United Nations peacekeepers must be constantly equipped with more and better tools and skills so they could fully meet their mandates in increasingly risky environments, Hervé Ladsous, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, said at Headquarters today.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Syrian refugees exceed 1.5 million

• J-RANS II finds significant deterioration of the humanitarian situation

• Health needs grow more acute

• Donor funding increases ahead of revision to U.N. appeals

HIGHLIGHTS

• Mounting concerns that public health crisis may aggravate Syria humanitarian situation. 420,000 Palestine refugees unable to meet basic needs.
• UN inter-agency cross-line assistance to almost 1 million Syrians despite security and access challenges.
• Syrian refugee population up by nearly 1 million people since January.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

Movement by internally displaced persons continues to be large-scale and fluid, as many Syrians are displaced multiple times. The estimated number of IDPs now stands at 4.25 million.

Armed conflicts, insecurity, protracted displacement and natural disasters affect millions of people across the region.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

Escaping war trauma, Syrian children reconnect with their childhood