23 May 2014 – United Nations humanitarian agencies today raised concerns about landslides and possible water-borne diseases from the worst flooding in Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in more than a century, which may have disturbed minefields from the Bosnian war. As relief efforts in the region, including Croatia, continue, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) readied for another airlift of emergency supplies to arrive in the Balkans tomorrow morning. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said the number of people directly affected by the floods was now reportedly estimated to be around 1 million, or a quarter of the population…
Author: UN News
22 May 2014 – As violence continues to roil eastern Ukraine, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated today his appeals to all parties ahead of Sunday’s scheduled presidential elections to redouble their efforts to help create the conditions that will allow voters across the crisis-torn country to safely cast their ballots. “The Secretary-General is dismayed by the deadly overnight attack against a military checkpoint in eastern Ukraine,” said a statement issued by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson in New York. According to media reports, renewed clashes between anti-Government groups and Ukrainian security forces near the eastern city of Donetsk left at least…
29 May 2014 – Three months after the Security Council unanimously approved a resolution aiming to boost humanitarian aid access in Syria, a senior United Nations official is once again appealing for rapid, unhindered and safe access to besieged Syrians. “Bureaucratic obstructions on the delivery of assistance must stop. We don’t have the time for arbitrary restrictions on how and to whom we are allowed to deliver aid,” Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Kyung-wha Kang, told Security Council members in a closed-door session. Through a resolution adopted in February, the Council demanded “that all parties, in particular the Syrian authorities,…
29 May 2014 – The Security Council today voiced its disappointment and concern that the election for a new Lebanese President has not taken place within the constitutional timeframe. “The Council urges the Parliament to uphold Lebanon’s longstanding democratic tradition and to work to ensure that presidential elections take place as soon as possible and without external interference,” the 15-member body said in a presidential statement. The term of the current head of State, Michel Sleiman, ended on 25 May, and the Lebanese Constitution specifies that Parliament must convene to elect a new leader before the deadline passes. The Council…
28 May 2014 – In hopes of ebbing the ‘cultural haemorrhage’ in Syria, the United Nations cultural agency today announced that it will establish an observatory to monitor and access the state of Syria’s cultural heritage which is ‘reaching the point of no return.’ Based at its office in Beirut, Lebanon, the Observatory will maintain an online platform where national and international stakeholders will share information on damaged structures, looted artefacts and all forms of endangered intangible heritage. “In some areas we are reaching the point of no return where Syria’s cultural heritage is concerned,” cautioned Irina Bokova, Director-General of…
28 May 2014 – Even as the death toll from Syria’s three-year civil war continues to rise, the country’s human development has also suffered immense collateral damage – the economy has been gutted, the healthcare system is in ruins, and education facilities are “teetering” – according to a new joint United Nations report out today. According to the report, “Squandering Humanity,” covering the last two quarters of last year, three out of four Syrians now live in poverty, with more than half the population – 54.3 per cent in 2013 – living in extreme poverty. As the conflict grinds on…
27 May 2014 – The Security Council today extended the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and revised its mandate to give priority to the task of protecting civilians and to address the security, humanitarian and political crisis that has gripped the nation for the past six months. In a unanimously adopted resolution, the Council decided to extend the Mission until 30 November 2014, and authorized it to use “all necessary means” to protect civilians, monitor and investigate human rights, create the conditions for delivery of humanitarian assistance, and support the implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement. In…
27 May 2014 – The United Nations, the European Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) today issued a joint appeal for a resolution of the political crisis in Somalia, adding that they stand ready to hold to account anyone who poses an obstacle to progress in the Horn of Africa nation. “Ongoing political instability does not serve the interests of Somalia or its people. Somalia cannot afford a return to the cycle of deadlock and infighting between political actors that paralysed governments since 2000,” said a joint statement issued by the three partners. They noted that the development…
27 May 2014 – A ceasefire agreed between the Government and three rebel groups in restive northern mali appears to be holding, the United Nations reported today, warning however that recent deadly violence in the flashpoint city of Kidal has displaced some 4,000 people who now desperately need food, water and other necessities. According to a UN spokesperson in New York, the truce was signed last Friday between the Malian authorities and groups involved in fighting in Kidal – the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), the High Council for the Unity of Azawad (HCUA) and the Arab…
27 May 2014 – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned today that it will have to suspend essential health services in Somalia unless it receives additional funding within one month, delivering a major blow to millions of women and children who depend on the agency and its partners for help. More than 70 per cent of healthcare in Somalia is provided by UNICEF and its partners, including supplies of medicines, all vaccines, the wages of employees, training of health workers, fuel for generators of water and medical equipment. UNICEF’s spokesperson in Geneva, Christophe Boulierac, told reporters that the suspension…
27 May 2014 – Some 70,000 more people have fled their homes in South sudan since a 9 May agreement was signed to end the fighting that has ravaged the world’s youngest nation for over six months, the United Nations refugee agency said today. “In South Sudan, the number of people fleeing fighting continues to rise almost three weeks on from a truce agreement,” Adrian Edwards, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said at a press briefing in Geneva. Since the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement in Addis Ababa, Mr. Edwards said, the number of…
26 May 2014 – Senior United Nations officials today demanded that Republic of the Congo immediately stop expelling citizens from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo, and called for an investigation into allegations of sexual violence and other human rights violations. More than 130,000 DRC nationals have been expelled from Brazzaville, capital of Republic of the Congo, since early April, according to a statement from the UN Mission in the country, known by its French acronym MONUSCO. “I heard numerous testimonies of victims of gross human rights abuses and cruel treatments,” said Martin Kobler, head of MONUSCO and Special…
25 May 2014 – The world must do more to unleash Africa’s full potential in agriculture, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said while also urging the continent’s leaders and development partners to combat growing social and economic inequalities. “Greater equity presents a common challenge to the continent as a whole and can help foster peace and stability,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message to mark Africa Day, which commemorates the founding in 1963 of the Organization of African Unity, now known as the African Union (AU). “Transformation, growth, dynamism, progress and partnership” are central to the AU’s narrative,…
24 May 2014 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his special representative in Somalia, Nicholas Kay, as well as the Security Council, today condemned an attack by suicide bombers and gunmen on the Federal Parliament, in the capital Mogadishu, where legislators were in session. “There can be no justification for such attacks,” Mr. Ban said in a statement from his spokesperson. He convoyed his solidarity and support for the lawmakers “who represent the people of Somalia and their aspirations for a peaceful future”. Mr. Kay, who heads the UN Assistance Mission, (UNSOM) in the country, said separately that the…
24 May 2014 – Armed men in Sudan’s western region today killed a Rwandan peacekeeper and injured three others resulting in condemnations from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and senior official Mohamed Ibn Chambas who is urging the Sudanese Government to bring those responsible to account. The peacekeepers were part of a UN-African Union mission (UNAMID) team attempting to mediate a tribal dispute between Fur people and Arab militia in a village in North Darfur. “The Arab militia elements, nevertheless, became hostile towards UNAMID peacekeepers and started shooting at them,” the Mission said, at which point the peacekeepers returned fire.…
24 May 2014 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on all candidates, political parties, and state institutions in Malawi to remain calm and to support fully the Malawi Electoral Commission in completing its work. The country held simultaneous presidential, parliamentary and local government elections on Tuesday. Mr. Ban “commends the people of Malawi for turning out in large numbers for the country’s first tripartite elections”, his spokesperson said. Preliminary observer statements indicate that the polling process was “generally consistent with regional and international standards” despite technical problems encountered in the process, according to the statement. However, there have…
24 May 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed deep concern by recent developments in Libya and called on all parties and military leaders to abide by their moral and legal obligations to safeguard and protect civilians. In a statement from his spokesperson, Mr. Ban said he was concerned in particular about “the growing military mobilization in and around the capital Tripoli”. Armed confrontation “risks negating the sacrifices made by the Libyan people”, particularly at this critical juncture in the political transition process, the Secretary-General said. He urged all parties in Libya to refrain from acts which undermine the democratic…
23 May 2014 – The top United Nations official in South sudan has met with rebel leader David Yau Yau to discuss peace efforts in Greater Pibor County, Jonglei state, which was once the epicentre of instability in the country. During a meeting yesterday, Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Hilde Johnson, commended Mr. Yau Yau, the leader of the South sudan Democratic Movement/Army (SSDM/A) for his role in facilitating an end to violence in the area. The rebel group signed a peace agreement with the Government of South Sudan on 9 May in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which “will lay the…
23 May 2014 – Deadly clashes between Tuareg rebels and Government forces in northern mali have sent a “small but growing” number of terrified civilians fleeing southward and into neighbouring countries, the United Nations refugee agency said today, while senior UN and African Union officials are in Kidal to push for a ceasefire. Briefing reporters in Geneva, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson Adrian Edwards said fighting in Kidal last Saturday and again on Wednesday between Tuareg fighters of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, known by the French acronym MNLA, and Government forces prompted new displacement,…
23 May 2014 – Nearly 30 children – the youngest a baby – died in the past month fleeing violence in the Central African Republic (CAR), the United Nations refugee agency today confirmed, renewing its appeal for $22 million in urgently-needed funds to help the growing number of people taking “a journey of starvation and death” in search of safety in Cameroon. “Since mid-April, the rate of deaths among refugee children has been particularly high,” Adrian Edwards, spokesperson for the agency (UNHCR) said in Geneva. Between 14 April and 18 May, at least 29 children died, most of them at…