Haiti

The Secretary-General condemns the series of suicide bombing attacks on 25 and 26 June in Maiduguri, Borno State, in Nigeria.  He extends his condolences to the people of Nigeria for the loss of life, and wishes a quick recovery to those injured and hopes that those responsible for this act will be swiftly brought to justice.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Josette Sheeran of the United States as his Special Envoy for Haiti.

The Secretary-General welcomed the adoption today of General Assembly resolution A/71/L66, which endorsed his proposal for a new United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism.  He stressed that combatting terrorism and preventing violent extremism was one of the Organization’s highest priorities in its work towards international peace and security.

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the General Assembly meeting on Haiti, in New York today:

The World Food Programme (WFP) is scaling up emergency operations to help people urgently in need of help in Yemen, which is on the brink of famine.  In Syria, WFP delivered food this week to seven hard-to-reach areas in Raqqa and Deir, where regular aid service had been suspended for over three years due to conflict.

The Secretary-General strongly condemns the horrific terrorist attack in Manchester last night, and expresses his profound sympathy and solidarity with the people and Government of the United Kingdom.  He hopes that those responsible for this despicable attack will be swiftly found and brought to justice.

The Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) for a final six months today, deciding to replace it with a follow-up peacekeeping mission that would help the Government of Haiti strengthen rule-of-law institutions, further develop and support the Haitian National Police and engage in human rights monitoring, reporting and analysis.

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) reports extensive damage in western Mosul, Iraq, with more than 1,000 homes destroyed.  Humanitarian Coordinator Lise Grande says the damage in western Mosul is already far greater than that in the east, even before the battle to retake the Old City begins.

The International Organization for Migration warned today that hundreds of migrants are being held under “slave market” conditions in North Africa.  Describing the situation as “dire”, the agency also reported several cases in which migrants have been kidnapped in exchange for ransom.

Building on political progress and a relatively stable security situation, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) should prepare to drawdown over the next six months and transition into a smaller peacekeeping operation focused on strengthening the rule of law, institutions and the national police force, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General told the Security Council today.