Africa

Head of MONUSCO, Martin Kobler, comforting a Beni, North Kivu, resident who had several family members killed during recent attacks attributed to ADF rebels, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
MONUSCO

DR Congo: UN Mission comes under attack, steps up security

22 October 2014
The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, known as MONUSCO, has stepped up its security following several attacks on its bases in North Kivu, including one this morning, when a large number of youths converged on the premises, and another yesterday which required the evacuation of 12 staff members.
WHO welcomed the donation by the Public Health Agency of Canada of 800 vials of one of the leading candidate Ebola vaccines, rVSV-ZEBOV.
WHO/M. Missioneiro (file)

Amid ongoing Ebola outbreak, UN ramps up Organization-wide response

22 October 2014
A United Nations health committee has met for the third time in three months to evaluate the Organization’s ongoing response to the global Ebola crisis amid broader agency-wide efforts in confronting the deadly disease, UN officials confirmed today.
Boarding a pirate vessel off the coast of Somalia.
EU (File photo)

Sustained response to Somalia piracy requires effective State governance – UN political chief

22 October 2014
While noting the progress made to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia, the United Nations political chief today said that a sustained long-term solution must include the presence of effective Government and State institutions that provide basic services and alternative ways for people to make a living.
Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Ellen Margrethe Løj, briefs the Security Council.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

‘No alternative to silencing the guns,’ UN South Sudan envoy tells Security Council

22 October 2014
There is no alternative to silencing the guns and immediately agreeing a comprehensive peace deal so South Sudan can return to the path of peace and stability, the United Nations envoy for the strife-riven country said today, urging the Security Council and regional leaders to help bring the warring parties to the negotiating table.
Internally displaced people queue up at a food distribution center in Juba, South Sudan.
UN Photo/JC McIlwaine

South Sudan: UN Mission transfers internally displaced persons to protection sites

21 October 2014
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has opened new sites for about 28,000 internally displaced persons adjacent to its bases in three state capitals to improve living conditions of civilians who have been uprooted by the recent conflict, a senior UN official said in Juba today.
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Director in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Scott Campbell.
UN Photo/Sylvain Liechti

DR Congo: Ban deplores expulsion of UN rights officer

21 October 2014
Secretary -General Ban Ki-moon has condemned last week’s decision by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to expel from the country its top United Nations human rights official, saying that doing so can “only be harmful for the country’s progress” and urged the Government to reconsider its position.
In early October 2014, with the help of the US Navy, a new mobile laboratory opened at Island Clinic, one of the WHO-supported Ebola Treatment Units (ETU) in Monrovia, Liberia.
WHO/R. Sørenson

As Ebola response accelerates, UN health agency prepares for arrival of trial vaccines

21 October 2014
Amid positive developments in the global fight against Ebola, including a growing response to the Secretary-General’s appeals for the more funding to tackle the outbreak, the United Nations health agency today announced the expected delivery of Ebola candidate vaccines, as the UN system continues to ramps up efforts to quell the spread of the deadly virus.
Ugandan soldiers serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
AU/UN IST/Stuart Price

Somalia: UN envoy condemns attack on African Union troops in Hiiraan region

20 October 2014
The UN envoy for Somalia condemned today an attack on African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces in Hiiraan region and called for calm as rival clans caused insecurity in the area, which is near the centre of the East African country.
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zainab Hawa Bangura briefs journalists on her recent visit to South Sudan.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

South Sudan at ‘crossroads’ as it seeks to combat sexual violence, says UN official

20 October 2014
Sexual violence has become a key feature of the continuing conflict in South Sudan, the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, has declared, while affirming that the widespread use of rape could ultimately be stopped through greater political and legal efforts by the Government and civil society.
Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region Said Djinnit.
UN Photo/JC McIlwaine

In Burundi, UN envoy lauds role of women, youths in bringing peace to Great Lakes

20 October 2014
Women and young people must play a central role in establishing a long-term peace for Africa’s Great Lakes Region amid the area’s renewed efforts to overcome a past scarred by conflict, a top UN official said today.