The Final Agreement between the Government of Colombia and the former Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo (FARC-EP) remains as relevant today as the day it was signed, the Special Representative for the country told the Security Council today.
Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today threw their support behind the Secretariat’s request for nearly $21 million to let special political missions in Haiti and Colombia carry out expanded mandates in 2024. Representatives also backed $3.67 million in additional funding to support two General Assembly resolutions approved during its seventy-seventh session to help revitalize the Assembly’s work and to turn a global marine biodiversity pact into a reality.
Welcoming progress made towards peace across Colombia amid the Government’s outreach efforts to domestic armed groups, the Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Verification Mission in that country for one year to monitor and verify implementation of a ceasefire between the Government and the National Liberation Army.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Sergio Franca Danese (Brazil):
In Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports the cumulative number of displaced people rose 30 per cent just over the past 24 hours to over 338,000; two thirds are taking shelter in schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Highlighting progress during the first year of President Gustavo Petro’s Administration, the Special Representative for Colombia, in his briefing today to the Security Council, urged the Government, as well as the former combatants of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP), and other stakeholders to prioritize constructive dialogue to further consolidate peace in the country still marred by violence.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported that 220,000 internally displaced people are sheltering in 88 UNRWA schools across the Gaza Strip, also noting that numerous personnel, teachers and students have been killed. Agency staff are working around the clock, caring for the people in the shelters.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees warns that the Darien jungle crossing between Panama and Colombia is witnessing record numbers of migrants and refugees, with over 250,000 people crossing on foot in the first seven months of 2023 alone, surpassing the total for all of 2022.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
Amid Colombia’s ongoing efforts to establish peace with several domestic armed groups, the Security Council today expanded the mandate of the United Nations Verification Mission in that country to monitor and verify the implementation of a ceasefire between the Government and the National Liberation Army (ELN).
