Africa

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for Africa Industrialization Day, observed on 20 November:

Urging support for regional organizations and sustainable financing to counter terrorism in Africa, the Deputy Secretary-General stressed that the spread of terrorism is a concern for the entire international community and requires a preventive approach that includes respect for human rights and international law, as the Security Council held a high-level debate on counter-terrorism in Africa today.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks, delivered by United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, to the Security Council high-level debate on “Counter-terrorism in Africa:  An imperative for peace, security and development”, in New York today:

In Ukraine, the United Nations, NGOs and the entire humanitarian community continue to work to sustain aid operations and reach those impacted by the war with the life-saving support they need. Since February, aid workers have provided critical assistance to some 13.5 million people across all regions of Ukraine.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Michel Xavier Biang (Gabon):

In Chad, the United Nations and partners have assisted some 250,000 people affected by flooding; however, only one quarter of the $70 million needed to help 8000,000 people has been received. The water rise has stabilized in the capital but is forecasted to move upstream to the already crisis-impacted Lac region.

The Security Council today voted to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 31 October 2023, calling on the parties to resume negotiations in good faith towards a mutually acceptable political solution for the region.

The deteriorating security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to stymie favourable developments in the wider Great Lakes region, the Security Council heard today, as members stressed the need to strengthen regional cooperation and dialogue on countering common threats and working towards shared goals, including combating the illicit trade of natural resources that fuels conflict.

A report by the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change shows that countries are bending the curve of global greenhouse gas emissions downward, but the report underscores that these efforts remain insufficient to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C by the end of the century.

Nearly a hundred experts from Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda gather in Mombasa, Kenya, from 18 to 19 October for a two-day regional workshop to identify concrete ways to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention in Eastern African countries.