The grave situation in Sudan offers fundamental lessons for drawdowns and terminations of United Nations peacekeeping missions in other transition contexts where women’s lives are at stake — such as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Somalia and Haiti — the Security Council heard today, as delegates underscored the need to integrate a gender perspective into all components of peace missions.
In progress at UNHQ
Women and gender issues
In Myanmar, the World Food Programme has launched an emergency relief response for over 100,000 people impacted by ongoing floods. WFP teams are on the ground delivering cash, rice, special nutritious foods and fortified biscuits to at least 120,000 people in Bago, Kachin, Kayin, Magway and Sagaing.
In Haiti, a United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) report shows that 300,000 displaced women and girls face alarming living conditions.
In Sudan, over 10 million people — 20 per cent of the population — have been displaced since fighting broke out 15 months ago, the International Organization for Migration reports. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and World Food Programme continued aid delivery this week despite major challenges.
Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks to the Spotlight Initiative side event at the high-level political forum ministerial side-event, in New York today:
Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Population Day, observed on 11 July:
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, warns that the humanitarian nightmare in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, in Sudan, is worsening by the hour, stressing that civilians must be protected, aid must be able to reach them and the fighting must stop now.
The UN Department of Peace Operations has launched its annual report on women, peace and security. The report highlights the work done by UN peacekeepers on gender equality, and it says that the rapid spread and intensity of armed conflicts and protracted crises has heavily impacted women and girls worldwide.
Results from the Global We the Women survey, produced by the UN Office for Partnerships and the polling company John Zogby Strategies, show that 86 per cent of women from 185 countries cite climate change and more than 50 per cent identify conflict as primary concerns for the next decade.
In Bangladesh, prior to the anticipated landfall of a cyclone in the southern parts of the country, the World Food Programme (WFP) swiftly dispatched cash assistance to 30,000 families — about 150,000 people — most at risk, as part of WFP’s flagship programme “Anticipatory Action” for climate shocks.