UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Sudan. Top stories of the day | Tuesday: Ukraine, COP29, Sudan, Gaza UN
Top stories of the day in the UN and around the world: needs of Ukrainian civilians grow amid intense attacks and as winter approaches, Secretary-General calls for more climate funding, Security Council meeting on the situation in Sudan, famine in northern Gaza.
Evacuation of the population of Ukraine
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that, according to local authorities, civilians, including children, were killed and wounded as a result of shelling last night in Kryvyi Rih. Humanitarian workers are providing support to the victims. It is also reported that as a result of the escalation of hostilities in the Donetsk region, a dam was damaged, and during the evacuation of civilians, a humanitarian organization’s vehicle was seriously damaged. OCHA notes that the authorities have announced an additional mandatory evacuation of the population in the Kharkiv region. Following a visit to Ukraine, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees Kelly Clements said that the needs of the civilian population are growing amid intense shelling and as the winter season approaches.
Climate finance
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on countries to increase contributions to a fund to support developing countries affected by climate change. Guterres made the call on Tuesday at a high-level meeting on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku. The UN chief also welcomed today’s decision by multilateral development banks to increase climate finance, calling it a “much-needed step forward” at the Conference in Baku. However, Guterres warned that this measure alone will not solve the problem and must be part of a larger effort.
The situation in Sudan
During a high-level Security Council meeting on the situation in Sudan, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said that the only solution to the conflict is a political process. She noted that the UN chief’s Personal Envoy for Sudan, Ramtan Lamamra, is considering holding another round of “indirect talks” and plans to visit the country in the coming weeks. In turn, Ramesh Rajasingham from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported on the enormous suffering of the people of Sudan and called on the Security Council to take immediate measures to resolve the situation.
Aid to the people of Gaza
“Nothing short of a catastrophe” is happening in the besieged northern areas of Gaza, they said on Tuesday from the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). According to UNRWA, humanitarian aid was delivered to Gaza at an average rate of 37 trucks per day in October, about six percent of the pre-war volume. The agency has been unable to access the besieged northern Gaza for more than a month. UNRWA reports that residents of the northern areas lack basic necessities, including clean water. At the same time, 1.7 million people, or about 80 percent of the enclave’s population, were unable to receive food aid in October.