Refugees

In northern Ethiopia, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners are continuing to provide assistance across Tigray, Afar and Amhara.  Since the resumption of convoys at the beginning of April, 875 trucks have arrived in Tigray, carrying more than 32,800 tons of supplies, including food.

For the first time on record, the number of forcibly displaced people around the world had topped 100 million, propelled by the war in Ukraine and other conflicts, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports. 

The following statement by UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed was issued today:

The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) has, in what it calls a major breakthrough, brokered a peace accord between the Misseriya and Ngok Dinka communities, who agreed to dialogue to protect people, livestock and property, and to find a sustainable solution to the final status of Abyei.

Despite an overall decrease in violence against civilians in South Sudan, cases of conflict-related sexual violence more than doubled between January and March, a new report issued by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).  It documented 63 cases during that period, up from 28 in the corresponding time period last year.

Senegal’s armed forces were approved today to receive funding from the Elsie Initiative Fund to assess barriers to the participation of women in United Nations peace operations.  Senegal is the sixteenth largest troop-contributing country and has 987 personnel deployed as of February 2022, of whom 38, or 3.8 per cent, are women.

Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland said he is appalled by the terror attack in central Israel on Thursday, which killed 3 Israelis and injured several others. Such attacks hinder prospects for a peaceful future for Palestinians and Israelis and must be condemned.

In Haiti, clashes resumed between gangs in Port-au-Prince, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.  In the commune of Croix-des-Bouquets, violence has displaced more than 1,200 people.  Dozens of houses were burned and a hospital in Marin was looted.

Before leaving Kyiv today, the Secretary-General said that, while he would keep pushing for a full-scale ceasefire, the United Nations would also keep striving for immediate practical steps to save lives and reduce human suffering, including through local cessation of hostilities and safe passage for civilian and supply routes.

In Haiti, violent clashes between gangs in the capital have displaced several hundred people and preliminary data indicates at least 20 civilian deaths, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports.  United Nations agencies are helping the Government to assess emergency needs in impacted areas.