Democratic Republic of the Congo

In northern Syria, a reported 5 million people lack reliable access to and suffer from insufficient levels of safe water due to low water levels and disruptions to water systems.  The United Nations and aid partners have released a plan to target 3.4 million of those most affected by the water crisis in the next six months.

Noting the ongoing security challenges in several provinces, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo today called on the Security Council to continue providing its “full backing” to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in that country.

On 30 July 2021, 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”.  The Committee received briefings by the Group of Experts, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region, the Executive Secretary of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and the Head of Due Diligence in the Centre of Responsible Business Conduct of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has declared an outbreak of meningitis in Tshopo Province, in the country’s north-east, with some 261 suspected cases, including 129 deaths.  National health authorities have deployed an initial emergency team and efforts are under way to quickly ramp up the response.

The Office for Children and Armed Conflict says the United Nations and the Plateforme coalition of armed movements in Mali signed new action plans by which the latter committed to release all child recruits, end military use of schools, and guarantee unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance to all children.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are concerned about the impact on children of new cases of the bubonic plague in the eastern province of Ituri.  They say the plague has been reported in areas that had not seen a case in more than 15 years.

Heavy rains and flooding have claimed dozens of lives in Chad and Niger, impacting over 100,000 people in recent weeks.  The United Nations is supporting Governments in providing health care, food, shelter, water, hygiene and sanitation, and warns that the Sahel region’s weather variability has been worsened by climate change.

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) reports that it has facilitated discussions between the Hema and Bira communities in Irumu territory in Ituri.  As a result, the rival groups signed a protocol of non-aggression and cessation of violence.

On 13 July 2021, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2127 (2021) concerning the Central African Republic held joint informal consultations with Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict.

The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon expressed deep regret over the inability of Lebanon’s leaders to reach agreement on the formation of a new Government that is urgently needed to address the country’s numerous challenges.