Pakistan

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message on the flash appeal in support of Pakistan:  Flood Response Plan for Pakistan, today:

The United Nations is stepping up its response to severe rains and flooding across Pakistan which have reportedly killed over 1,000 people, including hundreds of children. The situation is expected to worsen with more ongoing rainfall.

In Chad, catastrophic flooding in 11 of the country’s 23 provinces has killed 22 people, as of 16 August, and caused extensive damage to homes, infrastructure, agricultural lands and livestock, impacting 340,000 people. The United Nations and aid partners are supporting Government-led efforts to provide lifesaving aid.

In Algeria, the United Nations team on the ground sent out an appeal for increased support from the international community to boost lifesaving assistance to some 90,000 Sahrawi refugees risking food insecurity and malnutrition.

​​​​​​​United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Rear Admiral Guillermo Pablo Ríos of Argentina as Head of Mission and Chief Military Observer for the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP).

The ceasefire in Gaza, brokered by the United Nations and Egypt, still holds. Humanitarian partners are responding to the needs of affected families and the United Nation Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees is providing services, as usual. Meanwhile, Israel has reopened the crossings with Gaza yesterday.

The Joint Coordination Centre was inaugurated today in Istanbul with Ukraine, Russian Federation, Türkiye and United Nations representatives. The Centre will facilitate implementing the Black Sea Grain Initiative on allowing ships to exporting grain and related foodstuffs from Ukraine.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations today addressed the 2022 Ocean Conference opening ceremony, along with the leaders of the two co-hosting nations, Portugal and Kenya, warning that the world’s failure to care for the ocean will have ripple effects across the entire 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Barbara Woodward (United Kingdom):

The United Nations Environment Programme today released a report saying sand, the world’s second most exploited resource, must be recognized as a strategic resource and its extraction from rivers and marine ecosystems and its use must rethought, as they can cause erosion and threaten livelihoods.