Colombia

The International Organization for Migration warned today that hundreds of migrants are being held under “slave market” conditions in North Africa.  Describing the situation as “dire”, the agency also reported several cases in which migrants have been kidnapped in exchange for ransom.

While the first phase in implementing Colombia’s recently signed Peace Agreement between the Government and guerrilla fighters remained largely on track, the “relatively short window of opportunity” to build a solid foundation for peace required consistent vigilance, the senior United Nations official in that country said in a briefing to the Security Council today.

Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akıncı, and Greek Cypriot leader, Nicos Anastasiades, held an open and constructive exchange about the challenges experienced over the last months.  The leaders reconfirmed their commitment to finding a solution in the best interest of all Cypriots.

The Security Council met for its debate on Afghanistan this morning, during which it renewed the mandate for the United Nations Mission there (UNAMA).  The Secretary-General’s Special Representative highlighted the challenging security environment in the country, which in 2016 resulted in UNAMA recording the highest number of civilian casualties in a single year.

At its sixty-second meeting, on 14 February 2017, the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, in connection with the examination of the third report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Colombia (document S/2016/837), agreed to address the following messages through a public statement issued by the Chair of the Working Group.

A new report by the Joint Human Rights Office of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo says defence and security forces used excessive, disproportionate and lethal force to prevent and contain last December’s demonstrations, in which at least 40 people were killed.

The Secretary-General welcomes donor pledges made today at the conclusion of the Oslo Humanitarian Conference on Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin, where 14 donors pledged $458 million for 2017.  The Conference also resulted in an agreement to address longer-term development needs and seek lasting solutions to the crisis.

The United Nations Mission in Colombia said yesterday that nearly 7,000 FARC-EP members have arrived in zones where it will verify the laying down of arms.  General Javier Pérez Aquino, head of the United Nations Mission’s observers, said the decision to move into the zones despite limited logistics is very positive.

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

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq briefed the Security Council today noting the progress that had been made by Iraqi forces in Mosul.  He said that in the foreseeable future, the liberation operations in Iraq are coming to an end and the days of Da’esh are numbered.