Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen said that negotiations held in Oman over the weekend led to a significant breakthrough, where the Yemeni parties reached an understanding on releasing Mohamed Qahtan, a prominent politician who has been held incommunicado by the Houthis since 2015.

A careful, incremental approach is vital to the three-phase withdrawal of the longstanding United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, speakers told the Security Council today, stressing the need to avoid a domestic security vacuum and the regional spillover of conflict between the Government forces and other armed groups.

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) has started a joint operation with the Congolese Armed Forces to protect civilians in the Madombo and Itendey areas of Ituri Province, respectively controlled by the Zaire and CODECO armed groups.

Burkina Faso is facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, with 6.3 million people in need of support and protection, but the $935 million Humanitarian Response Plan for 2024 is only 17 per cent funded. The UN and its partners are working supporting Government efforts to meet immediate needs.

The Security Council decided today to renew the sanctions regime concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo until 1 July 2025, and the mandate of the corresponding Group of Experts until 1 August 2025.

Following the completion of a technical assessment, the Secretariat of the United Nations has responded positively to a request of the National Electoral Council of Venezuela to deploy a UN Panel of Electoral Experts for the July 2024 presidential elections there.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Joonkook Hwang (Republic of Korea):

The World Food Programme (WFP) is ramping up its food and nutrition assistance programme in West and Central Africa, targeting 7.3 million people during the ongoing June to August lean season.

On 3 June 2024, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo held informal consultations on “DRC-mined gold, tantalum and tungsten: illicit trading in DRC and internationally”.

On 24 May 2024, the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo briefed members of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004) in connection with the Group’s final report.