Africa

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

As hostilities escalate in southern Syria, civilian deaths continue to be reported and up to 66,000 people have now been displaced.  Many who fled towards the Jordanian border remain stranded in the desert with little access to humanitarian help.  Planned aid convoys will proceed as soon as the security situation allows.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia as his Special Representative to the African Union and Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union at the level of Under-Secretary-General.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council on the maintenance of international peace and security:  comprehensive review of the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, in New York today:

The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator said he is increasingly concerned by the situation in the Sahel, where nearly 6 million people are struggling to meet their daily food needs.  The crisis has been triggered by scarce rainfall in 2017, which resulted in acute water, crop and pasture shortages and livestock losses.

The international community must have a coordinated response to the serious political and security challenges in Central Africa, which included armed conflict, terrorism, poaching, organized transnational crime and maritime piracy, the Security Council heard today as it was briefed on recent developments in the region.

Following is UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ message for Africa Day, observed on 25 May:

The Emergency Relief Coordinator today released $30 million from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund to urgently scale up relief efforts in the Sahel, where an acute drought, combined with exceptionally high food prices and worsening insecurity, has escalated humanitarian needs.

Calming the ever-volatile security situation in Mali hinged on a long-term plan matched with predictable funding that would consolidate fragile gains and allow international forces to tackle the spread of terrorism and transnational organized crime which was spreading across borders in the region, the United Nations peacekeeping chief told the Security Council today.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Joanna Wronecka (Poland):