Mali

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

Progress in Mali’s political transition and peace process is unfolding amid a challenging security, humanitarian and human rights situation with severe consequences for civilians, the top United Nations official in the country told the Security Council today, as delegates called for strengthened measures to ensure the safety and freedom of movement of peacekeepers following the deaths of four United Nations blue helmets just a day before.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today released a report which says plastics are accumulating in the world’s soil at a high rate. The report found that plastics used extensively in farming — from plastic coated fertilizers to mulch film — are contaminating the soil and potentially threatening food security.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Michel Xavier Biang (Gabon):

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, United Nations peacekeepers and the Congolese armed forces are regularly patrolling along national route 72 in Ituri’s Djugu territory. Reassured by the presence of national security forces and the United Nations, some displaced persons are also returning to their communities.

In Cuba, the United Nations took part in the consultation process to make reforms to the country’s Family Code. Almost 75 per cent of Cubans voted on 25 September in a referendum on the diversity of families, affection and solidarity as key social values and strengthening the protection of a host of vulnerable groups.

On Saturday, accompanied by Pakistan’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, the Secretary-General travelled to Balochistan, Larkana and Sukkur, in Sindh Province, and met with a group of women and men who abandoned everything to help their neighbours reach safety as their houses flooded. He said he had never seen climate carnage on this scale.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today said that world food commodity prices dipped for a fifth month in a row. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 138 points in August, down 1.9 per cent from July although remaining 7.9 per cent above its value a year before.

In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, where 1.3 million Palestinian children will be returning to school this week, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator there issued a statement today in which she said she is concerned that, since the beginning of the year, 20 children were killed in the West Bank.

The Security Council today renewed until 31 August 2023 the travel ban and asset freeze imposed through resolution 2374 (2017) against individuals and entities obstructing implementation of the 2015 Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali.