In Mali, the United Nations Mission in the country (MINUSMA) today welcomed the International Criminal Court’s ruling recognizing Ahmad Al-Faqi Al-Mahdi as guilty of war crimes for the destruction of religious and historical monuments in Timbuktu. MINUSMA called the judgment a step forward in the fight against impunity and a strong signal against the destruction of cultural goods.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The Secretary-General said his meeting in Cyprus on Sunday with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders was productive and that he had agreed to their request to step up personal engagement to help them achieve a comprehensive settlement this year.
The Secretary-General has urged all parties in Gabon, particularly the political leaders and their followers, to exercise maximum restraint, refrain from any form of violence and remain calm ahead of and after the ruling of the Constitutional Court on the presidential elections, which is expected today.
The United Nations has resumed aid deliveries to Syria. A convoy has entered the besieged town of Moadamiyeh in rural Damascus with food, medical, education, water, sanitation and other supplies for 35,000 people. Deliveries will be carried out on a case-by-case basis depending on conditions on the ground.
The number of refugees fleeing violence in South Sudan has reached 1 million, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which says it needs $701 million in donations to sustain basic assistance to the needy.
The Secretary-General today told the Security Council that the two-State solution for the Israelis and Palestinians is at risk of being replaced by a one-State reality of perpetual violence and occupation. The reporting period, he said, saw the continuation of statements by both sides that only perpetuate an environment of mistrust.
The United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services is now preparing final reports on the investigations into sexual exploitation and abuse in the Central African Republic for transmission to troop-contributing countries for them to take appropriate action and ensure accountability.
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is deeply concerned by reports received of threats and harassment against some civil society members who met with the Security Council delegation during a visit to Juba last week, saying the actions are in violation of the rights of fundamental freedoms.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is concerned about the displacement of 100,000 people in Syria’s Hama governorate due to fighting. The United Nations and partners, including the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, have sent food, water and supplies for 15,000 people on an inter-agency convoy to Hama.
The World Food Programme (WFP) distributed today desperately needed food for more than 30,000 people in and around the northern Iraqi town of Qayyarah, which is about 60 kilometres south of Mosul. The town had been under siege and inaccessible over the last two years.