South Africa

In South Sudan, the head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) continues to be engaged in intensive high-level political efforts to de-escalate the current tensions and convince the parties to preserve the peace deal they all agreed to.

The United Nations and its aid partners in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have launched this year’s Humanitarian Response Plans to assist 2.2 million people in need, seeking a total of $306 million.

The Secretary-General arrived in South Africa from New York on Wednesday, 11 December. In Johannesburg, he attended a meeting of the G20 [Group of 20] sherpas and finance deputies. He delivered remarks before heading to Pretoria.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today released its first major global assessment of salt-affected soils in 50 years. It shows that nearly 1.4 billion hectares of land — which is about 10 per cent of the total global land area — are already impacted by salinity.

Marking one year since Hamas attacked Israel and killed over 1,250 Israelis and foreign nationals, the Secretary-General urged the global community to condemn “in the loudest voice” Hamas’s acts, demanded the immediate release of all hostages and called for the Red Cross to be allowed to visit the hostages. 

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk today jointly sounded the alarm on the new asylum law and plans to transfer asylum-seekers from the United Kingdom to Rwanda, calling for practical measures instead to address irregular flows of migrants and refugees.

In Mali, armed conflict, internal displacement and restricted humanitarian access risks pushing nearly 1 million children under age five into acute malnutrition by the end of 2023. The UN Children’s Fund and the World Food Programme urgently seek $184.4 million to reach 8.8 million people, including 4.7 million children.

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

On Tuesday evening, 22 August, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres departed New York for Johannesburg, South Africa, where he landed late on Wednesday, 23 August.

In Niger, the United Nations, along with its partners, continues to deliver assistance across the country. In Tahoua, in the country’s south-west, humanitarians have provided medical care, reproductive health services and nutrition to over 1,000 people through mobile clinics.