14 September 2014 – Sustained funding and support will be vital if the United Nations and its partners are to continue assisting the millions of Iraqis affected by the ongoing crisis in the country, particularly as winter approaches, the world body’s top humanitarian official said on Sunday. Addressing reporters in Baghdad, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos highlighted the very serious humanitarian crisis resulting from the surge in violence between armed groups and Government forces which has left 1.8 million people internally displaced and hundreds of thousands in need of assistance. “Some families have been displaced multiple times and have…
Author: UN News
14 September 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday strongly condemned an attack on a military vehicle of the United Nations mission in mali that resulted in the death of a Chadian peacekeeper and left four other troops wounded. The attack on the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in mali (MINUSMA) took place today in the vicinity of Aguelhok, in Kidal region. “The Secretary-General strongly condemns this attack, which follows another attack in the Kidal region on 2 September that killed four peacekeepers and wounded 14 others,” said a statement issued by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson. “These attacks will not alter…
12 September 2014 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is rolling out its first operation in Ukraine, providing food assistance to vulnerable people affected by the conflict with distributions in transit centres and public shelters in Donetsk and Luhansk in the country’s east. Since the beginning of September, WFP in cooperation with local partners has distributed food boxes containing ready-to-eat canned food such as meat, fish, vegetables as well as biscuits, jam and tea. So far, 10,000 daily rations, enough to feed 2,000 people for five days, have been distributed, the agency said in a news release. “The…
8 September 2014 – The number of people killed in Ukraine has topped 3,000 and could be “significantly higher,” a senior United Nations human rights official said today, as he urgently appealed for a sustainable peace to spare the country “a winter of horrors.” “The trend is clear and alarming,” said Ivan Šimonović, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, to a special session of the Permanent Council of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), held in Vienna, Austria. Also speaking at the meeting was Jeffrey Feltman, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, who said: “We need to be demanding…
5 September 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the news of a ceasefire in Ukraine and called for its full implementation, adding his hope that the cessation of hostilities will further allow the United Nations and partners to deliver critical humanitarian assistance to those affected by fighting. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban also welcomed the role recent discussions between the Presidents of Ukraine and russia have played in today’s breakthrough and strongly encouraged those contacts to continue. “The Secretary-General stresses that credible and comprehensive monitoring and verification are essential elements for successful implementation of the…
4 September 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed the importance of reaching a lasting settlement in Cyprus as the new United Nations envoy on this issue prepares to meet with the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities tomorrow. During a meeting with his Special Adviser on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide, Mr. Ban underscored the UN’s commitment to facilitating the achievement of a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus, according to a note issued to the media. The Secretary-General noted that Mr. Eide was assuming his functions at a “promising moment” in the Cyprus peace process, with fresh momentum…
2 September 2014 – The number of displaced people in eastern Ukraine has risen dramatically in recent weeks due to the ongoing fighting in the country, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said today, warning of corresponding increases in the need for humanitarian aid for civilians in the region. The agency estimates that the number of displaced people inside Ukraine has more than doubled during the past three weeks, and as of 1 September, that number stands at approximately 260,000, according to spokesperson Adrian Edwards, who addressed reporters in Geneva today. At the same time, he stressed that those numbers…
12 September 2014 – A Colombian women’s rights group, whose members put their lives on the line to assist survivors of forced displacement and sexual abuse, is this year’s winner of a prestigious award presented by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The volunteers of the group, Red Mariposas de Alas Nuevas Construyendo Futuro (known in English as “Butterflies” for short), are being recognized with the Nansen Refugee Award for their work in helping more than 1,000 women and their families in Buenaventura, Colombia’s main seaport. “These women are doing extraordinary work in the most challenging of contexts,”…
12 September 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Mohammed Ibn Chambas as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA). Mr. Chambas, a national of Ghana, will succeed Said Djinnit of Algeria who was recently tasked by the Secretary-General to serve as his special envoy for the Great Lakes region. According to the announcement of his appointment, Mr. Chambas brings to the position extensive experience after a long and distinguished career in both international and governmental forums. Most recently he served as the African Union-UN Joint Special Representative for Darfur and Head of…
11 September 2014 – The United Nations will continue to stand by Liberia and its neighbours currently battling an “unprecedented” Ebola outbreak, the Organization’s peacekeeping chief pledged today in Monrovia, spotlighting his mission to assess how the UN can further support the country. “I think we owe it to this country and its neighbours…who are equally affected. We are fully committed,” to supporting Liberia, now and in the long run, Hervé Ladsous, Under-Secretary-General for UN Peacekeeping Operations, told reporters in the Liberian capital today. Mr. Ladsous is in Liberia to assess how the UN mission there, known by the acronym…