Philippines

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is concerned about armed clashes in the southern Philippines between the army and non-State armed groups that have uprooted more than 47,000 people.  The United Nations and humanitarian partners are helping the Government deliver aid to nearly 35,000 displaced people.

A measles outbreak continues to surge in the Philippines, where the Government is conducting a mass immunization campaign with assistance from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).  At least 280 deaths have been reported since the beginning of the year.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released a new report today which presents mounting evidence that the biodiversity underpinning global food systems is disappearing, putting the future of food, livelihoods, health and environment under severe threat, according to information from 91 reporting countries.

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

The United Nations refugee agency, International Migration Agency (IOM) and their partners today launched the 2019 response plan for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis.  It seeks to raise $920 million to meet the needs of over 900,000 refugees from Myanmar and over 330,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis in host communities.

The Government of the Philippines declared a major outbreak of measles last week in Metro Manila and Central Luzon, which has now expanded to other areas, according to humanitarian affairs officials.  More than 4,300 suspected cases of measles have been reported since January, with at least 70 deaths.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President José Singer Weisinger (Dominican Republic):

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

The High Commissioner for Human Rights calls on Bahrain to immediately and unconditionally release human rights defender Nabeel Rajab and ensure that all Bahrainis are able to exercise their rights to freedom of opinion and expression without fear of arbitrary detention.  She urges Bahrain to stop criminalizing dissenting voices.

In Myanmar’s central Rakhine State, some 2,500 people were forced to flee fighting between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar military that began last month.  The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs led a team to the area to look into what the uprooted people and host communities need.