Refugees

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is sending equipment to more than 40 countries to help them use nuclear-derived technology to rapidly detect COVID‑19.  Dozens of labs will receive diagnostic machines to speed up national testing, biosafety supplies and personal protection equipment.

The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Lise Grande, has condemned continued attacks against health facilities in Taizz, which are threatening services for hundreds of thousands of people.  Preliminary reports indicate that two buildings at the Al-Thawra General Hospital were hit by missiles on 13 March.

An estimated 14,000 people in Burkina Faso have fled their homes in the past 17 days due to recent violence, bringing the number of internally displaced to 780,000, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports.  It is increasing emergency supplies and protection for affected populations.

United Nations agencies and their partners launched an appeal today for $877 million to help some 855,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar who are in Bangladesh, as well as more than 444,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis in communities generously hosting those refugees.  More than half will fund vital services.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the high-level segment of the International Conference on 40 Years of Hosting Afghan Refugees in Pakistan: A New Partnership for Solidarity, in Islamabad today:

The United Nations is alarmed by reports of an artillery shell explosion that injured up to 17 children at a school in Myanmar’s Rakhine State last Thursday.  The incident is part of an escalation of hostilities between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar military across much of Rakhine.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Raouf Mazou of the Republic of the Congo, as Assistant Secretary-General to serve as the Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the opening of the Global Refugee Forum, in Geneva today:

Following are UN Deputy Secretary‑General Amina Mohammed’s remarks at the seventieth session of the Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Programme, in Geneva today:

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the international conference on “Forty Years of Afghan Refugees Presence in Pakistan:  A New Partnership for Solidarity”, taking place in Islamabad from 26 to 27 August: