The Security Council failed to adopt two draft resolutions on the situation in Syria today — one tabled by Belgium, Germany and Kuwait; the other by China and the Russian Federation — amid heated debate on their content and concern over the fate of civilians in Idlib Governorate.
With winter fast approaching, funding and supplies will be essential to meet the growing needs of Syria’s people, a top United Nations humanitarian official told the Security Council today, laying out the extensive challenges confronting aid workers working tirelessly to reach civilians with life-saving assistance.
In Ukraine, the United Nations and aid agencies are urgently calling for $52 million to address the most acute, time-critical humanitarian needs before sub‑zero temperatures arrive. Only 32 per cent of the Organization’s $162 million Humanitarian Response Plan for the country in 2019 has been funded so far.
The United Nations Network on Migration reiterated today its call to end the detention of children for immigration purposes in every region of the world. They said detaining children in such a context – whether they are travelling alone or with their families – has been recognized as a violation of children’s rights.
The World Food Programme launched its biggest emergency response for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh this year, following this week’s heavy rains and flooding. In 24 hours, WFP reached 16,000 people with food aid — more than the total number of people it has reached since the start of the monsoon season.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
The Central Emergency Response Fund released $75 million to support responses to eight underfunded emergencies — in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Eritrea, Mali, Sudan, Venezuela and the neighbouring region — providing aid to 4 million people affected by conflict and natural disasters, among other crises.
At least 14 people were killed and many more injured yesterday, including children, when a bus hit an improvised explosive device near Douentza in the Mopti region, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali reported. The Mission supported the medical evacuations of 16 victims.
With the delicate political process intended to resolve the crisis in Syria entering a critical phase, senior United Nations officials called today for immediate Security Council action to ensure a ceasefire is in place in that country’s north-western Idlib Governorate amid a surge in civilian casualties and ongoing attacks on key infrastructure.
Preliminary reports from medical facilities in Yemen indicate that in the past two days, as many as 13 people have been killed and at least 70 others were wounded during the clashes in Aden and Abyan governorates.
