After several failed attempts in recent days, the Security Council today adopted a resolution extending authorization of a mechanism that brings life-saving humanitarian aid into Syria for another year, through one Turkish border crossing.
Wildlife crime threatens both biodiversity and human health, according to a new United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report. It finds that many illegally trafficked animals may spread diseases to people, and the pangolin — a possible source of COVID-19 — remains the most trafficked mammal in the world.
The Security Council today failed to adopt two separate resolutions that would have extended its authorization for a mechanism to bring life-saving humanitarian aid into Syria.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme today jointly warned that funding shortages, conflict and disasters — as well as supply chain challenges, rising food prices and loss of income due to COVID-19 — threaten to leave millions of refugees across Africa without food.
In June, 921,000 people were forced to leave Burkina Faso, making it the site of one of the world’s fastest-growing displacement crises. Increased insecurity has also made humanitarian access more difficult, with the number of people in need of assistance jumping to 2.9 million people, from 2.2 million in January.
The Security Council failed on 7 and 8 July to adopt draft resolutions that would have renewed its authorization for the cross-border mechanism that enables the United Nations and its implementing partners to deliver humanitarian aid into Syria via the country’s border with Turkey.
The United Nations is mobilizing to help fight COVID-19 in the Dominican Republic, where about 37,000 cases and 800 deaths are confirmed. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is supplying ventilators while Rome-based food agencies led a virtual farm training to help people generate additional income.
For the Syria crisis response, the international community has pledged $5.5 billion to support humanitarian, resilience and development activities in 2020, plus $2.2 billion in 2021 and beyond, demonstrating a clear commitment to continue supporting those most affected and ensuring aid agencies are able to plan ahead.
Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message, as recorded for delivery, to the Brussels donor conference on Syria, today:
An estimated 4.1 million girls will be subjected to female genital mutilation this year and if programmes and services stay shut for six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that figure will reach 6.1 million by 2030, according to the United Nations Population Fund’s “State of World Population 2020” report issued today.
