Syria faces uncertain future after regime’s collapse amid humanitarian crises
Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher briefed ambassadors via video link from Damascus, where they are engaging with key stakeholders to ramp up UN support and pushing for an inclusive and credible political transition….
In Damascus, top UN envoy stresses need for credible, inclusive, ‘Syrian owned’ transition
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…
Gaza death toll passes 45,000 as UN school suffers new deadly strike
Images taken at the school in Khan Younis showed the apparent impact point of one shell in a concrete upper floor where people had been living at the time of the attack late Sunday night. According to the UN agency…
UN announces plan to address political impasse, overdue elections in Libya
Stephanie Koury, Deputy Special Representative for Libya and acting head of the UN Support Mission in the country, UNSMIL, briefed ambassadors on the initiative a day after presenting it to the population. The UN-facilitated process involves establishing an advisory committee…
Ukraine: Humanitarian crisis worsens amid winter freeze, daily attacks
Lisa Doughten, Director of Financing and Partnerships at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) highlighted the unrelenting toll on civilians. “Daily attacks continue, inflicting death, injury and untold suffering on ordinary Ukrainians, and destruction and damage…
UN envoy calls for increased aid for Syria in Damascus visit
The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, arrived there a week after President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by rebel forces led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTC). Responding to questions from the press upon his arrival, Mr….
Lime-flavoured memories drive innovation on Saudi farm
Mohamed Alnwairan stands in front of a verdant citrus tree which four months hence will bear his first harvest of limes. A former businessman turned farmer, he has been cultivating land in Al Ahsa, in the eastern deserts of Saudi…
UN Special Envoy continues shuttle diplomacy on Syria
Geir Pedersen is due to confer with Arab foreign ministers, the Foreign Minister of Türkiye, US Secretary of State and other senior officials who will be present at a meeting in Aqaba, said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, briefing reporters in…
Climate shocks, humanitarian crises and political division plague Central Africa
Abdou Abarry, UN Special Representative for Central Africa, told ambassadors in the Security Council that disasters and extreme weather events displaced more than three million people in the region this year alone. This has worsened an already fragile socio-economic situation…
Gaza: ‘Sickening normalisation’ of suffering, amid attacks on people and aid convoys
According to local media reports, 30 Palestinians were killed in the central Gaza area overnight on Friday due to airstrikes, said Louise Wateridge, Senior Emergencies Officer with UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA, speaking to reporters in Geneva from central Gaza. …