Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

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

Our humanitarian colleagues are concerned about the 6.7 magnitude aftershock that struck Papua New Guinea’s highlands area on the evening of 6 March, local time.  Preliminary assessments indicate that immediate needs for the population include shelter, food, water and access to medical services.

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

On 15 February 2018, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolutions 1718 (2006) enacted the amendments specified with underline and strikethrough in the entry below on its 1718 Sanctions List of individuals and entities subject to the measures imposed by paragraphs 8(d) and 8 (e) of Security Council resolution 1718 adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that heavy rains and flooding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo may exacerbate the country’s ongoing cholera epidemic.  The current outbreak, which began in July, is one of the most severe in years.  The latest reports find 55,000 cases, including nearly 1,200 deaths, for 2017 alone — double the number of cases in 2016.

The International Organization for Migration has chartered its first flight of 2018 under the Voluntary Humanitarian Return programme, helping 142 returnees departing from Libya to Gambia.  The organization has escorted almost 20,000 migrants home from Libya since the beginning of 2017.

Condemning, in the strongest terms, the launch of a ballistic missile by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on 28 November 2017, the Security Council today further tightened sanctions on the country, severely restricting fuel imports and other trade, as well as the ability of its citizens to work abroad.

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

The United Nations refugee agency evacuated 74 refugees, mostly children and women, from Libya to Niger.  In the Central African Republic, voluntary repatriation of Sudanese refugees has begun; since Tuesday, 230 refugees have arrived in Sudan.  Agency-chartered flights will bring some 1,500 refugees home by the end of 2017.

The risk of an accidental escalation of tensions leading to conflict was being multiplied by misplaced overconfidence, dangerous narratives and rhetoric, as well as a lack of communication channels, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council today.