Middle East

©UNICEF/Nour Alshami

UN chief appeals for end to Syria’s ‘man-made humanitarian nightmare’

21 February 2020
Peace and Security

In a tersely delivered statement on Friday, the UN Secretary-General appealed for an end to the “man-made humanitarian nightmare” currently unfolding in Syria, where ongoing military operations in the north-west have displaced hundreds of thousands amid bitter winter temperatures. 

© UNICEF/Khaled Akacha

End hostilities, ‘preserve lives’: UN refugee chief makes appeal for people trapped in Syria’s Idlib

20 February 2020
Migrants and Refugees

As the already dire situation in north-west Syria dramatically continues to worsen in Idlib province, the head of the United Nations refugee agency called on Thursday for an end to the hostilities and appealed for urgent action to allow the people trapped there to move to places of safety.

WFP/Fares Khoailed

Yemen: Recent uptick in fighting contradicts desire for peace

18 February 2020
Peace and Security

A recent escalation in fighting between warring parties in Yemen contradicts their stated desire to peacefully end nearly five years of conflict, UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths said in a briefing to the Security Council on Tuesday. 

UNICEF/Romenzi

Iraq: Education access still a challenge in former ISIL-controlled areas

17 February 2020
Culture and Education

More than two years after the defeat of ISIL in Iraq, some children in areas formerly controlled by the terrorist group still cannot access school or get the necessary documentation required for enrollment, a UN report published on Monday finds. 

© UNICEF/Forat Abdoullah

As north-west Syria violence reaches ‘horrifying’ new level, UN relief chief says ceasefire is only option

17 February 2020
Peace and Security

The crisis in north-west Syria has reached a “horrifying new level”, the UN Humanitarian Affairs chief warned on Monday.

UNRWA/Marwan Baghdadi

Database of businesses linked to Israeli settlements ‘important initial step’ towards accountability: rights expert 

14 February 2020
Human Rights

A database of 112 businesses connected to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory has been hailed by an independent human rights expert as “an important initial step towards accountability and the end to impunity”. 

IOM

Amidst protection challenges, Eastern Route outpaces Mediterranean for people leaving Africa

14 February 2020
Migrants and Refugees

A monthly average of 11,500 people traveling from the Horn of Africa to Yemen last year made the so-called Eastern Route the busiest maritime migration path on earth, the UN migration agency said on Friday. 

WFP/Beyaz

Vital Idlib aid deliveries resume after ‘heavy bombing’ - WFP 

14 February 2020
Humanitarian Aid

Urgently-needed aid deliveries to embattled civilians in north-west Syria have started again after a day-long break in distributions caused by escalating hostilities, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday. 

UNOCHA

Syria: ‘Massive waves of civilian displacement and loss of life must stop now’: UN Special Envoy

6 February 2020
Peace and Security

Air and ground strikes in the region of Idlib, northwest Syria, are causing “massive waves of civilian displacement and major loss of civilian life”, causing unacceptable human suffering which must stop now, Geir Pedersen, the UN Special Envoy for Syria, told the Security Council on Thursday.

UNOCHA

FROM THE FIELD: ‘Shock and horror’ of military onslaught against Syrians

6 February 2020
Peace and Security

A military escalation in northern Syria which has trapped civilians in Idlib has “shocked and horrified” a senior UN humanitarian official.