Mali

Marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, the Secretary-General told the General Assembly high-level event that the nuclear threat has reached its highest level in close to 40 years and urged States to support the goals of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

The Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2374 (2017) concerning Mali calls on all Member States to take the necessary measures to prevent the entry into or transit through their territories of individuals designated by the Committee, in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 of the aforementioned resolution.

The Office for Children and Armed Conflict says the United Nations and the Plateforme coalition of armed movements in Mali signed new action plans by which the latter committed to release all child recruits, end military use of schools, and guarantee unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance to all children.

The Security Council today renewed until 31 August 2022 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.

At least 527 civilians were killed, injured, abducted or just disappeared, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) says in its quarterly report on trends in human rights violations and abuses, an overall increase of more than 25 per cent from the first quarter.

A devastating combination of a severe drought – the worst in 40 years – sandstorms and pest infestations have led to crop losses of up to 60 per cent in Madagascar, where the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Grand Sud.  People have resorted to eating locusts, raw red cactus fruits or wild leaves.

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) reports that it has facilitated discussions between the Hema and Bira communities in Irumu territory in Ituri.  As a result, the rival groups signed a protocol of non-aggression and cessation of violence.

Health authorities in Guinea, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), have confirmed the country’s first case of Marburg virus.  The United Nations team on the ground is bolstering urgent infection prevention and control measures, such as contact tracing, while strengthening treatment capacity and risk communication.

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

The World Food Programme (WFP) said today that, despite numerous challenges, it has delivered food to more than a million people in the north-western and parts of southern Tigray in June and July.  More than 175 trucks arrived in Tigray during the first week of August, and an additional 90 are expected in the coming days.