The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
UNHCR appeals to Ethiopia to let it reach Eritrean refugees who have run out of food
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, appealed to Ethiopia on Tuesday to let humanitarian aid reach thousands of refugees whose supplies have been cut by a month-long conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
“UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is today appealing to the federal authorities in Ethiopia for urgent access in order to reach Eritrean refugees in the Tigray region who are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance and services. Our concerns are growing by the hour. The camps will have now run out of food supplies – making hunger and malnutrition a real danger”, UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch told journalists at a regular UN briefing in Geneva.
“We are also alarmed at unconfirmed reports of attacks, abductions and forced recruitment at the refugee camps. UNHCR strongly reiterates its call for safety and security of refugees. With the current difficulties in communications and security hampering access it is not possible to verify current conditions in the camps.”
UNHCR on Monday launched an appeal for $147 million to meet the needs of more than 40,000 Ethiopians who had fled the fighting in Tigray and become refugees in neighbouring Sudan, with numbers projected to rise to 100,000 by April. Baloch said UNHCR also needed access to the Tigray region itself.
“With our concerns growing by the hour, we're appealing to the federal authorities of Ethiopia that access should be urgently provided to us in the Tigray region to reach the desperate people.”
The Eritreans in Tigray had been effectively cut off from UNHCR’s humanitarian support since the fighting began in early November, Baloch said.
“In terms of the access, no access to us since the start of the conflict, to the four refugee camps where there are 96,000 Eritrean refugees, the camps have been there, at least over a decade. And when the conflict started we lost our contact, and it's very hard to verify any information coming out of the region itself.”
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying, a cloudy day.
- Medium shot, TV broadcast in foreground and podium with speakers to rear, side shot, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Babar Baloch, spokesperson for UNHCR (UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees): “UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is today appealing to the federal authorities in Ethiopia for urgent access in order to reach Eritrean refugees in the Tigray region who are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance and services. Our concerns are growing by the hour. The camps will have now run out of food supplies, making hunger and malnutrition a real danger.”
- Medium shot, UN Staff member seated in front of laptop, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Babar Baloch, spokesperson for UNHCR (UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees): “We are also alarmed at unconfirmed reports of attacks, abductions and forced recruitment at the refugee camps. UNHCR strongly reiterates its call for safety and security of refugees. With the current difficulties in communications and security hampering access it is not possible to verify current conditions in the camps.”
- Medium shot, journalist typing on phone to rear, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Babar Baloch, spokesperson for UNHCR (UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees): “With our concerns growing by the hour, we're appealing to the federal authorities of Ethiopia that access should be urgently provided to us in the Tigray region to reach the desperate people.”
- Medium shot, journalist using listening device and taking notes, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Babar Baloch, spokesperson for UNHCR (UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees): “In terms of, of the access, no access to us since the start of the conflict, to the four refugee camps where there are 96,000 Eritrean refugees, the camps have been there, at least over a decade. And when the conflict started we lost our contact, and it's very hard to verify any information coming out of the region itself.”
- Medium shot, journalists seated, using listening devices, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- Medium shot, TV broadcast to rear and journalist using listening device in foreground, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
- Medium shot, UN Staff member seated in front of laptop, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP , OCHA
UN urges opening of all Gaza crossings to deliver three-month food supply
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned food aid cannot reach everyone in Gaza unless all border crossings are opened, particularly in the north where famine was declared in August. The agency says it already has enough supplies in place to feed the entire population of the Strip for three months – if full access is granted by Israel.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNDP , UNICEF , OCHA , ICRC
Around $70 billion will be needed to reconstruct Gaza and make it safe after two years of war, UN development experts said on Tuesday, while aid agencies reported that far too little aid continues to reach desperate Palestinians.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday welcomed the Nobel Peace Prize committee’s decision to name Maria Machado as this year’s laureate, in recognition of her work promoting the Venezuelan people’s democratic hopes.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNICEF , WHO
As Gazans jammed the main route leading north on Friday after a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was announced, UN aid teams repeated their call to open all crossings into the devastated enclave to prevent famine spreading.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , WHO
Two years of Gaza-Israel war bring ‘indescribable’ pain: UN humanitarians
Two years since the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, UN humanitarians on Tuesday reiterated calls for the release of all hostages in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire and an aid surge to alleviate Palestinians’ suffering, as talks on a US-driven peace plan continued in Egypt.
1
1
1
Edited News
Syria prison survivor seeks justice for the missing with UN backing.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned that three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war in Ukraine has entered an even more dangerous and deadly stage for Ukrainian civilians, under relentless bombardment of their schools, hospitals, and shelters.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , ICRC
Quadcopter victims, terror and death: 30 minutes in a Gaza hospital
UN aid teams on Friday highlighted the disturbing situation in Gaza’s makeshift hospitals, where premature babies cry for scant oxygen and medics attempt to save child survivors targeted by airstrikes in their tents and quadcopter victims reportedly shot while fetching bread.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday delivered his oral update to the UN Human Rights Council’s 60th session on the human rights situation in Haiti.
The High Commissioner welcomed Wednesday’s decision of the UN Security Council to strengthen the Multinational Security Support mission by transitioning to the Gang Suppression Force for Haiti, stating it is a strong signal of international support for the Haitian people.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Gaza: As world waits for US peace plan news, UN aid teams stress need for ceasefire
UN agencies reiterated calls for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday to help alleviate Palestinian suffering, as a new US 20-point plan raised hopes of a halt to the fighting.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
The ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza City continues to overwhelm the war-torn enclave’s medical professionals, with four more hospitals forced to shut down this month alone, the UN World Health Organization said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A UN Human Rights report released today details the dire situation of thousands of civilians detained since Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine in 2022.