Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United Nations (video statements)

UN Resident Coordinator for Colombia María José Torres warned that recent earthquake in Colombia could increase the risk of child recruitment by armed groups in Chocó and Valle del Cauca, where thousands of children remain out of school in areas already affected by conflict.

Addressing the press María José Torres Macho said, “We had an earthquake that historically has been one of the biggest in Colombia, if not the bigger one, affecting 16 departments. I think this is an evolving data that is increasing the number of departments – practically half of the country, kind of 196,000 families affected, and 331 reported dead.”

She also said, “The search and rescue teams were able to rescue 364 people, which I think it is a highlight in this very tragic event. Obviously, we are talking about homes damaged and destroyed buildings, but also livelihoods and health centers, major hospitals in areas that are very vulnerable are currently inoperable, as well as almost 4,000 educational facilities.”

She continued, “We really need to rebuild very quickly, including the ability of children to be back into a protective educational environment, particularly in the areas that we are working in Chocó and Valle del Cauca. There is presence of the illegal armed groups, and recruitment of children in Colombia is a pre-existing issue. We are concerned that the situation of children out of school can exacerbate this situation.”

In Chocó, some rural schools were destroyed, others partially collapsed and several remain at imminent risk of collapse.

Assessments are also continuing in Risaralda and Caldas to determine which schools can reopen safely.

For the UN, restoring access to education is a priority not only to ensure learning can continue, but also to return children to protective environments.

“Those areas most affected are those areas most vulnerable,” she said, adding that the pre-existing conflict is creating challenges for both the emergency response and recovery.

In Chocó, the UN still does not have complete information on the needs of some rural communities, particularly Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities.

Damage to roads, difficulties travelling along some rivers and electricity and connectivity problems are hampering both assessments and the delivery of aid.

Conflict-related displacement is also continuing alongside the earthquake response.

In Sipí, Chocó, around 95 Afro-Colombian people were displaced from the community of Charco Hondo, with concern that displacement could spread to two neighbouring communities.

Torres Macho also highlighted the role of local authorities and Indigenous and Afro-Colombian organisations, which have been among the first responders in some of the most isolated areas.

At the same time, she warned that some municipalities have limited capacity and are overwhelmed by the scale of the emergency.

Since 10 August, the UN system and humanitarian partners have reached around 72,000 people in 36 municipalities across Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Risaralda and Caldas with food, water, medical care, medicines, shelter, psychosocial support, protection and education services.

Following the earthquake, the United Nations updated its humanitarian response plan and estimates that 1.2 million people need assistance.

Within that group, around 127,000 have been identified as among the most severely affected and in need of priority support, Torres Macho said.

The response requires $148.1 million, but only 40 percent of that has been received.

Among the most urgent needs are shelter, medical care, medicines, safe water, education and support to restore livelihoods.

In some places, available supplies are already beginning to run out. In Caldas, for example, food and hygiene distributions have relied in part on donations, but those stocks are being depleted, and there is not enough capacity to sustain the next rounds of assistance.

Problems also persist in temporary shelters. Among those assessed in Chocó, Risaralda, Valle del Cauca and Caldas, 33 percent have sanitation and hygiene needs, 31 percent face problems accessing water and 22 percent need food.

Torres Macho said the response will also need to move quickly towards recovery and reconstruction, particularly in communities that were already vulnerable before the earthquake.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHup3GS1cNU

Source: United Nations (video statements)

The 10 August 7.4-magnitude earthquake in Colombia left 331 people dead, 4,449 injured and 219 missing. More than 406,000 people have been affected across 16 departments.

Many of the hardest-hit areas were already facing high levels of poverty, isolation and armed violence.

UN Resident Coordinator in Colombia, María José Torres Macho, told reporters at UN Headquarters that ‘those areas most affected are those areas most vulnerable,’ adding that the pre-existing conflict is creating challenges for both the emergency response and recovery.

Since 10 August, the UN system and humanitarian partners have reached around 72,000 people in 36 municipalities across Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Risaralda and Caldas with food, water, medical care, medicines, shelter, psychosocial support, protection and education services.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/I2_sNb0s7HQ

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:

– Today’s guest
– Monday’s guest
– Asia Floods
– Trip Announcement/Kyrgyzstan
– UN Mission in South Sudan
– Ukraine
– Security Council/Haiti
– Lebanon
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Venezuela Earthquake
– Statement
– UNHCR 65 years of Statelessness Convention
– International Day against Nuclear Tests
– International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances

ASIA FLOODS

As of today, the UN was told by authorities in Nepal that more than 500 people have been confirmed dead and hundreds remain missing. Officials say that scores of people have been injured and over 3,700 have so far been rescued.

The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, said today that humanitarians are moving at speed to save lives, with OCHA and partners from the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF and various NGOs assisting national authorities in Nepal to deliver urgent, life-saving support.

In Nepal, the UN Resident Coordinator, Lila Pieters Yahia, is leading UN support for the Government-led response.

Earlier today, she and UN colleagues visited the Bidur Municipality in Nuwakot, one of the flood-affected districts. She was able to see first-hand the massive destruction, where early assessments show that about 11,000 hectares of land and 45 kilometres of roads have been damaged. That visit was cut short by a new flood alert while the team was on the ground, as there are more risks of floods coming.

In that district, over 1,000 people are sheltering at five known displacement sites, but these are preliminary figures, and the UN is working to confirm the locations of people displaced in other localities and districts.

Despite the damaged roads and landslides that continue to block access, the UN is starting to get a better sense of the immense needs of the population. UN partners working on food security estimate that at least 20,000 households across the Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts may need food assistance.

Over 50,000 people require emergency water, emergency sanitation and emergency hygiene support. Partners working on nutrition estimate that some 17,000 children, 1,500 pregnant and breastfeeding women, and 9,000 adolescents need immediate nutrition support. At least 23 schools in those districts will need to be rehabilitated.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-08-28

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flqF_WOx5Ss

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Indrika Ratwatte, Acting Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, told the Council: “My central message is simple: Syria is at a pivotal moment, and Syrians are hopeful for a stable and prosperous future.”

He cautioned that “optimism must be tempered by realism. Humanitarian needs remain immense. Millions of people still struggle to access healthcare, food, clean water, education and livelihoods. And the gap between needs and available resources is growing. Syria is experiencing the largest voluntary return movement in the region in over a decade. Nearly 2 million internally displaced people and more than 1.7 million refugees have returned to their communities since December of 2024.”

Ratwatte, who briefed on behalf of Under-Secretary-General Tom Fletcher, said he travelled last week to Deir ez-Zor, Ar-Raqqa, Aleppo and Idleb, meeting communities, humanitarian partners and authorities. He said agricultural production is improving, with reports suggesting this year’s wheat harvest could allow Syria to achieve seasonal self-sufficiency, and that energy and transport networks are gradually recovering.

Ratwatte said that “at the same time, more than 5.5 million people remain internally displaced, including 833,000 people living in more than 1,200 camps.”

On explosive contamination, Ratwatte said mine action partners surveyed 215 million square meters of land in 2024, and that the figure rose to 4 billion square meters in 2025, an area roughly five times the size of New York City. Nearly three times as much explosive ordnance was destroyed over the same period, he said, but the scale of contamination remains immense.

He appealed for funding, saying Syrian organizations “are at the heart of all humanitarian efforts, representing nearly 60 per cent of the partners on the ground. But we are being asked to do more with less. This is not a realistic ask. Even after we prioritized the most severe needs which reduced funding requirements by one third, the humanitarian appeal for Syria is only 30 per cent funded.”

Rola Roukbi, Country Director of Women Now for Development-Lebanon, said many Syrians “greeted the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024 with joy and hope, hoping it would end not only the war, but also authoritarian rule, fear and exclusion.”
She said the central question since the transfer of power remains: “what kind of state comes after this change? Do we build a state of citizenship and institutions governed by the rule of law? Or do we reproduce a similar system under a new name?”

Ibrahim Olabi, Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations said about the visit of the Secretary-General Guterres to Damascus, that “the era of tension between the United Nations and Syria has ended, and with this visit we crowned what we began after the liberation: a new era whose title is partnership.”

He also said, “The new Syria also continues its return to the international community. After forty-seven years, Syria’s name was removed from the American list of state sponsors of terrorism. Our deep thanks to His Excellency President Donald Trump for his vision of what we have achieved and of what we can achieve unshackled. An understanding has likewise been reached with the Russian Federation, one that lays the foundation for a new stage in the historic relations between the two countries and the two peoples, on the basis of shared interests.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUe2T3TR5D8