Peace and Security

A mother carries water which UNICEF has been trucking daily to reach families in makeshift camps in the Syrian Arab Republic.
© UNICEF/Delil Souleiman

Syria: Millions displaced, impoverished and traumatized, Security Council hears

16 December 2020
Middle East

As the end of another year of war looms, “families in Syria remain without respite after almost a decade of conflict”, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council on Wednesday.

Market in Pibor town, South Sudan.
UN Photo: Isaac Billy

Keep focus on South Sudan, UN mission chief tells Security Council

15 December 2020
Africa

The head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), has appealed for the international community to remain focused on the country as it continues to make gains on the political and peacebuilding fronts.   

The city of Soacha just outside the Colombian capital Bogota.
UNOCHA

UN documents 375 killings in Colombia in 2020, urges Government action 

15 December 2020
Americas

The United Nations has recorded the deaths of 255 people in 66 massacres in Colombia this year, as well as the killing of 120 human rights defenders, the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Tuesday.  

Children at an informal settlement for people displaced by Boko Haram violence in Diffa region, south-east Niger. (file photo)
UNICEF/Vincent Tremeau

Niger: UN gravely concerned for safety of refugees, following Boko Haram attack

15 December 2020
Africa

The United Nations voiced grave concern on Tuesday for the safety of thousands of refugees and internally displaced in the wake of a deadly attack on Toumour, a town in southeastern Niger’s Diffa region, near the border with Nigeria. 

A child runs in a field in a village in Katsina state, northwest Nigeria.
UNICEF/Christine Nesbitt

UN chief calls for immediate release of abducted children in Nigeria

14 December 2020
Africa

The United Nations Secretary-General has called for the “immediate and unconditional” release of hundreds of boys, believed abducted by suspected bandits, after an attack on their school in northwest Nigeria. 

A street in Douma, Eastern Ghouta, Syria. The OPCW Fact-Finding Mission said there were "reasonable grounds" to believe chlorine gas had been used in a chemical weapons attack in April 2018.
UNICEF/Amer Al Shami

Given gaps, inconsistencies, Syria’s declarations on chemical weapons programme not considered ‘accurate and complete’

11 December 2020

Outstanding issues related to Syria’s initial declaration of its chemical weapons stockpile and programme cannot be considered “accurate and complete”, the head of the world body monitoring States’ implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention told the Security Council on Friday.

Ethiopian refugees fleeing clashes in the country's northern Tigray region, rest and cook meals near UNHCR's Hamdayet reception centre after crossing into Sudan.
© UNHCR/Hazim Elhag

Ethiopia: UN refugee agency calls for ‘unfettered access’ to Tigray

11 December 2020
Africa

Amidst “disturbing reports” from Ethiopians fleeing to Sudan, the UN refugee agency called on Friday for “unfettered access to Tigray in order to reach people in need”. 

An eighteen-month -baby, who has lost an eye due to disease, is treated at a hospital in Sana’a, Yemen.
© UNICEF/Areej Alghabri

Yemen: food insecurity a ‘ticking timebomb’, warn aid agencies

11 December 2020
Middle East

UN humanitarians issued a fresh alert on Friday for war-torn Yemen, warning that time is running out to avoid famine in the country. Out of two million children who need treatment for acute malnutrition, 360,000 are at risk of dying if they do not receive medical care, the World Food Programme (WFP) said.

Wearing a full protective suit, a woman doctor who leads a group of volunteer medical professionals attending to COVID-19 patients and persons under investigation at a community hospital in the Philippines.
UN Women/Louie Pacardo

COVID-19 shows ‘urgent need’ for solidarity, UN chief tells Nobel forum

11 December 2020
Global

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for global solidarity and greater international cooperation, and must be turned into an opportunity for fundamental change, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a keynote address to the Nobel Peace Prize Forum on Friday. 

Firearms laid down by child soldiers associated with armed groups in South Sudan (file)
UNICEF/Rich

Illicit financial flows threaten security and stability in Africa: UN deputy chief

10 December 2020
Africa

At a time when Africa is mobilizing resources for pandemic recovery and sustainable development, illicit financial flows (IFFs) are robbing the continent of $50 billion annually, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told a high-level virtual meeting on Thursday held under the African Union’s (AU) ‘Silencing the Guns’ initiative.