Tag Archives: UN

27 March 2017 – As the escalation of the conflict in Yemen enters its third year this week, the top United Nations humanitarian official has called on the parties to the conflict to commit to political dialogue and resolve the situation or risk an unending manmade crisis.

In a statement, Stephen O’Brien, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs underscored that in addition to wrecking the country’s economy, killing thousands and displacing millions, the fighting has brought Yemen to the brink of a famine.

&#8220During my third visit to Yemen only weeks ago, I saw the terrible and terrifying evidence of looming famine,&#8221 said Mr. O’Brien.

&#8220In the hospital ward, the complete stillness of the tiny malnourished child whose eyes focus on nothing. The grim realization that these patients were the fortunate ones who could access a hospital and might survive.&#8221

Underscoring that UN and its partners are already providing life-saving assistance in all of Yemen’s 22 governorates, reaching almost 6 million people every month, Mr. O’Brien urged parties to the conflict to expedite immediate, timely, and unimpeded humanitarian access as well as facilitate commercial activities &#8211 critical to reversing prevailing massive food insecurity and ensuring that people’s basic needs can be met.

Nearly 19 million Yemenis &#8211 over two-thirds of the population &#8211 need humanitarian assistance and, according to UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), seven million are facing starvation.

&#8220Most of all, the Yemeni people need the parties to commit to political dialogue, or this man-made crisis will never end,&#8221 noted Mr. O’Brien.

&#8220In the meantime, together we can &#8211 we must &#8211 avert this famine, this human catastrophe.&#8221

Number of children injured, recruited in conflict nearly doubled in one year &#8211 UNICEF

As with most crises, it is the children who are bearing the brunt of the suffering.

Families are having to resort to &#8220extreme measures&#8221 to support their children as coping measures have been severely eroded, turning Yemen &#8211 the poorest country in the region &#8211 into one of the largest food security and malnutrition emergencies in the world, noted United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in a new report, Falling through the Cracks today.

According to UN verified data, in the past year alone, the number of children killed increased from 900 to more than 1,500; those injured nearly doubled from 1,300 to 2,450; children recruited in fighting neared 1,580 (compared to 850 last year); and 212 schools were attacked (up from 50 last year).

Also, Yemen’s health system is on the verge of collapse, leaving close to 15 million men, women and children with no access to health care. This is all the more concerning given an outbreak of cholera and acute watery diarrhoea in October 2016 that continues to spread, with over 22,500 suspected cases and 106 deaths.

&#8220The war in Yemen continues to claim children’s lives and their future,&#8221 said Meritxell Relaño, UNICEF Representative in the war-torn country.

&#8220We need to act now to pull families back from the brink. The risks for generations to come are extremely high.&#8221

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26 March 2017 – Six aid workers from a national non-governmental organization were killed when their convoy was ambushed yesterday while travelling along the Government-controlled area on the Juba-Pibor road, the United Nations mission in the country (UNMISS) has said.

Their bodies were found on the road by others members of the convoy who were some way behind.

&#8220The United Nations condemns this appalling and pointless loss of life,&#8221 said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for South Sudan and the head of UNMISS, David Shearer in a news release issued by the mission.

&#8220This cold-blooded killing is utterly reprehensible, not least, because these aid workers were dedicated to alleviating the ongoing suffering of the people of South Sudan,&#8221 he added, urging the Government to investigate and apprehend the killers.

The attack &#8211 the single worst incident targeting aid workers in the African country since the outbreak of hostilities in December 2013 &#8211 comes at a time when humanitarian needs have reached unprecedented levels.

&#8220[Such attacks] not only put the lives of aid workers at risk, they also threaten the lives of thousands of South Sudanese who rely on our assistance for their survival,&#8221 said Eugene Owusu, the Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan, stressing that security of relief workers has to be ensured so that they are able to provide relief to the those with immense needs across the nation.

The conflict has taken a devastating tool on the people of South Sudan: around 7.5 million people are in need of relief and protection, and the humanitarian crisis has deepened further with localized famine declared in parts of the country.

No safety when attacks met with silence

At least 79 aid workers have been killed in South Sudan since December 2013, including at least 12 this year. The last two months alone have seen a sharp increase of attacks on humanitarians and looting of supplies intended for people suffering from the famine.

On 14 March, one health worker and a patient were killed in an attack on a humanitarian convoy that was responding to a cholera outbreak in Yirol East (in the central part of South Sudan). Earlier, on 10 March, staff of an international non-governmental organization were detained by non-state armed individuals during fighting in Mayendit town (also in central South Sudan). They were released four days later.

&#8220Every time an attack of this nature happens, we say that it must never happen again. And yet it does […] there is no safety when attacks are met with silence and inaction,&#8221 said the Humanitarian Coordinator, underscoring that the impunity that has prevailed for such crimes must end, and that perpetrators must be brought to justice.

&#8220I implore all those in positions of power to step up to their responsibilities and stop this, as they are ultimately accountable for what happens under their watch.&#8221

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25 March 2017 – On the International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted the challenges that UN staff face and urged everyone to ensure that they have the safety they need to help those most in need around the globe.

&#8220We are still awaiting news of the fate of two members of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a sanctions-monitoring body established by the Security Council,&#8221 said Mr. Guterres in a message.

&#8220We are doing everything possible to find and help them.&#8221

Michael Sharp and Zaida Catalan, of the Group of Experts, went missing in the Kasai Central region in the DRC on 12 March along with four Congolese nationals.

Noting that the latest case highlighted the perils that UN staff and partners often face while serving the world’s people, the UN chief said that last year, seven UN staff were abducted by non-state actors and four were kept as hostages.

&#8220Fortunately, all were ultimately released safely,&#8221 he said, but added that more than 20 UN civilian personnel remain in detention, of whom, six are being held without the UN having received any explanation for their arrest.

&#8220The Department of Safety and Security and I continue to monitor all of these cases and seek the immediate release of our colleagues,&#8221 he added.

Mr. Guterres also noted that only 92 UN Member States are party to the 1994 Convention on the Safety of UN and Associated Personnel, and that only 30 have ratified the 2005 Optional Protocol, which extends protection to UN personnel delivering humanitarian, political or development assistance.

Urging all countries that have not joined these instruments to do so without delay, the UN chief called on everyone to stand in solidarity with all detained staff and to &#8220pledge to work together to ensure that all UN staff have the safety they need to help the world’s most vulnerable&#8221.

The International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members is marked each year on 25 March, the date of the abduction of Alec Collett, who was taken by armed gunmen in 1985 while working for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). His remains were finally found in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley in 2009.

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25 March 2017 – Voicing deep concern over recent escalation of fighting in Syria, the United Nations Special Envoy for the country has urged Iran, Russia and Turkey to undertake urgent efforts to uphold the ceasefire which has been in effect since late December last year.

&#8220Growing violations in recent days are undermining the ceasefire regime addressed through the Astana meetings, with significant negative consequences for the safety of Syrian civilians, humanitarian access and the momentum of the political process,&#8221 said UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura.

According to a note to correspondents issued today, Mr. de Mistura sent letters to the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Turkey and Iran – as the three guarantor-States of the ceasefire – to undertake urgent efforts to uphold it.

These appeals were also brought to the attention of Russia and the United States as the Co-Chairs of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), the note added.

The ceasefire came into effect on 30 December last year, but recent fighting in capital Damascus, Hama and elsewhere in Syria have put it under strain.

Also in the note, Mr. de Mistura noted that joint efforts of Iran, Russia and Turkey to guarantee the ceasefire &#8220are indispensable for improving the conditions on the ground and contributing to an environment conducive for a productive political progress&#8221.

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