Delegates urged international partners to continue helping the Democratic Republic of the Congo implement its programme of action for 2021-2023, as the Security Council examined today the forthcoming mandate renewal for the United Nations peacekeeping operation in that country.
With reports that the Omicron variant has been detected in Botswana, the United Nations team is increasing its support for the Government’s COVID-19 response, including by providing medical and protective equipment. To date, 75 per cent of people in the country have received at least one dose, while 68 per cent are fully vaccinated.
United Nations peacekeeping officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo continue to sound alarms over deadly attacks perpetrated by fighters — presumed to be with the militant coalition known as CODECO — against displaced civilians in Ituri Province. There are currently 1.7 million people displaced in Ituri.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Nations peacekeeping mission reports that some 16,000 people fled to a camp located near its Temporary Operational Base, following deadly attack deadly attacks by the CODECO armed group in Drodro, Ituri province. The mission has reinforced security in the area.
Humanitarian personnel in Somalia, along with the Federal Government, have sounded alarm over worsening drought conditions. Some 2.3 million people — 18 per cent of the population — are severely affected by water, food and pasture shortages in a country that has experienced more than 30 climate-related hazards since 1990.
United Nations officials in Myanmar report worsening humanitarian conditions due to conflict, political instability and COVID-19 since the military seized control of the Government in February. More than 230,000 people have been displaced since then, with food running desperately short in some host communities.
Since Sunday night, at least 11,000 people fleeing fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo have sought refuge in Uganda, the largest single-day influx in over one year, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports. It is requesting urgent resources to address the new arrivals’ needs.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says more children and women were abducted for ransom between January and August 2021 than during the entire 2020. UNICEF estimates based on official sources say 71 women and 30 children were abducted in the first eight months of 2021, and 59 women and 37 children in 2020.
Through a presidential statement, the Security Council urged signatory states of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as regional organizations and the international community, to coordinate their efforts to undercut the economic lifelines of armed groups that benefit from the illegal exploitation and trade in natural resources, and to prevent the exploitation of women and children in the trade of these resources.
In Afghanistan, the World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund today announced house-to-house polio vaccinations will resume 8 November across the country for the first time in three years, targeting more than 3.3 million children who were previously out of reach.
