“The scale of this tragedy, its impact on survivors, families and communities and the frequency with which we witness deaths in transit constitute an intolerable and utterly soluble, humanitarian crisis,” said Pär Liljert, director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Office to the UN, referring to one of the world’s most deadly routes for
Read MoreUnder-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo briefed the Security Council in the wake of the collapse earlier in the day of the Black Sea Initiative to bring grain and fertilizer from the region to the world. “The longer this war continues, the more dangerous its consequences, including the possibility of a wider conflict,” she warned. “For the sake
Read MoreAhead of World No Tobacco Day on Wednesday 31 May, WHO deplored that 3.2 million hectares of fertile land across 124 countries are being used to grow deadly tobacco – even in places where people are starving. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that governments across the world “spend millions supporting tobacco farms”, and that choosing
Read MoreAccording to humanitarian workers, at least six people were killed on Tuesday after Russian missiles struck a busy street in the city of Kherson. Most of the victims were standing at a bus stop, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists in New York that day. Identities and shelters targeted The UN-appointed independent rights experts
Read MorePreliminary criminal proceedings opened last May in Sicily against 21 people charged with aiding and abetting illegal immigration in connection with several search-and-rescue missions conducted between 2016 and 2017. Those accused include four crew members of the Iuventa, a former fishing trawler credited with saving some 14,000 migrant lives in the Mediterranean Sea, and human
Read MoreBriefing reportedly at the request of Russia on “supplies of lethal weapons to Ukraine and their consequences”, Izumi Nakamitsu reminded ambassadors that she had already addressed the issue in September. Risk of diversion The UN Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) chief repeated what she had said then, that a large-scale influx of weapons into any battle-zone, “raises many
Read More“The cycle of death, destruction, dislocation, and disruption must stop”, underscored Rosemary DiCarlo. Depravity of war Amidst a new wave in recent days of missile and airstrikes in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and other cities far from the frontlines, the senior UN official drew attention to the missile strike in Kremenchuk on a shopping
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