Ukraine

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed today its deep concern over the recent arbitrary arrests and detentions of women and girls by the country’s de facto authorities because of their alleged non-compliance with the hijab decree.

One in three Afghans do not know where their next meal will come from as communities brace for a harsh winter, the World Food Programme warns. The agency can only reach the most desperate families due to a huge funding shortfall and urgently needs $670 million to reach 15.2 million people.

Nearly two years after the major escalation of war in Ukraine, there is no let-up in the death, destruction, forced displacement and human suffering, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, as delegates condemned Moscow’s intensified air strikes against civilian targets and critical infrastructure in Ukraine, as well as the continued military support for its war provided by Iran, Belarus and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The acting Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen has called for a thorough and expeditious investigation into the killing of an aid worker on 5 January

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

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs warned that nine months of war in Sudan has tipped the country into a downward spiral that only grows more ruinous by the day. Nearly 25 million people there will need assistance in 2024 — but escalating hostilities are putting most of them beyond reach.

In Syria, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs today expressed concern about the impact on civilians of escalating hostilities in the north-west of the country — as well as the potential for the violence to jeopardize cross-border missions by United Nations staff.

A senior United Nations official today condemned all attacks on cities, towns, and villages in Ukraine and the Russian Federation during the second Security Council meeting in 24 hours on the subject, as aerial bombardments between the two countries escalate.

One of the largest aerial assaults since the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022 killed at least 30 civilians and injured at least 160 more on Friday, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, underscoring that attacks against civilian populations and infrastructure must stop immediately.

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