Yemen

Briefing the Security Council yesterday, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs said that there has been little progress in talks to end the fighting in Ukraine, with the conflict now in its fifth year.  She said that the Minsk Agreements form the only agreed framework for a negotiated peace in east Ukraine.

Nearly one month after the deadly earthquake and tsunami that struck Sulawesi, Indonesia, UNICEF says that some 375,000 children still need life-saving supplies and services.  More than 2,000 were killed, and key services for children – such as schools and health centres – have been rendered inoperable.

As part of this year’s United Nations Day observance the Department of Public Information has organized a photo exhibition in the New York Headquarters Visitors’ Lobby called “People on the Move”, with more than 50 stunning images portraying refugees, migrants and internally displaced people over seven decades.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that recent insecurity in several areas in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has forced tens of thousands of people to flee for safety and caused many humanitarian organizations to suspend or limit their activities.

To stem the growing threat of famine in Yemen, the international community must act urgently to unblock imports, ensure distribution of aid and counteract a lack of foreign exchange in the war-torn gulf nation, the United Nations top humanitarian affairs official told the Security Council this afternoon.

Marking International Day of Rural Women, the Secretary-General said rural women and girls are crucial in building a prosperous, equitable and peaceful future.  He called on countries to take action to ensure that women and girls fully enjoy their human rights, including the rights of land and security of land tenure.

The UN refugee agency today drew attention to a collapsing health situation among refugees and asylum-seekers at off-shore facilities in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, calling on the Government of Australia to urgently act to prevent a further tragedy to people forcibly transferred under its off-shore processing policy.

Today marks the International Day of the Girl Child.  Under the 2018 theme “With Her: A Skilled Girl Force”, it celebrates today’s generation of girls preparing to enter a world of work being transformed by innovation and automation.  In his message, the Secretary-General noted that his Youth2030 strategy aims to work with girls.

One week after the earthquake and tsunami that hit Central Sulawesi in Indonesia, the humanitarian country team has launched a $50 million response plan.  The United Nations resident coordinator there said the plan will provide immediate relief items, and the logistical support needed to provide aid to those in need.

The World Health Organization today launched its first global guidelines on sanitation and health, warning that the world will not achieve universal sanitation coverage by 2030 without comprehensive policy shifts and more investment.