Syria

Humanitarian colleagues in Syria are deeply concerned about the situation for civilians in East Ghouta where children are reportedly suffering from severe acute malnutrition.  The last United Nations inter-agency convoy reached the besieged enclave on 23 September with assistance for 25,000 people.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is increasingly concerned by escalating displacement in several key regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where 3.9 million people are internally displaced and the challenges of getting aid to people in need are growing fast.

Approximately 589,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh since 25 August, with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) saying today that nearly 7,000 Rohingya refugees have been admitted to Bangladesh after being stranded at the border for up to four days.

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

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) urged Australia to address the imminent humanitarian crisis for refugees and asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea, stressing his profound concern over the risks of “offshore processing” arrangements, for which Australia seeks to decrease support by the end of October.

Irina Bokova, Executive Director of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, condemned today the killing of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta yesterday.  She welcomed the Prime Minister’s pledge to ensure justice in the crime against the right of free expression.

The Secretary-General, expressing his solidarity with the people of Somalia after the brutal attacks in Mogadishu, said he was disgusted by the unprecedented violence.  He urged all Somalis to unite in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism and work together in building a functional and inclusive federal State.

With today marking one year since the start of the military campaign to retake Mosul from Da’esh, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq said that of the 1 million people who fled the city, some 673,000 are still displaced.  She noted that the number of people who fled exceeded the worst-case projections of aid workers.

Marking World Day against the Death Penalty, the Secretary-General said that the barbaric practice had no place in the twenty-first century and called on countries who continued to use it to stop executions.  He also praised progress made, noting some 170 countries had either abolished or stopped using the death penalty.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) today echoed the concern of the Secretary-General about the violence in south-west and north-west Cameroon.  OHCHR calls on the Government of Cameroon to establish prompt, effective, impartial and independent investigations to ensure accountability.