Libya

The period following the start of Afghanistan’s peace negotiations in September 2020 has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of human rights defenders and media professionals killed in the country, a new report issued today by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) says.

The International Organization for Migration is calling today for urgent action by the European Union and its member States to end pushbacks, collective expulsions and the use of violence against migrants and refugees at the regional bloc’s external land and maritime borders.

The Security Council called today upon the newly elected interim executive authority in Libya to swiftly form an inclusive Government and make the necessary preparations for presidential and parliamentary elections later this year.

The United Nations team in Indonesia is supporting efforts to vaccinate 80 per cent of the population, over 216 million people, against COVID-19.  Work has begun to bring the country into the COVAX facility, and the World Health Organization helped finalize a vaccine introduction road map and guidelines.

The United Nations Humanitarian Response Plan for Niger, launched on 5 February, seeks $523.2 million in 2021 to assist 2.1 million people.  The combined effects of conflict, chronic food insecurity and health emergencies, including COVID-19, have severely impacted the economy, as well as access to basic services, such as health and education.

The following statement by UN Secretary-General António Guterres was issued today:

The World Food Programme, with support from the United Kingdom, is accelerating global cooperation on the use of humanitarian drones.  While calling for their ethical and responsible use, officials say drones can be a game-changer for fast, accurate, low-cost disaster assessment and response.

Clashes and administrative hurdles are limiting humanitarian access to Ethiopia’s Tigray region, including two refugee camps that have been inaccessible since November 2020, according to officials.  United Nations personnel are working with the Government to ensure clearances for aid workers, many of whom are waiting with supplies in Addis Ababa.

The United Nations and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research hosted an online discussion on how to prioritize actions to recover more equitably from the COVID-19 pandemic.  More than 100 participants from 60 countries attended, including those responsible for $100 billion annually in global research investments.

Amid calls for the Security Council to help sustain the significant momentum under way to build a democratic, unified Libya, the top United Nations official in that country urged the 15-member organ during a 28 January videoconference meeting to adopt a resolution calling for the dissolution of all remaining parallel executive entities set up by the opposing political forces.