20 May 2015 – A newly published report by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) spotlights improved health services being delivered to millions in five fields across the Middle East, despite pronounced challenges in the region. Indicators include a decrease in the average number of daily medical consultations per doctor, an increase in consultation times and decrease in antibiotics prescription rates. “The indicators are impressive and show that the ‘Family Health Team’ model which our reforms have established in 99 or our 115 health centres (86 per cent) are having a…
Author: UN News
20 May 2015 – The World Health Organization (WHO) today reported “a substantial increase” in the weekly total of new Ebola cases in Guinea and Sierra Leone and deployed a response team to the border with Guinea-Bissau because of its proximity to a recent cluster of cases in a neighbouring Guinean prefecture. Also in health news, WHO announced that its governing body meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, today agreed a new malaria strategy for 2016-2030 to reduce the global disease burden by 40 per cent by 2020, and by at least 90 per cent by 2030. It also aims to eliminate…
20 May 2015 – The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has said today that it is deeply concerned by the disregard for civilian lives, UN personnel and facilities shown by combatants in the country after four civilians, including a woman and a child, were killed when artillery struck a Mission base in Melut, Upper Nile state. Two mortar bombs landed within the UNMISS compound and the protection of civilians’ site yesterday evening, according to a statement released by the Mission, causing injuries to eight civilians who are currently receiving treatment for their wounds, as well as the four…
19 May 2015 – While it is too soon to celebrate definitive success in Somalia, and while the situation remains challenging, progress is being made and the international community would be missing a strategic opportunity if it failed to realize how much is being achieved, the top United Nations in the country told the Security Council today. “When I spoke to you in February, I was both excited and worried about the year ahead. The last few months have highlighted the progress and the challenges,” said Nicholas Kay, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia and head of the UN…
18 May 2015 – As the United Nations agency assisting Palestinian refugees in the Middle East continued humanitarian operations in around the Yarmouk Camp, deep concerns remained about violence that continues to profoundly threaten the lives and safety of Palestine refugees. “The vulnerability of civilians in Yarmouk remains of the highest severity,” said UNRWA spokesperson, Christopher Gunness. “Without access, the most basic humanitarian needs of up to 18,000 Palestinian and Syrian civilians, including 3,500 children, continue to be left unmet.” Illustrating the importance of such assistance, UNRWA used their latest day-long trip to Yalda, Babila and Beit Saham to provide…
18 May 2015 – Gravely concerned at the ongoing violence in South Sudan, the Security Council has condemned both the renewed Government-led offensive in Unity state, as well as a recent large-scale attack by opposition forces on the war-torn town of Malakal, threatening to impose sanctions on all those threatening the country’s peace, security and stability. In a press statement issued over the weekend, the Council condemned renewed and ongoing large-scale violence in Unity state caused by a South Sudanese Government offensive that has displaced more than 100,000 civilians and resulted in the suspension of nearly all aid activity to…
15 May 2015 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly deplored the advancement of settlement activities on three occasions over the past three consecutive weeks by the Israeli authorities in the occupied West Bank, including in East Jerusalem, a spokesman for the UN said today. “He reiterates that settlements are illegal under international law and urges the Government of Israel to halt and reverse such decisions in the interest of peace and a just final status agreement,” said a statement released from Mr. Ban’s spokesman. The Secretary-General also reiterated that the international community will not recognize unilateral actions on…
16 May 2015 – The Security Council has welcomed the recent national reconciliation forum held in the Central African Republic (CAR) and the inclusive, grassroots level in which the consultations were carried out, particularly by ensuring the participation of women, and called on the country’s Transitional Authorities, with the support of the United Nations, to speedily implement the forum’s outcomes. The members of the Security Council, in a press statement issued yesterday evening, welcomed the holding in Bangui, from 4 to 11 May 2015, of the National Forum on reconciliation, and the inclusive grassroots level consultations that gathered views of…
14 May 2015 – The cholera outbreak in Haiti remains the largest in recent world history, according to the United Nations official coordinating the Organization’s cholera response in the country, yet the health crisis has fallen off the international agenda after having ceased appearing in the media. “When cooperation funds dry up, the response teams on the ground no longer have resources to adequately respond to alerts, treat patients and prevent further deaths,” wrote Pedro Medrano Rojas, the Senior Coordinator for the Cholera Response in Haiti, in an opinion piece published in Wiener Zeitung. Mr. Medrano said the epidemic has…
15 May 2015 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the signature of a peace agreement between the Government of Mali and members of the Plateforme coalition of armed groups in a key step towards bringing stability and security back to the beleaguered country. In a statement issued by the UN spokesperson’s office today, Mr. Ban applauded the signing of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in the Malian capital, Bamako, and congratulated the parties and the Algeria-led Mediation Team for their efforts in producing a “balanced text.” “The Secretary-General notes that today’s signature by some of the parties…
15 May 2015 – The United Nations human rights chief has voiced concern over the developments in Burundi over the past two days following a reportedly failed coup d’état in the country’s capital and urged all armed forces and non-state actors to refrain from actions that may endanger civilians. “I am deeply worried by the extremely tense situation in Burundi. We are receiving alarming messages from human rights defenders and journalists fearing for their safety,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein declared in a press release issued this afternoon. “I urge the Burundian authorities to ensure…
14 May 2015 – The security situation in South Sudan deteriorated further during late April and early May, the head of the United Nations mission in the country warned today as she briefed the Security Council on the “very worrying” developments that have had a devastating effect on civilians. “The untold suffering of the people of South Sudan must stop,” Ellen Margrethe Løj, head of the UN Mission (UNMISS) declared today, as she presented to the Council the latest report of the Secretary-General. “Every day without a political agreement contributes to a further deterioration of the situation on the ground,…
14 May 2015 – The complexities and complications surrounding the plight of civilians in Iraq remain “enormous” amid slow political progress and ongoing violence throughout the country, a senior United Nations official warned today as he urged the international community to support the Gulf State’s efforts towards stability and peace. “Iraq is temporarily unable to cope alone with the challenges of the security and humanitarian crisis and stabilisation and rehabilitation efforts,” UN Special Representative for Iraq Ján Kubiš told the Security Council in a briefing this morning. “Unfortunately, however critical is the urgency of continuous and massive support for Iraq,…
14 May 2015 – As the main planting season begins in South Sudan, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has announced today that it is accelerating its efforts to get vital seeds, tools and other materials to some of the country’s most vulnerable farmers. “We have a small window to provide farmers with the inputs they need to start planting,” Karim Bah, FAO’s Emergency Response Manager in South Sudan, said in a statement. “For many farmers, this is the only opportunity to plant cereals this year,” added Serge Tissot, FAO’s acting representative in South Sudan. “Without seeds now, they…
13 May 2015 – The top United Nations humanitarian official has welcomed the commencement of a ceasefire in Yemen aimed at allowing the delivery of “lifesaving” relief and aid to the country’s civilian populations. “I call on all parties to the conflict to respect this vital pause in hostilities,” Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA) Valerie Amos said in a statement issued late yesterday evening. “This pause will provide a respite for civilians and allow the delivery of food, medical supplies and other essential items to people who have been trapped in conflict zones.” Ms. Amos also…
13 May 2015 – A United Nations human rights report released today says that a Uganda-based rebel group has committed grave violations of international humanitarian law in crisis-riven north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The report says that the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) committed the violations, which were systematic and extremely brutal, and which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, over a three-month period at the end of 2014 in Beni territory, North Kivu province. “In light of the magnitude and the persistence of the attacks by ADF combatants, I call upon the Congolese authorities to…
12 May 2015 – The joint United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has strongly deplored “the rapid deterioration of tensions” between the Rezeigat and Ma’alia tribes as both parties continue to engage each other in a series of armed confrontations which have resulted in dozens of casualties. In a press release, the Mission said it remained “gravely concerned” about that apparent continued mobilization of both sides despite a temporary lull in the fighting, adding that UNAMID peacekeepers in East Darfur had “raised their levels of preparedness” and put in place “proactive response measures” to address any spike in requests…
9 May 2015 – The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Liberia free of Ebola virus transmission as forty-two days have passed since the last laboratory-confirmed case was buried on 28 March, a “monumental achievement” for a country that reported the highest number of deaths in the largest, longest, and most complex outbreak since Ebola first emerged in 1976. Liberia’s last case was a woman in the greater Monrovia area who developed symptoms on 20 March and died on 27 March, WHO confirmed in a statement today. Since then health officials have maintained a high level of vigilance for new…
10 May 2015 – The conflict in Yemen is taking a dreadful toll on civilians, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for the country has warned, as he also expressed deep concern over yesterday’s airstrikes on the city of Sa’ada, where scores of civilians were reportedly killed. “Many civilians are effectively trapped in Sa’ada as they are unable to access transport because of the fuel shortage,” Johannes van der Klaauw said in a statement released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Mr. van der Klaauw said that thousands of more civilians were forced to flee their…
4 May 2015 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned yesterday’s shooting in Texas that injured a law enforcement officer, reiterating that such criminal acts have nothing to do with religion or belief. In response to a question asked during the daily briefing at UN Headquarters in New York, a note to reporters issued by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said the Secretary-General condemns the attack by two gunmen who opened fire and injured a security guard in Texas yesterday. According to news reports, the shooting incident took place in the Dallas suburb of Garland outside a venue hosting a controversial…