Burundi

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that the number of Rohingya refugees having fled Myanmar for Bangladesh since 25 August has now reached 621,000.  As of this morning, the Rohingya Refugee Crisis Response Plan has received nearly $140 million, or 32 per cent of requirements.  Donors had pledged $360 million for the October response.

Despite slow progress towards inclusive dialogue in Burundi, the United Nations must continue its support for the political process there as the only way forward, the Secretary‑General’s Special Envoy to the East African country told the Security Council today.

An innovative debt-swap between the Russian Federation and Mozambique has unlocked $40 million, which will be used by World Food Programme (WFP) to provide school meals for 150,000 children in Mozambique over the next five years.  The largest in WFP history, the debt-swap will free up new resources for development, as well as provide debt relief.

The Security Council, in a presidential statement today, expressed deep concern over the political situation in Burundi — including increasing numbers of refugees and reports of torture, forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings — and strongly urged the Government and all parties to immediately cease and reject such violence.

Burundi’s socioeconomic Situation continued to deteriorate due to the ongoing political situation in the East African country, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy said today as he briefed the Security Council on developments there.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein announced today the appointment of Bacre Ndiaye from Senegal, Luc Côté from Canada and Fatimata M’Baye from Mauritania as international experts on the situation in the Kasaï region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, mandated by the Human Rights Council.

Three planes chartered by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have delivered 36 tons of life-saving medical and water purification supplies to Yemen to combat the outbreak of cholera which has surpassed 200,000 cases.  The supplies include oral rehydration salts to treat 10,000 people, as well as 10.5 million water purification tablets.

Regional actors and international partners must press for confidence-building measures that would be conducive for holding an inclusive and credible political dialogue in Burundi, Assistant Secretary-General Tayé-Brook Zerihoun told the Security Council this afternoon as it considered the situation in that country.

The Secretary-General welcomed the adoption today of General Assembly resolution A/71/L66, which endorsed his proposal for a new United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism.  He stressed that combatting terrorism and preventing violent extremism was one of the Organization’s highest priorities in its work towards international peace and security.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Michel Kafando of Burkina Faso as his Special Envoy.