Europe

President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s seventieth session.
UN Photo/Cia Pak

In Assembly address, Russian President stresses national sovereignty within context of UN Charter

28 September 2015
Stressing the unique legitimacy, representation and universality of the United Nations, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned today that many of the crises facing the world have been exacerbated by countries acting against sovereign States outside the UN Charter.
A woman carrying a child under a blanket walks on a muddy path in the southern Serbian town of Preševo, on the border with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
UNICEF/Tomislav Georgiev

UNICEF launches new appeal to support refugee and migrant children in Europe

25 September 2015
Warning of a “massive” increase in the numbers of children on the move to Europe, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced today that it will be appealing for $14 million to address the needs of migrant and refugee children who have escaped war-torn countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
A convoy of 13 trucks carrying humanitarian aid arriving at Gorlovka in eastern Ukraine.
UNHCR/V. Stetsenko

Top UN relief official alarmed as aid agencies ordered to leave Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine

24 September 2015
Alarmed by news that the de facto authorities in crisis-torn eastern Ukraine have ordered United Nations agencies in Luhansk to end operations and to leave the area by tomorrow, 25 September, the top UN humanitarian official urged the authorities, as well as parties “with influence over [them]” to ensure the resumption of humanitarian aid by UN and non-governmental agencies.
Two young refugees wait with their parents to go to emergency accommodation in Nickelsdorf, Austria, which is facing an unprecedented arrival of refugees, mainly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
UNHCR/F. Rainer

UN welcomes expanded EU support to refugees fleeing conflict, urges speedy implementation

24 September 2015
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon joined the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees today in welcoming a decision by the European Union (EU) to increase resources for humanitarian assistance to countries neighbouring war-ravaged Syria.
A woman holds a small child, while others who have fled their homes amid the ongoing refugee and migrant crisis stand behind her, on a rainy day near the town of Gevgelija, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, on the border with Greece.
UNICEF/Tomislav Georgiev

Thousands of women on the move in Europe need reproductive healthcare – UN

22 September 2015
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) today stressed the need to ensure women refugees and migrants moving across Europe have access to life-saving sexual and reproductive healthcare, as it appealed for $4.2 million for humanitarian assistance.
A woman carrying a child under a blanket walks on a muddy path in the southern Serbian town of Preševo, on the border with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
UNICEF/Tomislav Georgiev

UN agency warns European leaders of ‘last opportunity’ for response to refugee crisis

22 September 2015
European Union leaders are meeting in Brussels today and tomorrow to discuss the ongoing refugee and migration crisis, in what the United Nations cautioned may be the last chance to create a coherent response to end the suffering and exploitation of refuges and migrants.
A hospital in Sloviansk, Ukraine, which was destroyed by shelling.
UNICEF Ukraine/Pavel Zmey

Lives in Ukraine being lost in accountability vacuum, warns UN rights expert

18 September 2015
The Ukrainian Government and the armed groups operating in the country must implement a proper system of accountability to end the violence, an independent United Nations human rights expert warned today.
Syrian man carrying a baby along the highway with other refugees, several kilometres after leaving Budapest, Hungary, heading in the direction of Vienna, Austria.
UNHCR/Mark Henley

Time running out for Europe to solve refugee crisis; children particularly vulnerable – UN

18 September 2015
In the wake of yesterday’s “mayhem” on the Serbian border with Croatia, which has now closed some of its entry points, and the dramatic situation on the Hungarian border this week, the United Nations is urging a coherent and united response to Europe’s refugee crisis.
Refugees in Hungary with all their belongings, during a standoff with police, while refusing to go to an already full registration centre.
UNHCR/ Mark Henley

UN rights chief ‘appalled’ at recent treatment of refugees, migrants by Hungarian authorities

17 September 2015
The United Nations human rights chief said today he is “appalled” at the recent actions displayed by the Hungarian Government in its treatment of refugees and migrants, and urged European institutions to take firm action to respond to the crisis affecting several countries.
In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, refugees take shelter beneath a metal pavilion on a rainy day, near the town of Gevgelija, on the border with Greece.
UNICEF/Tomislav Georgiev

Europe must change course on refugee crisis response, stresses UN agency

16 September 2015
Only a united European emergency response can address the current refugee and migration crisis, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stressed today.