Democratic Republic of the Congo

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

The International Labour Organization (ILO) called for action to better manage the 50 million tons of electronic waste, known as e-waste, the world produces annually so it can be turned into a valuable source of decent work.  Currently, only 20 per cent of all e-waste, valued at $62 billion, is formally recycled.

The Security Council today called for an independent strategic review of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) by 20 October, including the articulation of a phased, progressive and comprehensive exit strategy, while extending the mandate of that peacekeeping operation for nine months until 20 December.

The United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) announced the completion of the first exhumation of a Yazidi mass grave in Iraq’s Sinjar region, in the village of Kojo.

Adama Dieng, Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, acknowledged today’s final appeal judgment by the Residual Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals, largely upholding the 2016 guilty verdict against Radovan Karadžic and increasing his sentence from 40 years to life imprisonment.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is concerned about armed clashes in the southern Philippines between the army and non-State armed groups that have uprooted more than 47,000 people.  The United Nations and humanitarian partners are helping the Government deliver aid to nearly 35,000 displaced people.

The Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) called today for continuing Security Council support for what has been achieved since that country’s first-ever peaceful transfer of power.

The Secretary-General’s report “Special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and abuse” is now available, outlining progress made, including a new reporting form, a measure to track victims’ assistance and the launch of a tool to ensure perpetrators are not rehired in any part of the Organization.

A record $7 billion to support millions of people in need of humanitarian aid in Syria, as well as for refugees and host communities in neighbouring countries, was pledged at the donors’ conference in Brussels on 14 March.

UNAIDS is concerned that new HIV infections are not declining among people who inject drugs, despite a decline in new infections globally.  A new report also shows that 99 per cent of them live in countries lacking adequate needle and syringe programmes, drug-dependency treatment, and HIV testing and treatment.