Iran is implementing a series of commitments under the nuclear agreement reached with key countries in 2015, the head of the United Nations nuclear energy agency said Monday.

“As of today, I can state that Iran is implementing its nuclear-related commitments,” he said in his introductory statement to the Board of Governors, one of the two policy-making bodies of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – reached by Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union – sets out rigorous mechanisms for monitoring limits on Iran’s nuclear programme, while paving the way for lifting UN sanctions against the country, and “represents a significant gain for verification,” he added.

Mr. Amano said that it is essential for Iran to continues fully implementing those commitments. “If the JCPOA were to fail, it would be a great loss for nuclear verification and for multilateralism,” he warned.

He said IAEA inspectors had had access to all the sites and locations which they needed to visit.

At a news conference later in the day, Mr. Amano gave more details of the Agency’s activities in Iran.

“Our inspection work has doubled since 2013. IAEA inspectors now spend 3,000 calendar days per year on the ground in Iran,” he told reporters in the Austrian capital.

He said IAEA has installed some 2,000 tamper-proof seals on nuclear material and equipment, collected and analysed hundreds of thousands of images captured daily by its sophisticated surveillance cameras in Iran.

He also said “the most important event” in the IAEA calendar this year is Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Science and Technology, which will take place in Vienna from November 28 to 30.

The conference will bring together ministers, technical experts and many others to consider how countries can make optimal use of nuclear science and technology in achieving their development goals.

The IAEA contributes directly to the achievement of nine of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals as nuclear science and technology can help countries to produce more food, generate more electricity, treat diseases such as cancer, manage their water supplies, and respond to climate change.

Mr. Amano’s full remarks to the Board of Governors, here.

A United Nations-Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) humanitarian convoy arrived in the besieged Syrian enclave of Eastern Ghouta on Monday bringing life-saving aid to thousands of desperate people, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has reported.

The convoy carried wheat flour for 27,500 people in the city of Duma, as well as specialized nutritional supplies for malnourished children, and marked the first time in four months that WFP and its partners have reached the area.

Aid workers also conducted food security, nutrition and medical assessments.

Eastern Ghouta, located near the capital, Damascus, has been under heavy bombardment, with more than 400,000 people experiencing shortages of food, fuel, medicines and drinking water.

 “A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Eastern Ghouta where raging violence has paralyzed our response and our ability to reach families who desperately need help,” said Jakob Kern, WFP Representative and Country Director in Syria.

“The longer Eastern Ghouta is deprived of the necessities of life, the more people will die. We appeal to all parties to allow the ongoing and safe delivery of aid to all people in need, no matter where they are.”

Syrian Arab Red Crescent

With thousands in need of life-saving aid, a convoy consisting of 46 truckloads of health and nutrition supplies will provide some relief.

Marwa Awad, a WFP Communications Officer based in Damascus, said plans are under way for another humanitarian convoy to access Eastern Ghouta on Thursday. 

“This one convoy is not enough in order to cover the needs of the nearly 400,000 people on the inside, and it’s one drop in an ocean of needs and we very much look forward to and hope to be able to get more access in the future to support the people who desperately need humanitarian assistance,” she said.

WFP reported that a recent food security analysis has revealed widespread severe malnutrition in Duma.

The UN agency provides food assistance to three million people in Syria every month.

Increased hunger and food insecurity, fuelled by conflict and climatic challenges, continues to inflict suffering on populations in different parts of the world, forcing them to remain dependent on humanitarian assistance, a new United Nations report has warned.

According to the Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, issued Monday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the need for external food assistance in 37 countries – either affected by conflict or adverse climate shocks – remains unchanged compared to the situation three months back.

“Civil war and insecurity are direct reasons for high hunger rates in 16 of those countries, ranging from Burundi to Yemen,” said FAO in a news release announcing the findings.

“Conflict is displacing millions of people, hampering agricultural activities and, in many cases, also driving basic food prices up sharply,” it added.

At the same time, inadequate and erratic rainfall is also posing a growing threat to food security in southern and eastern Africa, where many rural households have suffered from four consecutive drought-affected agricultural seasons.

In Somalia, aggregated cereal production for the country’s “deyr” rainy season is estimated at 20 per cent below average, and similar pattern in rainfall and yields has been observed in north-eastern Tanzania.

Furthermore, prices of staple cereals such as wheat, millet or sorghum continued to remain high as a result of removal of subsidies, increased demand, and weakening of currencies.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, for instance, inflation pushed prices to more than double in 2017 to a 42 percent annual rate.

Another factor driving up prices was the disruption of traditional trade routes due to violence, such as in and around the Sahel, as a result of which countries dependent on these routes (such as Libya) witnessed much higher prices as well as facing food shortages.

The FAO report lists the following 37 countries as currently in need of external food assistance: Afghanistan; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo; Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Guinea; Haiti; Iraq; Kenya; Lesotho; Liberia; Libya; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mozambique; Myanmar; Niger; Nigeria; Pakistan; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Sudan; Sudan; Swaziland; Syria; Uganda; Yemen; and Zimbabwe.

The United Nations and its partners plan to deliver much-needed relief assistance to the besieged Syrian enclave of eastern Ghouta this week, the global organization’s humanitarian wing said on Sunday.

A convoy of 46 trucks carrying health and nutrition supplies, along with food for 27,500 people, should arrive in the city of Duma on Monday, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, has reported.

“We hope that the convoy may proceed as planned and will be followed by other convoys. Our teams on the ground are ready to do all that is needed to make this happen,” said UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, Ali Al-Za’tari.

Nearly 400,000 people in Eastern Ghouta, located near the capital, Damascus, are trapped in what UN Secretary-General António Guterres has characterized as “hell on Earth.”

On 24 February, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a 30-day nationwide ceasefire in Syria, in addition to other measures including the lifting of sieges, particularly in eastern Ghouta.

However, UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, Panos Moumtzis, who is based in Jordan, noted that one week later there has yet to be a cessation of hostilities, while violence has escalated in some areas.

“Instead of a much needed reprieve, we continue to see more fighting, more death, and more disturbing reports of hunger and hospitals being bombed. This collective punishment of civilians is simply unacceptable,” he said in a statement issued on Sunday.

“The UN and humanitarian partners stand ready to assist the 13.1 million of people in need inside Syria, but cannot do it alone. We certainly cannot do this while the fighting continues.”

OCHA reported that the UN and partners have received approval to deliver assistance for 70,000 people in need in Duma.

The UN has received assurances that the remaining supplies for all approved people in need will be delivered on 8 March, according to a press release issued by the UN office.

So far this year, the only UN aid delivery to eastern Ghouta was on 14 February, when a convoy with supplies for 7,200 people reached the town of Nashabiyah.

Meanwhile, the UN has called on all parties in Syria to facilitate unconditional, unimpeded, and sustained humanitarian access to all people in need throughout the country.

The Syrian conflict began in March 2011 and has generated what has been described as the worst humanitarian crisis of our time.

Despite the ongoing violence, the UN continues to provide millions of people in need with life-saving assistance on a monthly basis.

The two deadly terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ougadougou, on Friday have been strongly condemned by the United Nations.  

The attacks against the country’s military headquarters and the French Embassy resulted in at least 16 deaths and scores of injuries, according to media reports.

In a phone call that day to President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed solidarity with the country’s Government, according to a statement issued by his spokesperson.

The UN chief encouraged the authorities to launch an investigation into the incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice.

He also expressed his profound sympathy to the families of the victims in addition to wishing a speedy and full recovery to the injured.

Mr Guterres reiterated the UN’s commitment to support Burkina Faso in its efforts to fight violent extremism and terrorism and create the conditions for sustainable peace and development, among other measures. 

Burkina Faso is among a group of five Sahel countries, together known  as the G5, which are facing complex interconnected security and development challenges.

The others are Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.

“The Secretary-General renews his call for an urgent and concerted effort by the international community in support of the countries in the region to tackle, in a holistic manner, the peace and security, development and humanitarian challenges affecting the Sahel, including through the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel and the full operationalization of the G5 Sahel Joint Force,” the statement concluded.

The members of  the UN Security Council have also condemned the attacks in the strongest terms, describing them as “barbaric and cowardly.”

The Council has issued a statement underling that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, “regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.”

The 15 ambassadors expressed their solidarity with Burkina Faso in its fight against terrorism and also  stressed the need to intensify regional and international efforts to combat terrorism and violent extremism, which may be conducive to terrorism.