Central African Republic

In South Sudan, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim Peter Van der Auweraert strongly condemned today the ongoing violence in Upper Nile State, which has displaced over 9,000 people. The United Nation is working with aid partners to provide food, access to water, sanitation, hygiene and healthcare facilities.

Marking the Day of Remembrance for All Victims of Chemical Warfare, the Secretary-General said that chemical weapons have claimed countless victims across the globe. He stressed that on this Day, the international community must honour them and reaffirm its commitment to achieve a world free from this threat.

In Ethiopia, the Government, United Nations and non-governmental organizations aid deliveries have been begun arriving in Tigray, with more than 450 trucks carrying food aid, medical supplies and agricultural supplies. As well, humanitarian flights for staff have also resumed for Mekelle and have started for Shire.

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

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Harold Adlai Agyeman (Ghana):

The World Food Programme’s Executive Director went to Venezuela, where he met with President Nicolas Maduro and visited the Araya peninsula in Sucre state, where the Programme has been providing school meals since July and where over 430,000 children and their families receive food rations delivered to schools in eight states.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Mohamed Ag Ayoya of Mali as his new Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and Resident Coordinator for the Central African Republic.

In Argentina, the United Nations joined many in the country and across the region to mourn the passing of Hebe de Bonafini, a human rights activist who co-founded the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo movement to search for missing people, including children, during the military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983.

Today is International Day for Tolerance. The resolution proclaiming the Day was adopted by the General Assembly in 1996, and among other things, the Day aims to foster mutual understanding among cultures and peoples.

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic facilitated a school’s reopening in the Haute-Kotto Prefecture. Deployed there to deter armed groups and help restore socioeconomic activities, peacekeepers also provided school supplies and have launched a community violence reduction project.