18 March 2014 – With about half of the health facilities in strife-torn Central African Republic (CAR) having been looted, the United Nations today appealed for immediate additional resources to scale up efforts to meet the country’s significant health needs. Prior the crisis that began over a year ago, Car had some of the worst global health indicators, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). For example, the country had the sixth-highest child mortality and the third-highest maternal mortality rates in the world. The already weak health system has now virtually collapsed. During the conflict, health facilities have been looted…
Author: UN News
18 March 2014 – The United Nations peacekeeping chief today called on the parties in South sudan to respect the cessation of hostilities agreement they signed two months ago, amid reports of fighting between Government and opposition forces on the ground. “The security and humanitarian situation in South sudan will continue to deteriorate until the parties fully engage in the political talks, respect the cessation of hostilities and allow freedom of movement for the United Nations and its partners,” Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous said as he briefed the Security Council. “Both parties continue to prioritize the pursuit of…
18 March 2014 – Massive international support is crucial as the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon continues to rise and is on track to reaching 1.5 million by the end of this year, a senior United Nations humanitarian official stressed today. “It is imperative that the international community helps bear the brunt of the pressure on Lebanon,” Ross Mountain, the Acting UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, told a news conference in Geneva. As the conflict in Syria enters its fourth year, there are nearly 2.5 million Syrians registered as refugees in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt,…
18 March 2014 – As the Syrian war enters a fourth year, the harrowing violence shows no signs of subsiding – the fighting has driven some nine million civilians from their homes and has reduced many of those who remain to scavenging – said the head of a United Nations-appointed human rights panel, denouncing the international community’s inaction in the pursuit of peace and accountability. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic – appointed by the UN Human Rights Council – presented earlier today in Geneva a detailed report on the living conditions of men and…
18 March 2014 – Hundreds of thousands of Syrians forced to flee the bloodshed in their homeland and now living in Jordan, are struggling to make lives for themselves outside that country’s protective umbrella of refugee camps, a study co-led by the United Nations refugees agency found. “The survey shows the day-to-day survival struggle of some 450,000 registered Syrian refugees as they face rising rents, inadequate housing and educational challenges for their children,” despite the support Jordan offers to them, including free access to the public health care and school systems, said Dan McNorton, spokesperson for the Office of the…
18 March 2014 – Against the backdrop of last week’s ‘dangerous escalation’ in Gaza and Israel, the top United Nations political official told the Security Council today that this latest upsurge serves as yet another reminder that the international community must work together to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict and restore prospects for a durable peace throughout the Middle East. “Last week, with the situation in Gaza, we came very close to the brink of another crisis in an already volatile region,” Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said, referring to the most recent actions by both sides undermining the fragile…
17 March 2014 – As Jordan struggles with severe water shortage issues – ongoing drought, population growth and now waves of refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict – the country is at a critical moment, said a United Nations independent expert today, emphasizing its need to take a holistic, long-term approach to its water and sanitation strategies. “The existing emergency measures to the water scarcity problem are not sufficient or sustainable,” said UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque, wrapping a six-day visit to Jordan. “There must be a link between current…
17 March 2014 – The United Nations Mission in South sudan (UNMISS) says it is in the process of relocating civilians displaced amid the recent conflict to better shelter ahead of coming rains. Some 706,000 people have been displaced since fighting between pro- and anti-Government forces began in mid-December 2013, 77,000 of whom are seeking refuge at UNMISS bases. The Mission will be providing protection by escorting buses, transporting internally displaced people between its Tomping Compound in the capital, Juba, and the UN House. “The Mission says that the congestion of sites, compounded by the coming rains, remains a major…
14 March 2014 – The head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) today urged the international community as well as the Congolese Government to adopt concrete measures that will build on the current stability in the country, saying “it is now up to us to win the peace…with energy, conviction and persistence.” “There is a new momentum and we have to build on it. Our robust protection stance and the hard-won stability are the foundation to build peace,” Special Representative Martin Kobler said, in a briefing to the Security Council, in which…
14 March 2014 – The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) and its partners said today that they are stepping up efforts to help the growing numbers of Central African refugees arriving ill in Cameroon due to hunger and exhaustion during their arduous flight from the war-torn country. According to UNHCR, most of the new arrivals from the Central African Republic (CAR) have spent weeks hiding in the bush without access to sufficient water and food and have walked great distances to reach safety in the eastern Cameroon. Most are fleeing anti-Balaka militiamen who have reportedly targeted Muslims in revenge attacks.…