The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Pascale Christine Baeriswyl (Switzerland):
In progress at UNHQ
Haiti
In Zambia, the United Nations team, led by Resident Coordinator Beatrice Mutali, reports it is helping authorities to tackle the droughts and floods which have affected over 373,000 people. Various United Nations agencies are providing cash transfers, health services and other relief to more than 1 million households.
With Haiti descending into a catastrophic spiral of violence, the head of the United Nations office there warned the Security Council in her briefing today that the country’s people need help now.
The United Nations team in Botswana, following a polio outbreak, supported authorities with two immunization campaigns targeting children under the age of seven, with nearly 30 districts targeted with house-to-house visits and immunization efforts in health centres, and over 700,000 children reached.
The Resident Coordinator in Haiti today signed with host authorities the five-year United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework — a road map to boost sustainable development and address the root causes of instability.
A World Food Programme (WFP)-chartered vessel berthed today in Al Salif port in Hudaydah, carrying 30,000 metric tons of wheat to support humanitarian assistance in Yemen, where approximately 85,000 tons of wheat is needed each month. Continued donor support has so far kept famine at bay, according to WFP.
On 10 March 2023, the Panel of Experts on Haiti briefed the members of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2653 (2022) in connection with the Panel’s interim report, which was submitted in pursuance of paragraph 21(c) of resolution 2653 (2022).
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reported today that they have initiated steps to help the country address potential challenges from the onset of this year’s rainy season.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime today released its first-ever Global Report on Cocaine, noting that the global supply of cocaine has reached record levels, with coca cultivation soaring 35 per cent from 2020 to 2021. Demand for cocaine has also swelled with many regions showing a steady rise in cocaine users.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, through the Resident Coordinator in Fiji, offered support to Vanuatu amid a state of emergency sparked by Tropical Cyclone Judy. A second storm system is now bearing down on the country, and may impact 95 per cent of the population.