Americas

The UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) reports it has completed repairs and maintenance on the Banton Bridge over the River Kiir, a vital link between Abyei’s central and southern areas and an important trade route with South Sudan. The bridge had been unsafe for months, restricting civilian movement and aid access.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are deeply saddened over the tragic capsizing of a boat off the coast of Malaysia and Thailand carrying up to 70 people from Myanmar, including Rohingya. Some 13 people were brought ashore by Malaysian authorities; at least 21 people died.

In the Central African Republic, the UN Mission there continues to support the country’s peace process, including through the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process. From 16 to 20 October, it facilitated the disarmament and demobilization of ex-combatants in Bangui and in Mobaye.

The United States’ recent military strikes against Venezuelan vessels alleged to be transporting drugs — and the heightened response by Caracas — constitute an alarming escalation that must be urgently defused through dialogue, the senior UN official in the Americas told the Security Council today, as Washington, D.C., defended its offensive operation against “non-State terrorist” drug cartels killing thousands in his country.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the World Food Programme has partially resumed food assistance in parts of Goma, delivering vital nutrition supplies to treat moderate acute malnutrition in children, and plans to resume operations fully as soon as it is safe to do so.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the opening ceremony of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) forty-eighth regular meeting of Heads of Government, in Bridgetown today:

The UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is sheltering and protecting some 1,400 people in its premises in Goma, North Kivu. In recent days, nearly 56,000 displaced persons have relocated to 34 newly created collective centres across Goma, mainly schools, churches and hospitals.

The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) is delighted to announce the launch of its new podcast series, Women, Forces of Change: The Podcast, which is dedicated to highlighting the voices of women from Latin America and the Caribbean who work in disarmament.

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) reports that 311 weapons collected from former combatants were handed over to the Government on Tuesday as part of the National Programme for Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration and Repatriation.

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