Colombia

Speaking to reporters in Saint Petersburg, Russia, today, the Secretary-General said that climate change is undeniable, and added that climate action is unstoppable.  He urged all the Governments around the world to stay the course and to remain committed to the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Despite numerous challenges, the parties to Colombia’s six-month-old peace agreement were committed to “stay the course” in order to preserve the impressive gains already made, the co-leads of the Security Council’s recent mission to that country said this afternoon as they recapped their visit.

Following its recent three-day visiting mission to Colombia, the Security Council today adopted a presidential statement paying tribute to that country’s people for embarking on the path to peace after more than 50 years of conflict.

Nearly 75,000 refugees and migrants, including an estimated 24,600 children, are stranded in Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary and the Western Balkans, and at risk of psychosocial distress from living in a protracted state of limbo, UNICEF warned today. The situation is particularly acute for single mothers and children.

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.