Colombia

The Secretary-General said he was deeply saddened by the death of three peacekeepers from Bangladesh in the Central African Republic when their convoy was hit by an explosive ordnance while on patrol in the evening. One critically injured peacekeeper is in stable condition and receiving medical treatment.

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

A United Nations-chartered vessel carrying the first shipment of humanitarian food under the Black Sea Grain Initiative is expected to berth soon at Ukraine’s Yuzhny (Pivdennyi) port to collect Ukrainian wheat purchased by the World Food Programme in support of the drought-stricken Horn of Africa where there is risk of famine.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) today launched an appeal for $10.7 million to deliver life-saving health care in the next six months to over 2 million women and girls in Sri Lanka, where the health system risks collapsing amid debilitating power shortages and a lack of critical supplies and equipment.

In Ukraine, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners delivered 50 tons of relief supplies for 5,000 people to Stepnohirsk, which is close to the front lines in south-eastern Zaporizka oblast. The convoy contained life-saving supplies, including medicine, food, blankets and other essentials.

​​​​​​​The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Ronaldo Costa Filho (Brazil):

The Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, in connection with the examination of the fifth report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Colombia (S/2021/1022), agreed to convey the following messages through a public statement by the Chair of the Working Group:

Encouraged by the recent peaceful presidential elections and the release of the compelling, final report of Colombia’s Truth Commission, the top United Nations official in that country told the Security Council today he is confident that Colombia is moving towards a vibrant, diverse democracy..

The Special Representative for the Secretary-General in Colombia told the Security Council that, in a mostly peaceful election, Colombians elected their new President, Gustavo Petro. The electoral outcomes also included the largest ever share of women, close to 30 per cent of lawmakers.

In South Africa, Acting Resident Coordinator, Ayodele Odusola and her team are focused on rebuilding the KwaZulu-Natal province and, in response to the pandemic, providing more than $750,000 in assistance and technical support and working with authorities through the district development model to improve social services.