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July 15, 2011 - A woman holds her severely malnourished young child in a camp for Internally Displaced Persons in Mogadishu. Somalia is affected by a severe drought that has ravaged large swaths of the Horn of Africa, leaving an estimated 11 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. UN Photo/Stuart Price
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UN delivers relief to drought-affected Somalia
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said it has airlifted emergency nutrition supplies and water equipment into Somalia, the country worst affected by a severe drought that has ravaged large swaths of the Horn of Africa, leaving an estimated 11 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
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July 15, 2011, Mogadishu, Somalia - A Somali woman hands her malnourished child to a medical officer of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), an active regional peacekeeping mission operated by the African Union with the approval of the United Nations. UN Photo/Stuart Price
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UNICEF said supplies were delivered as part of the agency's life-saving assistance for drought-affected children.
More than half a million children in Somalia are acutely malnourished and in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Southern Somalia is the most affected area with 80 percent of all malnourished children living there.
The delivered consignment of relief items included five tons of essential nutrition supplies, including therapeutic food and medicines to treat severely malnourished children, and equipment to supply clean water to a camp for displaced persons in Baidoa.
"Health supplies are also en route via Mogadishu, consisting of health kits with essential medicines to treat common childhood illnesses, such as respiratory tract infections, diarrhea, minor injuries and worm infestation. The supplies are sufficient to treat up to 100,000 people over a period of three months," said Rozanne Chorlton, UNICEF Representative for Somalia on July 15.
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As Afghan civilian deaths rise, insurgents responsible for most casualties
The number of civilians killed in conflict in Afghanistan rose by 15 percent in the first six months of this year, the United Nations mission in the country said on July 14, releasing figures that showed 1,462 non-combatants died, with insurgents responsible for 80 percent of the killings.
 The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said deaths attributable to anti-government elements rose by 28 percent compared to the same period last year, noting that the dramatic spike in casualties was mainly due to the use of landmine-like pressure plate improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Pro-government forces were responsible for 14 percent of civilian deaths, a nine per cent drop from casualty figures from a comparable period last year. Six percent of civilian deaths were not attributed to any party to the conflict.
With 368 civilian deaths, May was the deadliest month for Afghan civilians since UNAMA began systematically documenting civilian casualties in 2007.
June also saw an all-time high in the number of security incidents in a single month and the highest-ever number of IED attacks recorded in a one-month period.
Read more
Related Headline
Senior UN official pledges continued support for Afghan development agenda
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UN and national police launch anti-crime operation in Haitian capital The United Nations and the Haitian National Police have launched a joint security operation to crack down on criminal activity in key areas of the capital, Port-au-Prince.  | |
July 14, 2011 - Brazilian peacekeepers of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) stand guard in Cité Soleil. MINUSTAH and the Haitian National Police have launched 'Operation Phoenix' to help the Haitian authorities provide security and stability for the residents of Port-au-Prince. UN Photo/Victoria Hazou
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"Operation Phoenix" was launched on July 14 in the neighborhoods of Bel Air, Cité Soleil and Martissant, according to the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
The mission sent more than 2,100 peacekeepers into the three neighborhoods as part of the operation, which is designed to help the Haitian authorities provide security and stability for the residents of Port-au-Prince.
"We want to show the population that MINUSTAH, according to its mandate, remains determined to fight against crime in Haiti, in support of Haitian authorities," Major-General Luiz Ramos, the mission's Force Commander, underscored. Read more
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Welcoming Darfur deal, Secretary-General calls on rebels to join peace process
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the agreement signed by the Sudanese government and the rebel Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) aimed at ending the conflict in Darfur and called on the groups that have not yet joined the peace process to do so.
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July 14, 2011 - Internally Displaced Persons ride a bus to return from the IDP camp in Aramba to their original village in Sehjanna, near Kutum, North Darfur. The voluntary repatriation program is organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Sudanese Humanitarian Aid Commission. UN Photo/Albert Gonzalez Farran
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The deal, signed on July 14 in the Qatari capital of Doha, indicates a commitment on the part of the government and the LJM to the draft document that will form the basis of a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive peace agreement to end the fighting that began eight years ago.
In a statement, Mr. Ban welcomed the signing of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, and acknowledged the support of the government of Qatar to the negotiations that led to the agreement.
Since 2003, when the deadly conflict erupted in Darfur between rebels, government forces and allied militiamen, an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and about 2.7 million others have been displaced. Read more
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To honor Nelson Mandela, UN asks everyone to devote 67 minutes to public service
To mark the second annual Nelson Mandela International Day, the United Nations is encouraging people around the globe to perform 67 minutes of public service - one minute for every year of the South African leader's own  service to humanity. The call is part of the "Take Action! Inspire Change" campaign by the Mandela Foundation in recognition of the contributions made by Mr. Mandela, as a human rights lawyer, freedom fighter, prisoner of conscience, international peacemaker, and the first democratically-elected president of a free South Africa. "Together, the best way we can thank Nelson Mandela for his work is by taking action for others and inspiring change," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message for the Day. In November 2009, the UN General Assembly declared July 18 - Mr. Mandela's birthday - "Nelson Mandela International Day" in recognition of the former South African President's contribution to the culture of peace and freedom. Read more Statement by the United States President and Mrs. Obama on Nelson Mandela International Day
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Week in Review
Mideast Quartet Working Dinner in Washington
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July 11, 2011, Washington, DC - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (center left); Hillary Rodman Clinton, Secretary of State of the United States of America; and Tony Blair, Special Envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East, participate in a working dinner of the Quartet on the Middle East, along with representatives of the European Union and Russia, in Washington. UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz
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South Sudan Flag Raised at UN
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July 14, 2011 - The flag of the Republic of South Sudan (fourth from the left) joins other member state flags in front of the United Nations headquarters building in New York. The photograph was taken on the day South Sudan, the 193rd member state, was admitted to the community of nations. UN Photo/JC McIlwaine
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