Some 100,000 refugees have arrived in Armenia since the end of September and many have received support from the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM). Here are some of their stories. Ophelia Aghajanyan Ophelia Aghajanyan: We are pensioners. My husband, who used to be a soldier, is a disabled man. My son as well. My sister’s…
The peacekeeping mission which for many years has been the deadliest place to serve as a UN ‘blue helmet’, is due to draw down fully by 31 December, in accordance with its Security Council mandate. At that point, MINUSMA’s 12 camps and one temporary operating base will be closed and handed over the transitional authorities…
“We share the concerns expressed on Tuesday by the Presidency of the ICC’s Assembly of States Parties that these actions are unacceptable, and we call for them to be promptly withdrawn,” said Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani, speaking in Geneva. Last month, Russia issued arrest warrants against the President, deputy and one of the judges at the…
Earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic activity and other natural disasters regularly cause destruction and the loss of life in parts of the Caribbean. On the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction marked annually on 13 October, UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Didier Trebucq and Nahuel Arenas, regional chief of the UN Office for…
According to various estimates, up to 75 per cent of extreme weather events are currently connected to climate change, fuelled by carbon emissions. The countries experiencing the greatest losses from disasters are those who contribute the least to the problem. UN figures reveal that from 1970 through 2019, some 91 percent of all of deaths…
Some 22 countries and one non-governmental organization (NGO) took the floor, turning the meeting into a mini urgent debate on the crisis sparked by Hamas attacks against Israel and the capture of more than 100 Israelis who are being held hostage by militants inside the Gaza Strip. The surprise incursion prompted intense aerial bombardment by…
The region was struck by two massive earthquakes on Saturday, followed a series of aftershocks, including a major one on Wednesday that flattened several homes spared by the original quake. Women and children make up over 90 per cent of the victims, according to UN agencies. Disasters compounded Making matters worse, on Thursday, a dust…
The independent rights investigators’ final report comes as their mandate ended on Friday, coinciding with the end of the UN Human Rights Council’s 54th session, leaving victims in limbo. Established by the Council in December 2021, their brief from the Council was to conduct through and impartial investigations into alleged human rights violations in Ethiopia,…
The development follows an announcement by UN Spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, just before midnight Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, that UN representatives in Gaza had been “informed by their liaison officers in the Israeli military” that everyone living north of Wadi Gaza should relocate to southern Gaza within 24 hours. ‘Death sentence’ for many Some 1.1…
No aid can come in from the outside for the 2.3 million residents of the sealed-off enclave, and some 220,000 displaced people are sheltering in schools run by the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA. Stocks depleting fast Humanitarians are continuing to support Gaza’s population as best they can. The UN World Food Programme (WFP)…
