Myanmar quake: ‘I constantly worry – what if another earthquake happens?’
The 7.7 magnitude earthquake which struck shortly before 1 PM local time on 28 March, was the strongest in recent memory. As aftershocks continue, UN agencies are warning of a looming health emergency, with children sleeping in the open, exposed…
UN reflects on the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda
António Guterres joined survivors, diplomats and civil society members for the annual ceremony in the UN General Assembly Hall to mourn the lives lost in this “chilling chapter in human history” and to prevent it from ever happening again. He…
UN rights chief urges probe into Russian attack that killed nine children in Ukraine
Volker Türk issued a statement expressing shock at the attack, which occurred on Friday evening in a residential area. A team from the UN Human Rights Office in Ukraine visited the impact site the following day, documented the damage, and…
More than one million children in Gaza deprived of aid for over a month: UNICEF
No aid has been allowed into Gaza since 2 March, representing the longest period of aid blockage since the start of the war, resulting in shortages of food, safe water, shelter, and medical supplies. UNICEF said that without these essentials,…
UN deplores deadly attack on city in central Ukraine
Matthias Schmale said he was outraged by reports of yet another Russian attack on the city, which is located in the Dnipro region. “This attack follows a deeply disturbing pattern of repeated attacks on populated areas across Ukraine that continue…
Gaza: Paramedic still missing after aid worker killings, Palestinian Red Crescent Society calls for answers
Last Sunday, a joint PRCS and UN humanitarian coordination office (OCHA) mission uncovered a shallow grave in Rafah. The bodies of eight PRCS paramedics, six civil defence workers, and one UN staff member were found. They had been killed by the Israeli…
Sudan: Suffering continues amid massive destruction across Khartoum
Mohamed Refaat, IOM Chief of Mission in Sudan, was speaking to reporters after returning from previously inaccessible Khartoum state, which is now back under the control of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). War erupted between the SAF and former ally…
Myanmar quake: Airstrikes persist as UN pushes aid efforts
Despite the military’s announcement of a ceasefire, attacks have continued across the country, exacerbating an already dire situation, UN human rights chief Volker Türk warned on Friday. “In the days following the deadly earthquake that tore through central Myanmar last…
UN rights office calls for end to Israel’s ‘illegal presence’ in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
The Palestinian co-director of the documentary, Basel Adra, delivered remarks to the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. Ambassador Riyad Mansour of the Observer State of Palestine and Israeli Human Rights lawyer Netta Amar…
UN rights chief warns of increasing risk of atrocity crimes in Gaza
Ambassadors met for an emergency session to discuss the escalation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Rights chief Volker Türk said he was pained to brief the Council once again on the “catastrophic suffering of people in Gaza,” noting that “the…