Central African Republic

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

Due to continuing hostilities and military operations in Syria’s Afrin District, some 126,000 men, women and children remain displaced, from Afrin to Tall Refaat, Nabul, Zahraa, Fafin and other areas.  Also, an estimated 150,000 people continue to be in Afrin District, where access to people in need remains extremely limited.

The United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic, MINUSCA, reports that the situation in Bangui is calm following violence in the capital yesterday, but in a subsequent attack, two MINUSCA Military Staff Officers were wounded, one seriously, after a crowd pelted them with stones.

The UN Mission in the Central African Republic reports that the situation in Bangui is tense and evolving, with violence and casualties reported in the capital’s Second and Third districts.  The Mission immediately deployed patrols to protect civilians and secure key points, in close cooperation with authorities.

On 26 April 2018, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2013) concerning the Central African Republic enacted the amendments specified with underline and strikethrough in the entry below on its Sanctions List of individuals and entities subject to the asset freeze and travel ban set out in paragraphs 9 and 16 of Security Council resolution 2399 (2018), adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

The Secretary-General’s Youth Envoy spoke to the Security Council today on the Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security.  She said the report points to two key issues needing attention:  the growing mistrust from young generations towards formal political institutions, and the exclusion of young people from political, civic and economic life.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq commended Kurdistan Region political parties and blocs for signing the Electoral Charter of Honour on 18 April in Erbil.  He said that the Charter is essential to conducting the elections in a free, fair, impartial, transparent and credible manner.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced today that Chile had just acceded to the international conventions on statelessness.  The Office commended the country’s commitment to promote the fundamental right to nationality.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today condemned the killing of three Ecuadorian newspaper staff workers:  Javier Ortega, Paul Rivas and Efrain Segarra.  The three workers, employed by the newspaper El Comercio, were kidnapped on 26 March, near the border between Ecuador and Colombia.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs launched its 2018 needs and priorities plan for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, seeking $111 million to assist 6 million of the most vulnerable people.  Undernutrition, a serious concern, continues to stunt more than one quarter of children in the country.