Colombia

The World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have launched a new project to improve emergency response to health crises.   The project, called INITIATE², will develop solutions such as disease-specific field facilities and kits and train logistics and health responders on their use.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Mireia Villar Forner of Spain as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Colombia, with the host Government’s approval.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Nicolas de Rivière (France):

Colombia has notched unprecedented achievements in transitional justice as the fifth anniversary of its landmark peace agreement approaches, the senior United Nations official in the country told the Security Council today, as delegates noted both strides and lingering challenges that led recently to large-scale protests across the country.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned of a looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan as escalating conflict has displaced 270,000 Afghans inside the country since January, bringing the total uprooted population to more than 3.5 million.  UNHCR said the needs of those who have fled are “suddenly acute”.

Tor Wennesland, the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, announced that, under the United Nations framework, the Qatari-funded fuel deliveries for the Gaza Power Plant are resuming today.  He welcomed all steps taken to de-escalate the situation and solidify a ceasefire.

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

Secretary-General António Guterres praised the impactful first decade of the “Every Woman Every Child” campaign, which mobilized more than $180 billion in investments.  While maternal and child deaths have declined significantly in that time, he cautioned that COVID-19 has revealed the fragility of those advances.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia until 31 October and expanded it to include monitoring implementation of the sentences handed down by a special judicial body established under the 2016 peace agreement between the Government and a rebel group.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, with support from the World Health Organization and other partners, has launched a yellow fever vaccination campaign targeting more than 16.3 million people in the country, the first such drive against the disease in Africa this year.