Venezuela

The ninth United Nations inter-agency cross-line convoy of 16 trucks, carrying 482 metric tons of food and other humanitarian supplies, crossed from Aleppo into Sarmada in north-west Syria. Supplies included medicines, nutrition items, water, sanitation and hygiene items, reproductive health kits, and education materials.

In Ethiopia, the Government, United Nations and non-governmental organizations aid deliveries have been begun arriving in Tigray, with more than 450 trucks carrying food aid, medical supplies and agricultural supplies. As well, humanitarian flights for staff have also resumed for Mekelle and have started for Shire.

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

The World Food Programme’s Executive Director went to Venezuela, where he met with President Nicolas Maduro and visited the Araya peninsula in Sucre state, where the Programme has been providing school meals since July and where over 430,000 children and their families receive food rations delivered to schools in eight states.

In the Security Council’s open debate on strengthening women’s resilience and leadership as a path to peace in regions plagued by armed groups, the Deputy Secretary-General said that the international community cannot separate global peace’s perilous state from the effects of patriarchy and the silencing of women’s voices.

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

The United Nations team in Cuba launched a $42 million Plan of Action to support authorities to address the needs of people impacted by Hurricane Ian. The plan is expected to benefit almost 800,000 people and includes $3.7 million repurposed from the team’s funding and an additional $7.8 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies released a report today which says that heatwaves account for some of the deadliest disasters and are intensifying.

In Cuba, the United Nations took part in the consultation process to make reforms to the country’s Family Code. Almost 75 per cent of Cubans voted on 25 September in a referendum on the diversity of families, affection and solidarity as key social values and strengthening the protection of a host of vulnerable groups.

The Secretary-General expressed his concern about legal actions being carried out against justice officials in Guatemala.  He is also following recent developments regarding the arrest of José Rubén Zamora, a journalist and founder of a newspaper that has played an important role in exposing corruption.