Nigeria

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia today convicted Ratko Mladiæ on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, giving him a life sentence.  Prosecutor Serge Brammertz said the judgment was a milestone in the Tribunal’s history and international criminal justice.

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

At its 68^th meeting, on 15 November 2017, the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, in connection with the examination of the first report of the Secretary‑General on children and armed conflict in Nigeria (document S/2017/304), covering the period from January 2013 to December 2016, agreed to address the following messages through a public statement issued by the Chair of the Working Group.

The United Nations Environment Programme’s new Emission Gaps Report, which was released today, found that the national pledges made by countries in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change represent only one third of the action needed to meet climate targets and avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

UNICEF in Nigeria said today that the crisis caused by the Boko Haram insurgency in north-east Nigeria has left more than 57 per cent of schools in Borno State closed as the new [school] year begins.  UNICEF and partners have enrolled nearly 750,000 children and established more than 350 temporary learning spaces.

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

The United Nations Environment Programme is launching a campaign to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Montreal Protocol and its success in protecting Earth against ozone depletion.  The “Ozone Heroes” campaign seeks to raise awareness of collective efforts to tackle climate change and the depletion of the ozone layer.

An estimated 370,000 Rohingya refugees have fled into Bangladesh since 25 August.  A flight chartered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees carrying emergency aid has landed in that country.  A second flight, donated by the United Arab Emirates, was carrying 2,000 tents.  The supplies will help 25,000 refugees.

OCHA says a cholera outbreak has been reported in Borno State, north-eastern Nigeria, the first case of which was recorded on 16 August.  More than 530 suspected cases had been registered as of yesterday, including 23 deaths, mainly in Muna Garage, a camp hosting about 20,000 internally displaced persons on the outskirts of Maiduguri, the state capital.

In Ethiopia, the fifth round of food distributions has reached 330,000 of the targeted 3.3 million people in the Somali region, where successive failed rains have exacerbated the food insecurity crisis.  The ongoing distributions are expected to be completed by mid-September.