Human rights

The United Nations welcomes the agreement signed by the leaderships of the caretaker authorities in Syria and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on 10 March. Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen hopes that the agreement can feed into a broader, credible and inclusive political transition process.

High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, visited Bangladesh and called for sustained support and solutions for the Rohingya refugees. He went to Cox’s Bazar and met with refugees and the host community, urging the international community to provide sustained financial support for them.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) today released a report urging the Government of Colombia to protect civilians during ongoing violence by armed groups. The report details how armed groups use violence to exert control over the population, furthering their own economic interests and undermining governance.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to Human Rights Council, in Geneva today:

The Advisory Committee established by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) concluded its second three-day meeting in Tripoli on 20 February. The Committee held discussions on the current electoral framework, focusing on the contentious aspects that have impeded the holding of national elections in Libya.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the World Food Programme has partially resumed food assistance in parts of Goma, delivering vital nutrition supplies to treat moderate acute malnutrition in children, and plans to resume operations fully as soon as it is safe to do so.

The UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is sheltering and protecting some 1,400 people in its premises in Goma, North Kivu. In recent days, nearly 56,000 displaced persons have relocated to 34 newly created collective centres across Goma, mainly schools, churches and hospitals.

The UN Human Rights Office today released a report which says that Bangladesh’s former Government, security and intelligence services, as well as violent elements associated with the Awami League party, systematically engaged in a range of serious human rights violations during last year’s student-led protests.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today published a report which says air pollution in East Asia and the Pacific is linked to nearly one in four deaths of children under the age of five and can impact every stage of a child’s life.

In Sudan, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Clementine Nkweta-Salami, today condemned the relentless and intensifying shelling and air and drone strikes against civilians in Darfur, Kordofan and other conflict-affected areas as “a ruthless assault on human life”.