Afghanistan

Since 11 March, the United Nations estimates that more than 50,000 people have left eastern Ghouta, Syria.  Amid visits from United Nations teams in recent days, most of the existing shelters do not have the capacity or infrastructure to accommodate the large number of people arriving in rural areas near Damascus.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Karel Jan Gustaaf van Oosterom (Netherlands):

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Karel Jan Gustaaf van Oosterom (Netherlands):

The Secretary-General told the Security Council today that, despite passing resolution 2401 (2018), there had been no cessation of hostilities in Syria.  Violence continued in eastern Ghouta and beyond, and humanitarian aid continued to face blockages, with the humanitarian and human rights situation becoming more desperate by the day.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan briefed the Security Council today.  He said that Afghanistan had successfully hosted the second conference of the Kabul Process for peace and security, where participants endorsed direct talks between the Government and the Taliban without preconditions.

The Security Council today extended for another year the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) ahead of a debate during which speakers — on International Women’s Day — placed women’s vital role front and centre in achieving a sustainable peace and security after years of conflict.

The United Nations Children’s Fund expressed deep sadness over the killing of its colleague, along with five other education workers, on 25 February in the north-western region of the Central African Republic, near Markounda, a remote area close to the Chadian border.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is calling for calm and restraint after reports of a refugee protest turning violent in Rwanda’s Kiziba refugee camp.  The camp hosts over 17,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, around 77 per cent of which are women and children.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the United Nations human rights office released their annual report on the impact of armed conflict on civilians, finding that 10,453 civilians had lost their lives or suffered injuries in 2017.  While down 9 per cent from 2016, casualties were caused mainly by suicide bombings.