United Nations humanitarian organizations and partners in Libya say they are deeply concerned about the situation faced by Tawergha men, women and children who are unable to return home and are currently living in makeshift-tented settlements in precarious conditions in Qararat al-Qataf and Hwara.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan said it had recalled a unit of police officers from Wau and confined them to barracks after a preliminary investigation into allegations of sexual exploitation.
The United Nations takes note of the recent decision by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, to resign, to “allow further political reforms to take place in the country aimed at widening democratic space”.
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.
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.