Syria: Agriculture should be kick-started now despite huge destruction – UN report
Apr 04, 2017, at 04:10 am
New York, Apr 3 (Just Earth News): With six years of conflict in Syria causing more than $16 billion of lost crop and livestock production and destroyed farming assets, a United Nations report published on Monday stressed the need to reboot and kick-start the agricultural sector now to dramatically reduce the need for humanitarian aid and migration.
Incremental progress but ‘we’re not yet there,’ UN mediator on Syria reports
Apr 01, 2017, at 01:17 pm
New York, Apr 1 (Just Earth News): The latest round of the United Nations-facilitated intra-Syrian talks concluded on Friday in Geneva where UN envoy Staffan de Mistura told journalists the discussions had been serious and the parties engaged, but “we’re not yet there.â€
UN envoy calls for urgent measures to protect ceasefire in Syria
Mar 26, 2017, at 02:16 pm
New York, Mar 26 (Just Earth News): Voicing deep concern over recent escalation of fighting in Syria, the United Nations Special Envoy for the country has urged Iran, Russia and Turkey to undertake urgent efforts to uphold the ceasefire which has been in effect since late December last year.
Hoping to build with 'incremental, constructive steps' – UN envoy for Syria
Mar 26, 2017, at 04:57 am
New York, Mar 25 (Just Earth News): Speaking to the media in Geneva yesterday, United Nations Special Envoy for Syria said that he is not expecting miracles, breakthroughs or breakdowns but is hoping to build on the previous rounds of talks on the war-ravaged country with some incremental, constructive steps.
Mar 16, 2017, at 01:49 pm
New York, Mar 16 (Just Earth News): As the brutal war in Syria enters its seventh year, peace “is a moral and political imperative both for the Syrian people and for the world,†United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday, urging the conflict parties to fully back a fragile ceasefire and ensure aid access, as well as to support UN-facilitated talks set to pick up again late this month.
Syria: UN chief Guterres condemns terrorist attacks in Damascus
Mar 13, 2017, at 01:14 pm
New York, Mar 13 (Just Earth News): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the terrorist bombings in the Syrian capital of Damascus yesterday, his spokesman said Sunday.
Mar 11, 2017, at 01:52 pm
New York, Mar 11 (Just Earth News): Looking forward to the early resumption of the United Nations-facilitated intra-Syrian negotiations, the Security Council on Friday encouraged the Syrian parties to return to talks in good faith “and to engage constructively and without preconditions†on the agenda set out by UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura when they resume.
UN refugee agency issues renewed funding plea for Syria, as conflict enters seventh year
Mar 10, 2017, at 04:31 am
New York, Mar 9 (Just Earth News): Unless drastic measures are taken to share up peace and security in Syria, the situation – which marks its sixth anniversary next week – will worsen, the United Nations refugee agency today said urging the international community to redouble its support for the 13.5 million people in need of aid.
War crimes committed by all parties in battle for Aleppo – UN-mandated inquiry on Syria
Mar 02, 2017, at 05:30 am
New York, Mar 1 (Just Earth News): The battle late last year for control over Syria’s war-ravaged Aleppo was a stage of unrelenting violence, with civilians on both sides falling victim to war crimes committed by all parties, read a report issued on Wednesday by the United Nations-mandated Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria.
Russia, China block Security Council action on use of chemical weapons in Syria
Mar 01, 2017, at 02:04 pm
New York, Mar 1 (Just Earth News): With ‘no’ votes from permanent members Russia and China, the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday failed to adopt a resolution that would, according to press reports, have imposed sanctions against parties using chemical weapons in war-torn Syria.
'We need to start now’ on road to peace, UN envoy says as Syria negotiations open in Geneva
Feb 24, 2017, at 02:14 pm
New York, Feb 24 (Just Earth News): Welcoming the representatives of the Syrian Government and its opposition to the United Nations-facilitated negotiations that opened on Thursday in Geneva, Staffan de Mistura reiterated the need to work together for a political solution.
In Turkey, UN chief Guterres discusses Syria, Iraq, Cyprus with President
Feb 12, 2017, at 12:32 pm
New York, Feb 12 (Just Earth News): United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday met with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Istanbul to discuss the situations in Syria, Iraq and Cyprus.
US claims killing 11 Al-Qaeda militants in Syrian airstrike
Feb 09, 2017, at 06:49 pm
Washington, Feb 9 (IBNS): The United States has claimed killing at least 11 Al-Qaeda militants in a recently concluded air raid in Syria, media reports said.
Syria: UN, Security Council welcome Astana talks and look forward to intra-Syrian negotiations
Feb 02, 2017, at 01:48 pm
New York, Feb 2 (Just Earth News): The United Nations and the Security Council have welcomed the international talks on Syria held in the Kazakh capital of Astana, and, in separate accounts to the press, said they look forward to the resumption of the intra-Syrian negotiations.
UN aid officials urge Security Council to push for greater humanitarian access in Syria
Jan 27, 2017, at 01:54 pm
New York, Jan 27 (Just Earth News): Senior United Nations relief officials on Thursday urged the Security Council to do more to ensure the support of the Syrian Government to deliver life-saving aid, warning that aid workers are “blocked at every turn†while some 4.6 million people live in hard-to-reach areas across the war-ravaged country.
In Helsinki, UN appeals for nearly $5B to help Syrians and host communities
Jan 25, 2017, at 04:20 am
New York, Jan 24 (Just Earth News): The United Nations and partners on Tuesday appealed at an aid conference in Finland for $4.63 billion to help people inside Syria, those who fled and the communities hosting them.
At talks in Astana, UN envoy on Syria urges mechanism to oversee ceasefire
Jan 24, 2017, at 05:27 am
New York, Jan 23 (Just Earth News): International talks to extend the ceasefire in Syria started on Monday in the Kazakh capital of Astana, with the United Nations Special Envoy said the ceasefire can be solidified if a mechanism to oversee and implement it is created.
Syria: UNICEF calls for unimpeded aid access to children in besieged Deir Ez Zor
Jan 24, 2017, at 05:26 am
New York, Jan 23 (Just Earth News): The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Monday called for unimpeded and unconditional access to children in the besieged city of Deir Ez Zor, noting that they have not received regular humanitarian aid for more than two years.
Top UN humanitarian official in Syria allocates $19 million for emergency response in Aleppo
Jan 19, 2017, at 01:45 pm
New York, Jan 19 (Just Earth News): Amid an overall scale-up in relief operations in Syria, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the country, Ali Al-Za’tari, approved on Wednesday $19 million from the Syria Humanitarian Fund to sustain immediate life-saving and early recovery assistance for tens of thousands of people in war-ravaged Aleppo.
'We must not let 2017 repeat tragedies of 2016 for Syria' – top UN aid officials
Jan 17, 2017, at 04:44 am
New York, Jan 16 (Just Earth News): While efforts to fully implement a ceasefire in Syria continue, senior United Nations humanitarian officials on Monday appealed for immediate, unconditional, and safe access to reach the children and families who are still cut off from relief aid across the Middle Eastern country.
UN agencies assess dire hygiene, protection needs for women in Syria’s war-ravaged Aleppo
Jan 14, 2017, at 01:51 pm
New York, Jan 14 (Just Earth News): The health, hygiene and protection needs of women and girls displaced in Aleppo are staggering, the United Nations has observed, voicing concern for civilians in the Syrian city that has endured intense fighting for about four years.
Jan 13, 2017, at 01:57 pm
New York, Jan 13 (Just Earth News): While the ceasefire in Syria is largely holding, the United Nations envoy for the country cautioned on Thursday that the truce may be under threat as clashes in villages in the Wadi Barada valley has damaged water infrastructure and left more than five million people in and around Damascus facing water shortages.
As millions suffer water shortages in Syria, UN looks to keep potable supply safe
Jan 12, 2017, at 12:16 pm
New York, Jan 12 (Just Earth News): The United Nations expressed concern on Wednesday about fighting in the Wadi Barada area of west Damascus, which in addition to displacing thousands of people, has also restricted water supplies to some 5.5 million people in and around the Syrian capital.
Jan 10, 2017, at 05:09 am
New York, Jan 9 (Just Earth News): With Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory – including East Jerusalem – and those who have fled the conflict in Syria, facing humanitarian crises, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) today launched an $813 million emergency aid appeal.
After five years of ‘ruthless war’ in Syria, 2017 can be a year of diplomacy, says UN envoy
Jan 06, 2017, at 01:55 pm
New York, Jan 6 (Just Earth News): Looking back over the past month, which saw some of the most difficult challenges for humanitarian workers in Syria but which also witnessed evacuations of thousands of civilians from war-ravaged eastern Aleppo, United Nations envoys for Syria said on Thursday that things have to change in 2017 and that “it can change in 2017.â€
‘Give peace a chance,’ urges UN official, reporting sense of optimism as Aleppo ceasefire hold
Jan 05, 2017, at 10:56 am
New York, Jan 5 (Just Earth News): A senior United Nations humanitarian official reported on Wednesday that though damage to Aleppo was extreme, aid workers were nonetheless inspired by signs of optimism and hope, and asked that peace be given a chance.
After promising start, 2016 has been worst for civilians in Syria – UN expert
Dec 29, 2016, at 01:34 pm
New York, Dec 29 (Just Earth News): After a promising start, the year 2016 has been the worst for civilian casualties so far in the war in Syria, according to the head of a United Nations-mandated human rights inquiry into the Middle Eastern country.
‘Outraged’ UN Member States demand immediate halt to attacks against civilians in Syria
Dec 10, 2016, at 01:11 pm
New York, Dec 10 (Just Earth News): Expressing “outrage†at the escalation of violence in Syria, particularly war-battered Aleppo, the General Assembly – the universal body comprising all 193 United Nations Members States – on Friday adopted a resolution demanding an immediate and complete end to all attacks on civilians as well as an end to all sieges in war-ravaged country.
Syria: With winter closing in, UN envoys highlight humanitarian urgency of situation in Aleppo
Dec 02, 2016, at 01:18 pm
New York, Dec 2 (Just Earth News): With the humanitarian crisis in Syria’s devastated city of Aleppo deteriorating by the day, the United Nations Special Envoy for the country appealed for a pause in fighting so that much needed relief can reach the city’s population and those with urgent medical emergencies can be evacuated.
Syria: Amid ‘chilling’ situation in Aleppo, 16,000 flee intense fighting, UN aid chief warns
Nov 30, 2016, at 05:25 am
New York, Nov 29 (Just Earth News): Citing preliminary reports that that up to 16,000 people have fled fighting in the eastern neighbourhoods of Syria’s Aleppo city, the United Nations humanitarian chief on Tuesday warned that thousands more will have no choice but to flee should the attacks spread and escalate over the coming days.