Despite having suffered some of the COVID-19 pandemic’s worst socioeconomic impacts — including inflated debt burdens, job losses and worsening conflicts — Africa has to date received just 2 per cent of vaccine doses produced globally, the Security Council heard today, as it convened a high-level virtual debate on addressing the root causes of conflict in the continent’s post-COVID-19 recovery process.
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council open debate on peace and security in Africa — “Addressing root causes of conflict while promoting post-pandemic recovery in Africa” — held today:
Amid a worsening security situation marked by mounting terrorist attacks, troops deployed to stem the tide of violent extremism in Africa’s Sahel region require more predictable funding and broader international support, the United Nations senior peace operations official told the Security Council during a videoconference meeting today.
The failure by States to execute arrest warrants for Libyan fugitives — including the son of former leader Muammar al-Qadhafi — is blocking efforts to ensure justice for the victims of serious crimes perpetrated during a decade of conflict and strife, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court told the Security Council today, as she threw a harsh spotlight on ongoing human rights violations in the North African nation’s teeming prisons.
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, today:
As fighting between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza broke furiously into its seventh day, foreign ministers in the Security Council today called unequivocally for an immediate end to the bloodshed, sounding alarm bells over the imminent potential for the violence to spill into the wider region.
Relentless military escalation by Ansar Allah in Yemen’s northern Marib region, along with import restrictions at Hudaydah, the closure of Sana’a International Airport and the absence of a political process are depriving people of hope that an end to the conflict is possible, the chief United Nations mediator told the Security Council today, calling on parties to make the concessions needed to conclude a peace deal.
The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia until 31 October and expanded it to include monitoring implementation of the sentences handed down by a special judicial body established under the 2016 peace agreement between the Government and a rebel group.
The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) until 15 November 2021, maintaining the current ceilings for troops and police.
Five months away from national elections in Iraq — a milestone event in the country’s young democracy — violent attacks against both civilian and military targets continue with “troubling” regularity, the top United Nations official in the country told the Security Council today, as delegates called for continued vigilance against terrorist activities and the enactment of economic reforms.
