacement of indigenous people and farming communities in rural Colombia. Since 19 January, violence in Caceres has displaced at least 822 people; in Bajo Cauco murders have increased.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the World Food Programme today said it is energizing two key elements of its emergency operation to prevent famine in war-ravaged Kasaï: cash distributions to the most vulnerable and specialist support to check acute malnutrition in women and young children.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the United Nations human rights office released their annual report on the impact of armed conflict on civilians, finding that 10,453 civilians had lost their lives or suffered injuries in 2017. While down 9 per cent from 2016, casualties were caused mainly by suicide bombings.
Aid agencies launched the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan for Mali, seeking $263 million to provide humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people. Some 4.1 million people in the country require aid in 2018, versus 3.8 million in 2017. More than 1 in 5 Malians are facing food insecurity this year.
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.
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) has received four allegations of misconduct, including three allegations of sexual exploitation. These allegations involve military peacekeepers.
The World Food Programme is warning today that the twin scourges of another prolonged dry spell and an invasive crop-eating worm are set to sharply curtail harvests across southern Africa, driving millions of people into severe hunger.