Middle East

Some 450 non-State combatants have been disarmed and demobilized in western Central African Republic since the signing of the peace agreement in February, according to the United Nations mission in that country, including elements of the Front Démocratique du Peuple Centraficain and the Union des Forces Républicaines.

The Security Council today renewed the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan for six months, until 31 December 2019, requesting the Secretary-General to ensure that the Force has the required capacity and resources to fulfil the mandate in a safe and secure way.

A total of 23 donors today announced contributions, or their intention to contribute, to the 2019 budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) after two young Palestinian students told the General Assembly Ad Hoc Committee how critical funding was making a deep, lasting and positive impact on the lives of millions of children like them.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the pledging conference for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), in New York today:

With nearly 6,000 housing units advanced, approved or tendered, recent weeks have seen the largest expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank in two years, the senior United Nations official coordinating the Middle East peace process official said today, as he briefed the Security Council on the flagging implementation of its resolution 2234 (2016).

Today is World Refugee Day.  Events, recognizing that close to 70.8 million people around the world are fleeing war, persecution and conflict, include a social media takeover of the Secretary-General’s Youth Envoy accounts by a young Syrian refugee who now lives in Za’atari camp, in Jordan.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Major General Shivaram Kharel of Nepal as the acting Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). 

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Mohamed Khaled Khiari of Tunisia as Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations.

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

Algeria and Argentina have been certified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as being malaria-free.  The head of WHO said today that the nations have eliminated malaria thanks to the unwavering commitment and perseverance of the people and leaders of both countries.