The General Assembly resumed its emergency special session today to discuss two competing draft resolutions on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine — one that implicates the Russian Federation’s military offensive in the unfolding humanitarian crisis and the other that makes no mention of Moscow’s aggression against its neighbour.
On the heels of International Water Day, which was yesterday, humanitarian staff in the Horn of Africa say millions of people face severe water shortages and are going hungry due to the devastating drought in that region, which risks becoming one of the Horn’s worst climate-induced emergencies in the last 40 years.
The Security Council failed today to adopt a draft resolution that would have demanded civilian protection in Ukraine and called for unhindered access for humanitarian assistance, as several delegates rejected the text as an attempt by the Russian Federation to justify its aggression against its neighbour.
Stephanie Williams, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Libya, welcomed in Tunis today members of the High Council of State, who will participate in determining the constitutional basis for national elections. It is extremely important to respect the will of 2.8 million registered Libyan voters, she said.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today released a report that says that groundwater, which accounts for 99 per cent of all liquid freshwater on Earth, is being undervalued, mismanaged and even abused.
United Nations staff in Myanmar report that civilians continue to suffer amid a worsening humanitarian crisis and continued fighting. Nearly 890,000 people are displaced across the country, humanitarian needs are rising and aid workers face limited access, which is hampering the planned scale-up of assistance for 2022.
The United Nations is still not aware of any biological weapons programme being conducted in Ukraine, the senior disarmament official told the Security Council today, responding to fresh allegations by the Russian Federation of the existence of such research.
A total of 36 donors at yesterday’s pledging event for Yemen pledged nearly $1.3 billion, only 30 per cent of the roughly $4.3 billion required for an efficient and effective response to the humanitarian crisis. Unprecedented funding shortages are forcing reductions and closures of life-saving aid.
The magnitude of the civilian casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine cannot be denied, the head of United Nations political affairs told the Security Council today, demanding accountability and a thorough investigation.
Four peacekeepers were injured near Tessalit yesterday, following an attack on their convoy using an improvised explosive device, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) reports. They were evacuated to Bamako, the capital, for medical treatment.
