The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, through the Resident Coordinator in Fiji, offered support to Vanuatu amid a state of emergency sparked by Tropical Cyclone Judy. A second storm system is now bearing down on the country, and may impact 95 per cent of the population.
Somalia
On 17 February 2023, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) concerning Al-Shabaab held its first informal consultations of the year to meet with the Panel of Experts on Somalia renewed by resolution 2662 (2022).
In Iraq, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affair reports that is has launched a humanitarian transition overview to encapsulate critical residual humanitarian needs and help donors and agencies prioritize support in 2023.
The Security Council entity overseeing sanctions on Somalia recently met twice to consider issues including weapons smuggling between that country and Yemen and investigations into Al-Shabaab’s finances, its Chair reported today, also noting that the entity’s name had been changed to reflect its focus on that terrorist group.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Aisa Kirabo Kacyira of Rwanda as Head of the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS).
The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) reports that protection efforts by peacekeepers in Leourou in Ouham-Pende Prefecture resulted in the release of over 100 people who were being held by armed elements who had attacked their village.
The Federal Government of Somalia has made significant progress since the Council last took up the situation in September 2022 — including on such national priorities as the fight against the Al-Shabaab terrorist group — senior officials told the Security Council today, as members warned that an ongoing drought is expected to render half the population food insecure by mid-2023 and place the country at increased risk of famine.
World leaders announced today over $826 million to Education Cannot Wait, the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, to support the education of millions of girls and boys living in crises.
In Colombia, the United Nations team has received over $17 million for the multi-donor fund aiding the country’s “Total Peace” initiative, securing 76 per cent of the Fund’s 2023 investment needs to support transitional justice, rural development, reintegration of ex-combatants and security.
The Security Council today unanimously adopted a resolution reaffirming its previous decision made with the African Union Peace and Security Council to reconfigure the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) into the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), taking note of the African Union’s request to extend the drawdown of 2,000 ATMIS personnel until 30 June 2023, in line with a communiqué adopted by the African Union Peace and Security Council during a meeting on 11 November.