26 July 2017 – Witnessing &#8220complete devastation&#8221 in districts of Mosul, a senior United Nations relief official visiting Iraq lauded the massive humanitarian effort under way while indicating that the crisis is &#8220far from over,&#8221 including for millions of Iraqis displaced throughout the country.

&#8220I commend the achievements of the humanitarian operation in Iraq and wish to highlight the impressive national response,&#8221 said Ursula Mueller, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in a press statement.

&#8220One of the things that impressed me the most was the exceptional level of cooperation between national counterparts, UN agencies and front-line NGOs [non-governmental organizations],&#8221 she added.

From 24 and 26 July, Ms. Mueller met with senior officials and ministers from the Iraqi Government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, as well as members of the international and humanitarian communities.

She saw first-hand the complete devastation of districts in western Mosul’s old city. &#8220I saw homes and entire neighbourhoods destroyed; no doubt, countless tragedies remain untold among the rubble,&#8221 she explained.

With almost one million people fleeing Mosul, humanitarians’ &#8220worst-case&#8221 estimates were surpassed.

I saw homes and entire neighbourhoods destroyed; no doubt, countless tragedies remain untold among the rubble

Despite escalating needs, humanitarians adjusted their response and kept pace &#8211 with emergency sites and camps built in record time; over 18,000 people treated at trauma stabilization points near the front lines; and a quarter of a million adults and children received psychological first aid and psychosocial support.

The deputy UN relief coordinator also pointed out that beyond Mosul, sustained efforts are also needed to support the millions of Iraqis displaced across the country.

&#8220Hundreds of thousands of people will try to return home in the coming months, and must do so in a safe, voluntary and dignified manner,&#8221 she emphasized. &#8220Others will be unable to return home for some time due to the levels of destruction and contamination by explosive hazards in their communities.&#8221

Ms. Mueller also met with representatives from the Yazidi community and visited displaced communities.

&#8220Protection remains a top priority for minority groups in Iraq. The targeting of women &#8211 regardless of ethnic or religious affiliation &#8211 with rape, enslavement and other forms of violence, is a particularly disturbing feature of this crisis,&#8221 asserted Ms. Mueller.

A key take-away from the visit was that &#8220the humanitarian crisis there is far from over.&#8221

&#8220Families lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods,&#8221 she continued. &#8220I urge the international community to maintain its full commitment to supporting humanitarian assistance in Iraq, and I pledge that the United Nations will continue to stand with and support the Iraqi people.&#8221

While Ms. Mueller thanked the international community and donors for generously providing 3.5 million highly vulnerable Iraqis with assistance so far this year, she emphasized that the $985 million funding requirement for Iraq’s 2017 humanitarian operations is not yet half met.

26 July 2017 – The United Nations Special Envoy to Burundi today urged African leaders, in solidarity with the UN, to support an inclusive dialogue between the Government and the opposition in a country where political upheaval has resulted in insecurity since April 2015.

Addressing the UN Security Council, Michel Kafando, recounted his recent efforts to support the inter-Burundian dialogue, including through a visit to President Pierre Nkurunziza last month.

&#8220We would like to see an atmosphere of peace in Burundi. But under what conditions and at what price can this be achieved?&#8221 he asked the Council in New York.

&#8220The first requirement is to give priority to inclusive dialogue, a prerequisite for any resolution of the crisis. It becomes imperative that the Government of Burundi accedes to the request of the countries in the sub-region and the African Union, supported by the United Nations, to engage in an inclusive dialogue; that means involving the exiled opposition as well as the opposition in the country.&#8221

He underscored the importance of regional efforts, in particular by former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, the East African Community’s mediator heading the inter-Burundian dialogue.

Mr. Mkapa was due to brief the Council alongside Mr. Kafando but was unable to due to health reasons, the UN official said.

Mr. Kafando noted that authorities in Burundi and the opposition have diverging views on the political situation in the country, in a difficult socio-economic context, but consider the situation calm and seek to preserve their national sovereignty in managing internal affairs.

He did note, however, that representatives of the political opposition and some of the civil society are concerned about what they call &#8220authoritarian&#8221 moves by the Government.

Mr. Kafando had met with civil society leaders and political parties during his second recent visit to Burundi, from 7 to 13 July.

Highlighting his discussions during that visit, Mr. Kafando reiterated calls for greater involvement of the regional and the international community in favor of an inclusive dialogue, without preconditions, and with the participation of all Burundians.

&#8220I deeply believe in the sub-region’s commitment to work for peace in Burundi with the support of the African Union and I strongly recommend that the United Nations accompany them and resolutely support these efforts. In the end, even if we still need a little patience, we will certainly arrive at a dynamic compromise,&#8221 the Special Envoy said.

In late June, Assistant Secretary-General Tayé-Brook Zerihoun told the Council that the security situation in the country was &#8220fragile&#8221 and noted a series of grenade attacks in the capital, Bujumbura.

Insecurity has been a concern in the country since 2015, when violence emerged around the President’s decision to run for a third consecutive term. Some three million people are in need of humanitarian aid, with some 2.6 million others hungry, and more than 600,000 displaced from their homes.