Africa

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council meeting on enhancing African capacities in the areas of peace and security, in New York today:

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is deeply concerned that, after recent fighting in Benghazi, people taken prisoner by members of the Libyan National Army may be at imminent risk of torture and even summary execution.

Political Will Needed in Fighting Boko Haram, Delegates Stress, as Bolivia, Russian Federation Warn against Interventionism, ‘Outside Meddling’

Despite laudable progress towards democratic consolidation, the security situation in West Africa and the Sahel remained a concern, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative told the Security Council today, stressing that terrorism and violent extremism were hampering efforts to improve infrastructure and create jobs.

In Ethiopia, the World Food Programme (WFP) said today that their funding — and food stocks — are quickly running out.  The country is struggling with the effects of devastating back-to-back droughts.  Some 7.8 million people need food assistance right now, and that number is expected to rise in the coming months after another failed rainy season.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed's remarks, as prepared for delivery, on the Lake Chad Basin and Sahel at the Family Planning Summit, in London today:

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed's remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the African Union Summit, in Addis Ababa today:

At its eighth formal meeting, held on 16 December 2016, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005) concerning the Sudan met with representatives to the United Nations of the Sudan, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya and Uganda, with the aim of continuing to strengthen the dialogue between the Committee and the invited delegations.

Despite numerous strategies to improve security, governance and development, the situation in the Sahel remained fragile, speakers in a joint meeting of the Economic and Social Council and Peacebuilding Commission agreed today, amid calls for Governments and international partners to improve coherence on the ground by matching short-term objectives with a longer term vision for the region.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed's remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the joint Economic and Social Council-Peacebuilding Commission meeting on the situation in the Sahel, in New York today:

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned today that the announcement of an end to famine conditions in South Sudan this week should not distract from the fact that severe food insecurity continues to put the lives of millions of children at risk in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and north-east Nigeria.