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DR CONGO CRISIS: Updates as top UN official tells emergency Security Council meeting ‘we are trapped’

·January 26, 2025·1 min read

Intensifying hostilities in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo involving the non-state armed group M23 have caused further mass displacement in the mineral-rich region, with fears that the regional capital Goma could come under attack, UN agencies warned on Friday....

Top humanitarian official issues ceasefire appeal during visit to Gaza City

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·January 13, 2025·1 min read

Muhannad Hadi, who is also the Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, made the appeal during a visit to Gaza City, where he met with representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The senior official also visited Holy Family Church, where he recorded a video message on the church...

Haiti gangs crisis: Top rights expert decries attacks on hospitals

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·January 4, 2025·1 min read

William O’Neill, who reports to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, highlighted an attack on the Bernard Mevs Hospital in Port-au-Prince on 17 December and the killing of several journalists and a police officer at the General Hospital on 24 December. The victims were attending the hospital’s official reopening....

‘I saw the blood on the tarmac’: top UN official in Yemen recounts aftermath of Israel airstrike on civilian airport

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·December 29, 2024·2 min read

On 26 December, Israeli forces struck Sana’a International Airport, Red Sea ports and power stations. Tedros was at the airport when it was hit, along with Mr. Harneis and other members of a UN party negotiating the release of several UN workers held hostage by Ansar Allah, the de facto...

In Damascus, top UN envoy stresses need for credible, inclusive, ‘Syrian owned’ transition

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·December 17, 2024·4 min read

The UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria also called on Monday for all parties to prioritize the protection of civilians as the country grapples with a worsening humanitarian crisis and ongoing violence, including in the Golan. Special Envoy Geir Pedersen arrived in Damascus over the weekend, and on Sunday...

305 million people need lifesaving help next year, says UN’s top aid official

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·December 4, 2024·4 min read

“The world is on fire…We are dealing with a polycrisis right now globally and it is the most vulnerable people in the world who are paying the price. We are dealing with the impact of conflicts – multiple conflicts – and crises of longer duration and of more intense ferocity” said...

UNRWA cannot be replaced, say UN top officials in response to Knesset ban

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·October 29, 2024·2 min read

Echoing UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s warning late Monday that the development would likely have “devastating consequences” as UNRWA is the principal deliverer of aid relief inside the war-torn enclave, UN human rights chief Volker Türk called the Knesset move “deeply troubling for many reasons”. In Geneva, spokesperson for the UN...

‘Entire population of north Gaza at risk of dying,’ warns UN’s top humanitarian official

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·October 27, 2024·1 min read

“What Israeli forces are doing in besieged north Gaza cannot be allowed to continue,” said Joyce Msuya, acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, in a statement posted on the social media platform X. Hospitals have been hit, health workers detained and first responders prevented from rescuing...

Gaza at a ‘critical juncture’ as top UN officials call for a ceasefire now

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·October 20, 2024·4 min read

“Although he does not comment on events of this nature, the Secretary-General is interested that this now leads to an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza,” Farhan Haq told the daily press briefing at UN Headquarters. Increasingly dire in the...

Top UN rights body extends mandates for Russia and Sudan

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·October 10, 2024·2 min read

The mandate of Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Russia, established by the 47-member Council in October 2022, was extended last October. The Special Rapporteur is tasked with monitoring, assessing and reporting on the rights situation in the country. The current mandate holder, Mariana Katzarova, is not...

Trailblazing women win top UNHCR award for life-changing work

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·October 9, 2024·2 min read

This year’s global laureate for the UN refugee agency award, Sister Rosita Milesi, is a Brazilian nun, lawyer, social worker and movement builder who has championed the rights and dignity of people on the move for nearly 40 years. The four others have been named regional winners. “All too often,...

Top UN official appeals for calm following wave of pager explosions in Lebanon

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·September 18, 2024·1 min read

The coordinated attacks reportedly targeted the Hezbollah militant group, with hundreds of electronic pagers belonging to its members blowing up at the same time, according to international media reports. ‘Extremely concerning escalation’ “The developments today mark an extremely concerning escalation in what is an already unacceptably volatile context,” Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert...