24 December 2013 – The Security Council today authorized almost doubling the United Nations peacekeeping force in strife-torn South Sudan to nearly 14,000 in the face of a rapidly deteriorating security and humanitarian crisis that has left hundreds of civilians dead and tens of thousands of others driven from their homes. As requested by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Council unanimously approved a temporary increase in the strength of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to up to 12,500 military and 1,323 police from a current combined strength of some 7,000, through the transfer of units if necessary from other…
Author: UN News
24 December 2013 – The top United Nations official in Somalia has renewed his call for a timely and credible political process that should lead to a new Puntland parliament this year and regional presidential elections next month. “As the election draws closer and political temperatures become more heated, I call on all candidates and stakeholders, in particular the traditional titled elders, to work jointly and be prepared, at times, to strike difficult compromises,” said the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), Nicholas Kay. “UNSOM has supported mediation and consultation efforts throughout the…
24 December 2013 – The United Nations voiced increasing concern today for the security of 710,000 people uprooted by conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR) amid difficulty of access to the sites where they have sought shelter and reports of youths prowling around with grenades and machetes. “Some 60 per cent of the displaced population are children, more needs to be done in terms of assistance and protection,” Lasare Kouassi Etien, the representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said in Bangui, the capital, where 214,000 people have fled their homes as the year-long violence has taken…
24 December 2013 – Amid ethnically targeted killings, arbitrary detentions, rising displacement and now the discovery of mass graves, the United Nations human rights chief today urged the South Sudanese leadership to curb the escalating violence in the world’s youngest nation and make it absolutely clear that those committing abuses will be held accountable. South Sudan, which gained its independence from Sudan in July 2011, has been rocked by growing violence over the past 10 days that has displaced over 80,000 people, with some 45,000 taking refuge in the compounds of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). The conflict,…
23 December 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called a crisis meeting of his top advisers on the deteriorating situation in South Sudan today and proposed reinforcing the United Nations peacekeeping force there in a bid to stem a conflict increasingly marked by ethnically targeted killings. “I am determined to ensure that UNMISS [UN Mission in South Sudan] has the means to carry out its central task of protecting civilians,” he told a news conference at UN Headquarters in New York just hours after arriving back from a visit to the typhoon-ravaged Philippines. “I will be spending most of today calling…
23 December 2013 – Urgent national and international action is crucial to prevent the Central African Republic (CAR) from plunging into full-scale sectarian conflict and protect civilians, particularly women and children, from atrocities that have already killed thousands and driven 750,000 others from their homes amid reports of rape and mutilation, United Nations human rights officials have warned. “Given the serious nature of continuing violations in an environment of complete impunity, CAR is on the brink of descending into atrocity crimes,” UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide Adama Dieng said over the weekend at the end of a…
23 December 2013 – The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Kingdom are teaming up to support Zimbabwe’s efforts to address poverty, food insecurity and climate change. A four-year initiative, funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), will enable poor vulnerable farming households to improve food security, nutrition and income while strengthening their long-term resilience, FAO said in a news release. More than 70 per cent of Zimbabweans depend primarily on agriculture for their livelihoods, but they face a wide range of challenges, including low productivity, limited market integration, low soil fertility in some…
23 December 2013 – Three Rome-based United Nations agencies are teaming up on a $2.7 million project to tackle the problem of food losses in developing countries, beginning with pilot programmes in Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. Globally, around one-third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted each year, amounting to 1.3 billion tonnes – enough food to feed 2 billion people – according to a joint news release by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP). The…
22 December 2013 – Amid escalating tensions and deadly clashes between military factions in South Sudan, the United Nations Mission in the country today announced that it has begun relocating staff from the capital, Juba, while Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has demanded that South Sudanese political and military leaders end all hostilities and targeted attacks against civilians. In a statement issued early this morning, UNMISS announced that, as a precautionary measure to reduce pressure on its limited resources, it will relocate non-critical staff from Juba to the Ugandan city of Entebbe. Also, on Saturday, UNMISS relocated all remaining civilian staff from…
21 December 2013 – The top United Nations official in Somalia congratulated Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed, who was appointed today following a vote in the Federal Parliament, calling the process a key step heading into 2014, which will be “pivotal year” for the country. “I congratulate the new Prime Minister,” Nicholas Kay, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, said in a statement, adding that Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed takes office as Somalia approaches 2014, which will be a pivotal year in Somalia’s progress towards peace and prosperity. Mr. Kay said that the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), which he heads,…