Unifeed

Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock said “the outlook for the year ahead is bleak," as “one person in 45 around the world" are expected to need humanitarian aid in 2020, "the highest number ever.” UNIFEED

The Head of the UN mission in South Sudan, David Shearer, said he is worried that intercommunal clashes are occurring in areas that have been “relatively calm for months” adding that these incidents “raise tensions and increase the risk of sparking even more violence,” according to a UN spokesperson. UNIFEED

Top United Nations official in South Sudan David Shearer visited Bor in Jonglei state, where the devastating floods that struck the region last month, have slowed down the return of communities displaced by fighting. UNMISS

After fleeing Aleppo in 2013, Sidra’s dream of studying dentistry became a reality thanks to her own determination and Turkey’s support for refugee higher education. UNHCR

The General Council, the topmost decision-making body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) started today its final 2019 session with an agenda that includes regular topics, such as reports about progress in negotiations, and also items proposed by WTO members. WTO

Secretary-General António Guterres said United Nations peacekeepers “represent the last, best hope for millions of people around the world” and highlighted his Action for Peacekeeping initiative, launched in March last year, as the organization’s response to the challenges peacekeepers face. UNIFEED

United States ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft said Iran is a “bad actor” and stressed that the “maximum pressure campaign” against it must continue, adding that there are “other tools” the US would use against Iran if they continue their “malicious behavior” in the Middle East. UNIFEED

Bamboo, the backbone of Rohingya refugee shelters, wears out after a year or so in Bangladesh’s extreme weather. But thanks to an innovative treatment, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) was able to double and even triple the lifespan of the material, saving forests and lives. UNHCR

Justice is now back to South Sudan’s Western Equatoria town of Yambio, through the initiation of a mobile court in the area, which is expected to hear more than one hundred cases by end of the year - thanks to a collaborative effort between the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). UNMISS

As more information gradually filters out of Iran in the wake of the recent protests, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Friday expressed alarm “at the continuing lack of transparency about casualties and the treatment” of thousands of detainees, as well as continuing arrests reported to be taking place across the country. UNTV CH