"UNITED NATIONS"

The UN Refugee Agency is deeply concerned by the rapidly evolving emergency in Armenia, with over 100,000 refugee arrivals in less than a week. UNHCR

“Reducing food loss and waste represents a triple win opportunity with immediate positive impact on food security, climate benefits, and increased availability of nutritious food while improving the overall sustainability of agrifood systems,” QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said. FAO

United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric provided updates on the humanitarian situations in Libya, Sudan, and Niger. UNIFEED

The UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said that the arrest, detention, and sentencing of human rights defenders in Viet Nam who advocate for the environment and the country’s transition to clean-energy use raises serious concerns “not only with respect to the charges leveled against them but also the conduct of their trials.” UNTV CH

Almost 89,000 residents of the Karabakh region - roughly half of the region’s population - have moved to Armenia since last week’s flare-up in fighting there and the total number of arrivals could rise to 120,000 in coming days, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said. UNTV CH

More than 11,600 children crossed the Central Mediterranean Sea to Italy without their parents or legal guardians between January and mid-September 2023. This is an increase of 60 per cent compared to the same period last year, where around 7,200 unaccompanied or separated children made the perilous crossing. UNICEF

Addressing the Security Council about migrants in the Mediterranean, the Head of the UN Refugee Agency in New York, Ruven Menikdiwela, said, “Saving lives at sea and providing humanitarian assistance is one of the most basic obligations of humanity, and those performing rescue operations or helping in good faith should not be penalized for doing so.” UNIFEED / FILE

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is on track to have record levels of verified grave violations against children for a third consecutive year in 2023. UNICEF

The Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), Bintou Keita, called on the Security Council “to express itself clearly on the recommendations set out in the 2 August report of the Secretary-General on the future of the MONUSCO.” MONUSCO

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) is “deeply concerned” about the rapidly increasing number of refugees fleeing into Armenia, with long queues reported at the border, a UN spokesperson said on the situation in the Caucasus. UNIFEED