UN News Centre - Africa

Humanitarians are learning more about the dire situation of children in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where fighting continues between Government troops and regional forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). 

UN independent human rights experts appealed on Thursday for authorities in Egypt to remove two activists from a “terrorist” list and to stop systemic use of terrorism powers. 

Some 20 UN peacekeepers serving with the UN Stabilization Mission in Mali, MINUSMA, were injured on Wednesday, after their temporary base came under attack in the restive central region of the country.

The UN Security Council on Tuesday called on the new interim leadership of Libya to swiftly form an inclusive Government and make necessary preparations for December’s presidential and parliamentary elections. 

The study of science could have a “transformational” impact on young people living in different conflict areas across the world according to the UN’s Education Cannot Wait programme.

UN agencies have received approval from the Ethiopian Government for 25 international staff to provide humanitarian assistance inside the country’s conflict-torn Tigray region, the UN Spokesperson said on Monday. 

A joint United Nations-Government of Ethiopia mission to Mekelle in the country’s Tigray region, on Saturday, underscored the need for strong partnership to rapidly scale up a Government-led collective response to meet immediate humanitarian needs in the region. 

The 74-members of the UN-led Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) have selected an interim Prime Minister and President of its new executive council, marking what the UN Special Representative called another “historic moment” on the road to unification of the war-torn country and national elections in December.

Following the disappearance in Paraguay of a teenage girl and killing of two 11-year-olds, the UN human rights chief has expressed her deep concern, also noting on Friday other disturbing elements of abuse against women and girls, surrounding the cases. 

The joint UN-led COVAX initiative aims to start shipping about 90 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Africa in February, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. The immunization roll out will be the continent’s largest ever mass vaccination campaign.

A young man in northern Uganda has been talking about how he was abducted as a nine-year old and forced to commit horrendous acts as a child soldier for the self-styled rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA. 

A former Ugandan warlord whose forces attacked camps for the internally displaced across the country, has been found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court, judges ruled on Thursday, a judgement described by the UN chief as a "significant milestone".

The United Nations Secretary-General, on Tuesday, voiced grave concerns over the crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray region and underscored the need for urgent efforts to protect populations at risk. 

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, has warned against potential crimes against humanity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) following a spike in attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) armed group, in two provinces in the east of the country. 

Recent intercommunal violence and deadly attacks in Darfur have prompted two independent UN human rights experts on Monday to urge the Government of Sudan to urgently implement strong measures to ensure the safety of civilians, including the internally displaced.  

A UN human rights commission on South Sudan has welcomed developments towards the establishment of long-awaited transitional justice mechanisms to address violations committed during conflict, as required under the 2018 peace agreement. 

All Libyans have a chance at national reconciliation and renewal once the country’s representatives, who have begun meeting in Switzerland, vote on a new executive, UN negotiator Stephanie Williams said on Monday. 

The United Nations envoy for Somalia has strongly condemned Sunday’s terrorist attack on a hotel near the international airport in capital Mogadishu that left at least five people dead and dozens more wounded. 

Violence and insecurity related to the recent elections in the Central African Republic (CAR) has forced more than 200,000 people to flee their homes in less than two months, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday, warning tens of thousands are facing dire living conditions. 

The top UN official in Libya urged the Security Council on Thursday to express clear support for a new unified government in Libya, amid hopeful signs that a decade of armed conflict might finally be coming to an end.