Libya

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

The Security Council today renewed measures designed to implement the arms embargo on Libya for another year, in particular those authorizing Member States to inspect vessels on the high seas off the country’s coast when reasonable grounds existed to believe they violated the ban.

On 7 June 2018, the Committee approved the addition of the entries specified below to its List of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and other measures relating to attempts to illicitly export petroleum, including crude oil and refined petroleum products, from Libya (the Libya Sanctions List), set out in paragraphs 15 and/or 17 of Security Council resolution 1970 (2011), and/or paragraph 19 of resolution 1973 (2011), or paragraph 10 of resolution 2146 (2014) as extended and modified by paragraph 2 of resolution 2362 (2017), adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo welcomes the condemnations by the province’s leaders regarding recent ethnically motivated incidents, and calls upon authorities to intensify efforts to fight against impunity and bring perpetrators to justice.

The Security Council reaffirmed its full support for the United Nations Action Plan for Libya today, reiterating its call for parties to work in a spirit of compromise in the inclusive political process and underscoring the importance of the Organization in facilitating a Libyan-led political solution to the country’s critical challenges.

The United Nations Mission in Afghanistan condemned the attack today that killed and injured religious scholars gathered in Kabul who were there to promote peace in Afghanistan.  Meanwhile, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released a study that found nearly half of Afghan children are missing out on school.

Staff of the Human Rights Office say they are appalled at the ongoing violence in Nicaragua, where at least 16 people are reported to have been killed this week and more than 100 injured amid anti-Government protests.  They are also concerned at the reported arrest and detention of six human rights defenders.

The unemployment rate in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is now the highest in the world, peaking at 27.4 per cent in 2017, according to a report released by the International Labour Organization (ILO).  It says women and young people are particularly affected, with almost half of women being unemployed.

In Syria, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent is delivering United Nations humanitarian aid for more than 92,000 people to Talbiseh in northern rural Homs and Tlul Elhomor in southern Hama.  This is the first convoy to northern rural Homs since a convoy reached Dar al‑Kabira and surrounding areas on 4 March.

The World Health Organization reports that they have deployed 39 staff members, with plans under way for an additional 15 personnel, to rapidly contain a confirmed outbreak of cholera in Nigeria’s Adamawa State.  As of 26 May, 434 suspected cases, including 13 deaths, have been reported.