Yemen

Regional de-escalation is key to bring the peace process in Yemen back on track and tackle the widespread food insecurity, the Security Council heard today from the Organization’s senior diplomatic and humanitarian officials.

The Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, today echoed the concerns of other senior UN officials about the reported plans for a full military incursion in Rafah, stressing the risk it would create for the commission of atrocity crimes is serious, real and high.

The first State of the World’s Migratory Species report was launched today by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, which is a UN biodiversity treaty. The report shows that while some migratory species listed under the treaty are improving, 44 per cent are showing population declines.

In Ukraine, the Humanitarian Coordinator there denounced a new wave of attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns that took place overnight. The attacks reportedly caused scores of civilian casualties in six regions of Ukraine and have massively disrupted essential services at the height of winter.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Julien Harneis of the United Kingdom as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Yemen, with the host Government’s approval. He took up his post this week and will also serve as the Humanitarian Coordinator in the country.

In Ethiopia, the World Food Programme (WFP) today said that it is scaling up its operations to deliver food assistance to up to 3 million people in the country in the coming weeks; 2 million of those are in Tigray.

In Abyei, located along South Sudan’s border with Sudan and which has been the site of violence recently, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners have been providing food and shelter materials to displaced men, women and children, despite major access and logistical challenges.

In Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that attacks have continued in the country today, while since yesterday morning, humanitarian organizations have been providing emergency assistance to civilians affected by the latest attacks in the Kharkiv and Dnipro regions.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that since 2023, 13 Eastern and Southern African countries, particularly Zimbabwe and Zambia, have battled one of the worst cholera outbreaks in years. As of 15 January 2024, more than 200,000 cases, including some 3,000 fatalities, have been reported.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General informed that the first phase of the disengagement of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from South Kivu has begun, with a plan to complete its withdrawal from the area by June 2024.