Angela Merkel, the former Chancellor of Germany, was announced today as the recipient of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) 2022 Nansen Refugee Award. The award is given to an individual, group or organization that has worked to protect refugees, internally displaced or stateless people.
Refugees
The United Nations has been stepping up efforts in Cabo Verde to support authorities to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Across three islands, the Organization has supported the creation of 1,000 jobs in 24 rural communities.
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Following the recommendation of the Secretary-General, after consultation with Member States, the General Assembly confirmed Filippo Grandi of Italy as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for a further two and a half years beginning on 1 July 2023 and ending on 31 December 2025.
In Cuba, the United Nations took part in the consultation process to make reforms to the country’s Family Code. Almost 75 per cent of Cubans voted on 25 September in a referendum on the diversity of families, affection and solidarity as key social values and strengthening the protection of a host of vulnerable groups.
In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, where 1.3 million Palestinian children will be returning to school this week, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator there issued a statement today in which she said she is concerned that, since the beginning of the year, 20 children were killed in the West Bank.
In Afghanistan, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is implementing a programme to protect rural livelihoods amid continuing drought and extreme economic crisis and will support more than 9 million people across 34 provinces in 2022.
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The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
In Algeria, the United Nations team on the ground sent out an appeal for increased support from the international community to boost lifesaving assistance to some 90,000 Sahrawi refugees risking food insecurity and malnutrition.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) noted that this week marks five years since more than 700,000 Rohingya women, men and children fled Myanmar for Bangladesh.
In Senegal, the Food and Agriculture Organization, UN-Women and United Nations Population Fund are helping national authorities tackle the effects of fuel and food price hikes due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and climate change, with a joint programme benefiting over 14,000 food-insecure households in eight regions.