The Security Council stressed today the urgent need for swift implementation of the 31 December 2016 political agreement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, so that the Government could organize peaceful, credible, inclusive and timely elections by December 2017 — as agreed in that accord — leading to a peaceful transfer of power.
High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein announced today the appointment of Bacre Ndiaye from Senegal, Luc Côté from Canada and Fatimata M’Baye from Mauritania as international experts on the situation in the Kasaï region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, mandated by the Human Rights Council.
Recent developments at Old City holy sites in Jerusalem have shown a grave risk that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will escalate into a religious one and drag both sides into a vortex of violence with the entire region, Nickolay Mladenov, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, told the Security Council.
We spoke earlier this week about the aerial attack on the embattled Mawza District of Yemen’s Taizz Governorate. The United Nations Human Rights Office said today that Tuesday’s air strike by the Arab Coalition Forces is believed to have killed at least 18 civilians, including 10 children and two women.
The United Nations refugee agency said today it is deeply shocked and saddened at reports of deaths and injuries suffered by internally displaced people in an aerial attack on embattled Mawza District in Yemen’s Taizz Governorate. Civilian casualties are still being verified, but initial reports indicate at least 20 people killed, including women and children.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is deeply concerned that, after recent fighting in Benghazi, people taken prisoner by members of the Libyan National Army may be at imminent risk of torture and even summary execution.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said today that they are stepping up their response to the situation in Venezuela as asylum applications soar. So far in 2017, over 52,000 people have applied for asylum, which is already two times more than the total number for 2016.
The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen told the Security Council today that the situation in the country remains extremely grave, with the conflict intensifying daily and the tragic humanitarian situation continuing to worsen.
The Secretary-General welcomed the establishment of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia. The Mission is tasked with verifying the peace agreement commitments relating to reintegration of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP) and implementation of security guarantees for the group and conflict-affected communities.
Several Security Council members insisted today that the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo hold free, fair, and inclusive elections by the end of the year and without further delay, as the head of United Nations peacekeeping briefed them on the situation in that country.
