The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria launched the Syrian-led, Syrian-owned inclusive Constitutional Committee in Geneva today, bringing together for the first time Government and opposition nominees, with women making up 30 per cent of the 150 participants, following a nearly nine-year-long conflict.

In Central America, subsistence farmers and some larger-scale farming operations in “the Dry Corridor” have lost 50 to 75 per cent of their crops due to irregular weather conditions, including high temperatures, below average rain and long dry spells.  The 2018 drought affected more than 2 million people in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and “Education Cannot Wait”, the first global, multilateral fund for education in emergencies started a strategic partnership to ensure children and youth in emergencies have access to education opportunities.

In north‑east Syria, despite very difficult challenges, the United Nations and humanitarian partners continue to deliver aid and provide basic services to 1.8 million people in need where access allows.  This includes emergency food rations for 83,000 newly displaced people, hygiene kits and drinking water.

The United Nations Network on Migration reiterated today its call to end the detention of children for immigration purposes in every region of the world.  They said detaining children in such a context – whether they are travelling alone or with their families – has been recognized as a violation of children’s rights.

The United Nations recorded fewer human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the first half of 2019, a High Commissioner for Human Rights report found, describing the 3,039 violations as an improvement.  However, the number of violations committed until June remains higher than two years ago.

At least 14 people were killed and many more injured yesterday, including children, when a bus hit an improvised explosive device near Douentza in the Mopti region, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali reported.  The Mission supported the medical evacuations of 16 victims.

The Yemen office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed that 52 detainees were among those killed when air strikes hit a former community college compound on the northern outskirts of Dhamar City, United Nations teams in the country reported on Sunday.  As many as 170 detainees were being held there.

In Burkina Faso, where armed attacks continue to affect parts of the north and east, some 30,000 people have been displaced every month since the start of 2019.  July alone saw a nearly 35 per cent surge in the number of health centres closed due to insecurity, depriving 625,000 people of access to basic care.

The Security Council today extended the mandate of United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) until 31 August 2020, reiterating its call for Israel and Lebanon to support a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution based on the principles and elements set out in resolution 1701 (2006).