4 March 2015 – The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Sigrid Kaag, met today with the country’s Defence Minister, Samir Moqbel, in Beirut to discuss the security situation, with a particular focus on Lebanon’s eastern border. Ms. Kaag praised efforts by the Lebanese Armed Forces and security forces to safeguard Lebanon’s security and stability from the threat posed by extremist militants, according to a briefing held by the Secretary-General’s spokesperson this afternoon. She said the international community would continue to stand firmly behind the Lebanese Armed Forces and security forces. The Special Coordinator also expressed her appreciation for the…
Author: UN News
4 March 2015 – The overall situation in Libya is “deteriorating rapidly” amid a growing terrorist threat and continuing violence, the United Nations envoy to the country warned the Security Council today, as he urged national stakeholders to move firmly in defining the country’s future. “Libya can no longer afford to allow the political crisis and armed conflict that has gripped the country for much of the past year to fester,” Bernardino León, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a briefing to the Council earlier this morning. “Unless Libya’s leaders…
26 December 2014 – United Nations Secretary-General has today condemned the Government of Sudan’s decision to expel two senior UN officials from the embattled nation. Ordered to leave the country are UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Ali Al-Za’tari, and UN Development Programme (UNDP) Country Director Yvonne Helle. In a statement released by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban said the sanctioning of UN personnel sent to sudan to carry out their duties in accordance with the UN Charter is unacceptable. The Secretary-General called on the Government of sudan to reverse its decision immediately and urged it to cooperate fully with all UN…
An Israeli and a Palestinian pick olives together in a disputed area. While Palestinians are often attacked by Israeli settlers as they collect olives, some Israelis have also taken to protecting them Photo: IRIN/Annie Slemrod 24 December 2014 – The United Nations Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, James Rawley, has said he is deeply concerned by reports of exchange of fire between Palestinian militants and the Israeli Defense Forces in the southern Gaza Strip today. The clash resulted in casualties on both sides and follows a series of armed incidents since the end of November. The…
24 December 2014 – The UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) has reported that a main United Nations logistics hub managed by the World Food Programme (WFP) in Guinea is fully operational despite the fire that swept through the facility last week threatening medicines and laboratory materials used in the fight against Ebola. The warehouse fire was discovered around 8:00 a.m. local time on 18 December when workers arrived at the facility in the main humanitarian logistics base of the airport and of the city of Conakry, the capital of Guinea – one of the three most affected countries…
24 December 2014 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the Parliamentary endorsement of Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke as the new Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia in a step towards resolving the country’s current political crisis. The Somali Parliament dismissed former Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed on 6 December with a vote of ‘no confidence’ due to reported disputes between Mr. Ahmed and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud over political appointments. The ouster also came amid a recent spate of extremist violence in the East African country, as the terrorist group, Al-Shabaab, continues to wage a…
23 December 2014 – Christmas will be “like any other working day” for United Nations humanitarian worker Chris Huddart, who – like thousands across West Africa – is spending the holiday responding to the Ebola outbreak. Mr. Huddart, who is from the United Kingdom, works as a programme officer with the World Food Programme (WFP) in Liberia, one of the countries hardest hit by the outbreak. “Sadly, any sign of Christmas is lacking this year” in Liberia, he said in an online interview, noting that the country is fighting Ebola with a crumbling healthcare system, a lack of doctors and…
23 December 2014 – The United Nations refugee agency voiced concern today over the “deteriorating situation” facing more than 400 members of a Muslim minority group trapped by the ongoing violence fracturing the Central African Republic (CAR). Adrian Edwards, spokesperson for the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters in Geneva that 474 members of the Peuhl ethnic group had been trapped for several months in the town of Yaloke, 200 kilometres northwest of the capital city of Bangui, where they were now facing dire humanitarian conditions. Adults and children had become severely malnourished and more than 30 per cent…
18 December 2014 – Iraq will not be obligated to deposit 5 percent of its oil proceeds into a fund set up by the United Nations to pay compensation for the 1990-91 invasion and occupation of Kuwait, a decision Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed in light of the “severe security and humanitarian crisis” confronting the Iraqi people. “Noting the extraordinarily difficult security circumstances in Iraq and the unusual budgetary challenges associated with confronting this issue,” the Governing Council of the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC) on Thursday decided to postpone Iraq’s obligation to deposit 5 percent of oil proceeds and 5 percent…
19 December 2014 – In eastern Ukraine, the situation remains ‘extremely serious’ for more than 1.7 million children affected by the escalating crisis, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned today as it appealed for funds to continue its humanitarian response in the country. “Since March 2014, more than one million people have been displaced from the conflict-affected areas, including nearly 530,000 people within Ukraine, of who at least 130,000 are children,” Kristen Elsby, UNICEF’s communication director for Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia said today in a Geneva press briefing. She explained displaced Ukrainian children are faced with…