The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the Democratic Republic of the Congo told the Security Council on Monday that “a lasting solution” to the violence “requires a broader political commitment to address the root causes of conflict.”  Bintou Keita argued that, for stability to return to eastern Congo, “the State must succeed in restoring and maintaining the confidence of the

Millions of people in Ethiopia could be pushed deeper into hunger as the World Food Programme (WFP) faces a major funding shortfall that threatens its operations there over the coming six months, the UN agency warned on Monday.  WFP urgently needs $579 million to deliver food aid and livelihood support to some 12 million Ethiopians

The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution to combat the continuing threat of piracy off the coast of Somalia, as shipping and protection measures to keep vessels safe, have returned to levels not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Secretary-General’s latest report on the situation in the country illustrates that joint counter-piracy

As Gambians prepare to choose their next president on Saturday, the UN Secretary-General asked on Friday for voters to help foster “a peaceful environment” at the polls.   In a statement released by his Spokesperson, António Guterres calls “on the electoral management body, candidates, political party leaders and their followers, through their conduct, to ensure a peaceful environment conducive to a credible, inclusive and

Experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council have called for urgent action to end violence against women and girls caught in the Tigray conflict in northern Ethiopia.  In a statement issued on Friday, they expressed grave concern about the widespread sexual and gender-based violence attributed to Ethiopian, Eritrean, Tigray and Amhara forces, as well

Over 700,000 children have been impacted by school closures due to often brutal violence in Cameroon, according to an analysis released by the UN humanitarian arm, OCHA, on Thursday.  Two out of three schools are closed in the North-West and South-West regions of the country. On 24 November, four children and one teacher were killed in an attack in Ekondo Titi, in the South-West.  Lockdown  A recent lockdown imposed by a non-State armed

Concluding a four-day to visit Burkina Faso, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Wednesday that the country faces “a multitude of challenges with severe impacts on a wide range of human rights of its people”. She noted the landlocked West African nation faced the on-going threat of violent extremism, climate change and humanitarian crises,

For two decades, the African Union (AU) has been “a gold standard of regional co-operation”, Secretary-General António Guterres told the fifth UN-AU Annual Conference on Wednesday in New York. He highlighted the wide range of progress made through collaboration, from frameworks around peace, security and sustainable development, to joint missions and programmes for humanitarian operations,

The UN refugee Agency, UNHCR, is “appalled by a series of deadly attacks” on displaced people in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the agency’s spokesperson told journalists on Tuesday in Geneva. In the latest incident carried out by armed groups, UNHCR spokesperson Boris Cheshirkov cited local authorities in saying that 26 people were

Eddie Ndopu, an award-winning disability activist from South Africa, and one of 17 United Nations advocates for the Sustainable Development Goals, lives with spinal muscular atrophy, and faces many difficulty daily challenges. Ahead of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, on 3 December, Mr. Ndopu discusses how he has overcome barriers to travel the world

The number of people in need of humanitarian food assistance across northern Ethiopia has spiked as a direct result of ongoing conflict, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.  “Today, 9.4 million people are living their worst nightmare,” Tomson Phiri, the agency’s spokesperson, told journalists in Geneva.  80 per cent ‘behind battle lines’  Of the people

The UN health agency has urged all countries to adopt a risk-based and scientific approach to travel bans linked to a new COVID-19 variant identified in South Africa and Botswana. The development on Friday came as a World Health Organization (WHO) panel prepared to meet to assess the potential impact of a new coronavirus variant identified

With the dire humanitarian situation in Tigray, Ethiopia, continuing to deteriorate, it is critical to establish a regular flow of humanitarian aid into the region, the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said on Wednesday.  Yesterday, almost 40 trucks with humanitarian supplies, including food, left the Afar capital of Semera for Tigray – the first convoy to do so since 18 October.   Meanwhile, trucks containing fuel and medical supplies are still waiting for clearance in Semera.  Around 500 trucks

With one month left until elections in Libya, it is important that the international community remains united in support of the process, UN Special Envoy Ján Kubiš told the Security Council on Wednesday.  He reported that the political climate remains “heavily polarized” ahead of the presidential and parliamentary polls, which are being held in line

Beginning on 7 December, ministers from around the world will meet in Seoul, Republic of Korea, to close UN Peacekeeping capability gaps through concrete pledges with a focus on technology, medical capacity building, reducing the UN’s environmental footprint and increasing the number and role of women peacekeepers, UN officials said at a press conference on

With about 2.3 million people already suffering with serious water, food and pasture shortages in Somalia, a rapidly worsening drought could lead to an “extreme situation” by April next year.   The warning comes from the United Nations and the Somali Government. Climate projections show that the country is facing a fourth consecutive failed rainfall season.  In a joint statement on Friday, the organizations said it is

The international community must step up support to Madagascar, where more than one million people in the south are facing severe hunger, the top UN aid official there said on Thursday in a renewed appeal for solidarity and funding.  The impacts of the most acute drought in over 40 years, combined with sandstorms and pests,

At least 39 people have been killed by security forces in Sudan since the 25 October military coup, 15 of whom were reportedly shot dead on Wednesday, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.   On Thursday, Michelle Bachelet condemned the killings, saying it is “utterly shameful” that live ammunition keeps being used against protesters.   “Shooting into large crowds of unarmed demonstrators, leaving dozens dead and many more injured, is

Although progress has been made in Somalia’s electoral process, it has been slow and uneven, the UN Special Representative for the country said in a briefing to the Security Council on Tuesday. James Swan welcomed completion of the indirect elections for the Upper House of Somalia’s Federal Parliament, which began in July, and the start

Over the past week, mass arrests of people reportedly of Tigrayan origin have continued in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa and elsewhere, the UN rights office said on Tuesday.  The alert from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) comes as the World Food Programme (WFP) described the aid situation for vulnerable people in Tigray as “hand-to-mouth”.  Citing reports, OHCHR said that at least 1,000 individuals are believed

Children in the Central African Republic (CAR) have suffered a spike in grave violations since the end of 2020, according to a new UN report on the situation in the country, issued on Monday.  The report on children and armed conflict in CAR highlighted that between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2021, 1,280 children suffered one or more grave violations, with girls accounting for more than 40 per

As the humanitarian crisis grows in Ethiopia’s conflict-affected north, the UN announced on Monday that $40 million in funds have been made available to scale up emergency operations.  The UN’s top emergency relief official, Martin Griffiths, said that millions of people in northern Ethiopia are now “living on a knife-edge, as the humanitarian crisis is growing deeper and wider”.  After returning from visiting Ethiopia, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief

Even amid the dire humanitarian crisis in the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia, health workers continue to deliver safe, lifesaving care to mothers-to-be, with assistance from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).  The UN agency has supported a community-based health care organization called Maedot, which has established a Maternity Waiting Home at a camp for people displaced by the ongoing

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged Libyans to forge a spirt of national unity and overcome any remaining differences ahead of landmark presidential and parliamentary elections next month.  Mr. Guterres made the appeal in a video message to the Paris Conference on Libya, convened on Friday by French President Emmanuel Macron.  Some 30 countries and

UN agencies raised the alarm on Wednesday over the growing food crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), calling for an urgent scaling-up of assistance.  The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) warned that without help, widespread and unabated food insecurity could worsen in the coming months.   Some 27 million people, one-quarter of the country’s population, face crisis or emergency acute food

UN Police (UNPOL) is a key component of peacekeeping, Under-Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the Security Council on Thursday, whose officers help guide the UN’s response to challenges facing the thousands of ‘blue helmets’ who serve, through the Action for Peacekeeping initiative (A4P). “A4P aims to refocus peacekeeping on realistic expectations, make peacekeeping missions stronger and

Fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has forced at least 11,000 people to flee to neighbouring Uganda since Sunday night, representing the largest refugee influx in a single day for more than a year, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday.  Women and children comprise the majority of those who

A year-long conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia has reached “disastrous proportions”, the UN political chief told the Security Council on Monday, warning of “grave uncertainty” surrounding the future of the country and stability of the whole Horn of Africa region.   Fighting began in early November last year, when forces of the Tigray

The UN chief has joined the whole UN system in Sierra Leone in mourning the victims of an fuel tanker collision on Friday night in the capital Freetown, that reportedly left at least 98 people dead, and many more injured. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement issued by his Spokesperson on Saturday, that he was “deeply saddened by the

More than a million people in Burkina Faso have been displaced from their homes, victims of ongoing conflict and poverty. Nevertheless, following a recent visit to the central and northern regions of the country, Barbara Manzi, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Burkina Faso, says she met a resilient people keen to find their own solutions,