Mali

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Zhang Jun (China):

Despite a decline in the numbers of migrants arriving in Europe via the central Mediterranean route in recent years, hundreds — including at least 632 so far in 2021 — continue to die, finds a new report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Office, which cites risks created by policy decisions.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is working to restore normalcy following the eruption of La Soufrière volcano in April, with efforts shifting from providing aid to recovering better and boosting preparedness for the hurricane season, which starts next week.  Of the 23,000 displaced people, more than 4,000 are in shelters; 18,000 are in private homes.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that in Niger’s western Tillabery region, 10,000 people have fled their homes since 14 May, following attacks by non-State armed groups in the Anzourou district, near the border with Mali.  The number of internally displaced persons in Tillabery has nearly doubled in 18 months to 102,000.

An annual report released by the Global Network against Food Crises warns that the number of people facing acute food insecurity and needing urgent life- and livelihood-saving assistance hit a five-year high in 2020 in countries beset by food crises.

The Elsie Initiative, a United Nations Trust Fund that supports deployment of uniformed women to peace operations, announced this morning its first five recipients — Liberia, Mexico, Niger, Senegal and Sierra Leone — during a high-level virtual event.  The Fund also launched its second programming round.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Alain Noudéhou of Benin as his new Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and Resident Coordinator in Mali.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that shelling yesterday damaged a power line near a main lift pumping station of the South Donbas Waterway in eastern Ukraine.  It interrupted safe water supply for 1.1 million people in 50 nearby settlements on both sides of the “contact line”.

At least 11,000 people have fled their homes following an attack by insurgents on the town of Palma, Mozambique, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).  Officials are working around the clock to provide assistance, including blankets and sleeping mats, but warn that hunger is rising.

As Mali continues to face major political, security, human rights and humanitarian obstacles, it is of “utmost importance” that the international community ensure that national stakeholders live up to their commitments, the United Nations peacekeeping chief told the Security Council today, as he updated on efforts to advance the political transition and implement the 2015 Peace and Reconciliation Agreement.