A full-scale Israeli military operation in the densely populated Rafah area — where 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering near the only point of entry for goods — would be devastating, the head of United Nations peace efforts in the Middle East told the Security Council today, as he appealed for additional access points to northern Gaza to increase the flow of aid and reduce congestion in the south.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released a report today on how attacks on Red Sea shipping are reshaping global trade routes. Higher fuel consumption from rerouted trade could result in a 70 per cent rise in greenhouse-gas emissions for these trips, and shipping costs have skyrocketed.
The UN team in Costa Rica is presenting a “Preparedness and Response Plan for People in Transit” to partners this week, which aims to boost assistance to vulnerable refugees and migrants. Over 500,000 people entered Costa Rica from Panama in 2023 — more than double the number of those who did so in 2022.
The UN team in Papua New Guinea condemned the killing of over 53 people in Enga Province, calling for an immediate cessation of violence and warning against possible retaliation. The UN remains committed to assisting the Government in eliminating tribal violence and bringing lasting peace to the Highlands.
The Security Council today failed to adopt a resolution that would have demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza owing to a negative vote of the United States — a permanent member of the Council — marking the second time Washington, D.C., has blocked such a text since early December 2023.
Following a surge of hostilities in Ukraine over the weekend, humanitarian organizations have provided materials for emergency repairs to houses. Meanwhile, the UN and its partners are addressing the impact of oil spillage on water sources in Kharkiv after a strike on an oil storage facility in that area on 9 February.
In Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that as intensified air strikes on Rafah continue, people are reportedly moving out of Gaza’s southern-most governorate towards Deir al Balah.
A new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), Save the Children and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) shows that globally, 1.4 billion children from the day they are born to the age of 15 lack any form of social protection, leaving them vulnerable to disease, poor nutrition and poverty.
The following statement was issued today by the Bureau of the General Assembly’s Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People:
The Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, today echoed the concerns of other senior UN officials about the reported plans for a full military incursion in Rafah, stressing the risk it would create for the commission of atrocity crimes is serious, real and high.
