United Arab Emirates

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Fu Cong (China):

A nuclear disaster with potentially harrowing human and environmental impacts was narrowly averted this week in the United Arab Emirates, as Iranian drones struck a functioning nuclear power plant, the senior UN nuclear safety official told an emergency meeting of the Security Council today.

In Uganda, the UN system has already repurposed $3.5 million in existing resources to support the Government-led response to contain the Ebola outbreak and stop its further spread. The World Health Organization is supporting greater surveillance, contact tracing, testing, clinical care and cross-border preparedness.

The World Health Organization says that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, highlighting the high risk of further spread and the likelihood that the outbreak may be larger than currently detected.

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

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the World Food Programme and aid partners today resumed food distribution to over 71,000 people at the Plaine Savo displacement site in Ituri, the first delivery since December, after weeks of negotiations led by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs secured better access.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has allocated $48 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to maintain aid operations of the UN Humanitarian Air Service, run by the World Food Programme, in Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan and Syria.

The new Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed Abushahab, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres today.

In Bolivia, the United Nations is supporting authorities to tackle massive floods, which have been worsened by the El Niño phenomenon and climate change. The Organization is further assessing the impacts on water, sanitation, education, health and shelter.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Bérangère Boëll-Yousfi of France as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the United Arab Emirates, with the host Government’s approval. She takes up her post on 20 January.