Welcoming “remarkable achievements” in Colombia following agreements to end long-term civil strife, the Security Council decided this afternoon that the United Nations Verification Mission there would expand its work to include monitoring a ceasefire recently signed by the Government and the group known as Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN).
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that the number of Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar to Bangladesh has surpassed 700,000, with 480,000 arriving since late August. The United Nations continues to provide aid, but the massive influx of refugees is outpacing the capacity to respond.
The Security Council today approved the Secretary-General’s recommendations regarding the size, operational aspects and mandate of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia.
The new mission that would oversee the next phase of the 2016 peace agreement between the Government of Colombia and the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP) is on track to begin its activities as scheduled on 26 September, the Head of the United Nations Mission in that country told the Security Council today.
The number of migrant deaths and disappearances over the past three years is likely to be much higher than the 23,000 that the International Organization for Migration has reported globally since 2014, since many deaths are not recorded, according to a report released by the agency today.
OCHA says a cholera outbreak has been reported in Borno State, north-eastern Nigeria, the first case of which was recorded on 16 August. More than 530 suspected cases had been registered as of yesterday, including 23 deaths, mainly in Muna Garage, a camp hosting about 20,000 internally displaced persons on the outskirts of Maiduguri, the state capital.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
Aid workers in Iraq are preparing to bring water, hygiene, sanitation, food and emergency medical care to those in need ahead of the anticipated military campaign to retake the Da’esh-held town of Telafar, some 60 kilometres west of Mosul. Some 60,000 people are believed to remain trapped in the city and its environs.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said today that they are stepping up their response to the situation in Venezuela as asylum applications soar. So far in 2017, over 52,000 people have applied for asylum, which is already two times more than the total number for 2016.
The Secretary-General welcomed the establishment of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia. The Mission is tasked with verifying the peace agreement commitments relating to reintegration of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP) and implementation of security guarantees for the group and conflict-affected communities.
