Democratic Republic of the Congo

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

The Security Council decided during a 22 December videoconference meeting to terminate the mandate of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) on 31 December 2020, withdrawing all uniformed and civilian personnel other than those needed for liquidation by 30 June 2021.

The Security Council decided today to extend the mandate of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), alongside its Force Intervention Brigade, until 20 December 2021, with the voting results announced by videoconference, in accordance with the temporary silence procedure adopted for the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports it is providing supplies such as mosquito nets, solar lamps, and blankets for 36,000 people in Somalia’s Puntland region who have been affected by Cyclone Gati, the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the country, which made landfall in November.

The Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, in connection with the examination of the seventh report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (S/2020/1030), agreed to convey the following messages through a public statement by the Chair of the Working Group:

Children make up nearly half the people who have fled Ethiopia’s Tigray region for Sudan, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports.  Their most urgent needs are clean water and sanitation, as well as child-protection and gender-based violence services for the most vulnerable and at-risk refugees, the agency says.

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

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has closed nine field offices since the peaceful transfer of power in the 2018 presidential elections, the Organization’s top official in that country told the Security Council today, reporting that a new strategy for the operation’s eventual closure recognizes and is tailored to differing realities on the ground and security needs in each province.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) today launched its largest ever humanitarian appeal, $818 million, to fund critical assistance for 54 million women, girls and young people in 68 countries, including for sexual and reproductive health care as well as services to prevent gender-based violence.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today issued its largest ever emergency funding appeal, seeking $6.4 billion to reach 300 million people, including more than 190 million children.  An estimated 36 million children, more than ever before, are living in displacement due to conflict, violence and disaster.