Ceremony to remember six Bangladeshi peacekeepers killed in an attack on a UN logistics base in Kadugli, South Kordofan, Sudan. Top news of the day | Friday: Yemen, Ukraine, Sudan, traditional medicine UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: the detention of 10 UN employees by the Houthis in Yemen, attacks on the infrastructure of Ukraine, the evacuation of a UN base in Sudan after an attack on peacekeepers, a declaration on traditional medicine.
Detentions in Yemen
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemns the arbitrary detention on 18 December of 10 more UN staff by de facto Houthi authorities in Yemen. As a result, the total number of detained employees of the Organization reached 69. The Secretary-General calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all arbitrarily detained UN representatives, as well as non-governmental organizations, civil society and diplomatic missions. Guterres also reiterated his call for the referral of UN staff cases to criminal courts to be withdrawn. UN personnel are supporting vital humanitarian operations in the country, he recalled.
Attacks in the Odessa region
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that a new wave of attacks has seriously disrupted critical services across Ukraine. In the Odessa region, a bridge and a railway station were damaged. One woman was reported killed, three of her children and several other civilians were injured. The attacks left tens of thousands of people in the region without water, heating and electricity. Humanitarian institutions provide emergency assistance to the victims. Today a convoy delivered seven tons of medicines, hygiene items and other goods to a front-line community in Kherson region.
Peacekeepers in Sudan
The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) is evacuating its logistics base in Kadugli, Sudan, following an attack on it on 13 December. Members of the UN Security Council today strongly condemned these “horrific, deliberate drone attacks” that killed six Bangladeshi peacekeepers and injured nine others. Representatives of the Security Council expressed condolences to the families of the victims, solidarity with the people and government of Bangladesh, and also wished a quick and full recovery to the victims. medicine into health care systems. They adopted the Delhi Declaration following the Second WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine, which concluded today in India. The Declaration calls for strengthening the scientific base, strengthening regulation to ensure safety and quality of services, integrating proven traditional medicine practices into health systems, and expanding international cooperation and the role of local communities and indigenous peoples.