Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told the Council that more than 22 million people, nearly half of Yemen’s population, need humanitarian aid, and that number is rising.
“This crisis is hitting the most vulnerable first and hardest. Hunger is tightening its grip,” Wosornu said, adding that more than 18 million people face severe hunger and two out of every three families are forced to skip meals every day.

The nutrition crisis continues unabated, she said, with 2.2 million children under the age of five acutely malnourished and 1.3 million pregnant and breastfeeding women facing life-threatening complications due to malnutrition. “For too many children, too many mothers, this means irreversible, lifelong physical and cognitive damage, stunting – even death,” Wosornu said.

She warned that Yemen’s health system is collapsing, with two out of every five health facilities not fully functional, leaving more than 19 million people who need healthcare without it. Vaccine-preventable diseases including cholera, measles and diphtheria are spreading at rates that place Yemen among the worst in the world, she said.

Wosornu also told the Council that 73 UN colleagues remain arbitrarily detained by the Houthi de facto authorities, with many UN assets seized and access severely restricted. “Faced with this reality, we have been forced to reassess our operations in areas held by the de facto authorities,” she said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKCjrYDMXek

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Briefing by Huang Xia, UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region, on the situation in the region.

Xia updated ambassadors on the recent escalation of violence. He said that since last October, while the region has seen considerable intensification in diplomatic initiatives, "the humanitarian and security situations have worsened to a worrisome level.

The continued erosion of trust in part explains the divide between political commitments and the reality on the ground.

He stressed, "This disconnect remains today our main collective challenge.”

Xia warned, “The risk of a slide into a regional confrontation remains tangible. This Council cannot afford to see the repetition of a cycle of violence it has been examining for far too long: the full implementation of resolutions 2773 (2025) and 2808 (2025) is urgent.”

He concluded, “I therefore call on the DRC, Rwanda, and all the actors concerned, in particular the AFC/M23, to resume a frank dialogue, to immediately reduce tensions, and to ensure the effective and timely implementation of all their commitments.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Tl7l3dr1Tk

Source: United Nations (video statements)

UN refugee chief Barham Salih calls for an end to the war in Lebanon after visiting displaced families in Beirut and the Bekaa Valley. One in five people in Lebanon is now displaced.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tv_pkxSAuYE