The High Commissioner for Human Rights today expressed concern after the approval in first reading of a bill to amend Guatemala’s National Reconciliation Law. If adopted, the amendment would result in a generalized amnesty for all cases of grave human rights violations committed during the internal armed conflict.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
Some 170 people either died or went missing in two separate shipwrecks on the Mediterranean Sea, according to UNHCR. NGO sources said that some 53 people died on the Alborán Sea in the western Mediterranean, while Italy’s navy reported 117 out of 120 people dead or missing in an additional shipwreck on the central Mediterranean.
Michael Bloomberg, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Climate Action, today announced the founding members of the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative, who will help facilitate the private financing objectives of the Paris Agreement.
The Assistant-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations briefed the Security Council on Mali today. Despite noting progress to implement the 2015 peace agreement, she however added that the security situation remains of concern, with attacks targeting peacekeepers, national and international forces, and civilians.
The United Nations system in Syria says it is gravely concerned about the protection of thousands of people who are estimated to remain trapped by ongoing fighting in Da’esh-held areas of Hajin in south-eastern Deir ez-Zor Governorate, as well as for some 11,000 who have fled these areas since December 2018.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said global trade in creative goods and services, including the fashion, design, media and software industries, is expanding mostly because of China, doubling from $208 billion in 2002 to $509 billion in 2015. India, Singapore, Turkey, Thailand and Mexico also stimulated that growth.
The UN mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) is conducting an operation to restore order in Bambari, Ouaka Prefecture, in coordination with the country’s security forces. The operation is in response to attacks by Union pour la paix en Centrafrique against the local population and peacekeepers.
The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Edward Kallon, expressed grave concern following the upsurge in violence in the country’s north-east that has led to massive displacement and created “a humanitarian tragedy”. Some 260 aid workers have been withdrawn from impacted areas since last November.
In Yemen, the humanitarian situation remains catastrophic, with 24 million people – or 80 per cent of the population – needing aid, Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock told the Security Council this morning. The World Food Programme is expanding assistance to soon reach 12 million people a month.
The World Health Organization reports that full operations in response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s North Kivu Province, which were disrupted by civil unrest in late December, have resumed across all locations. It warns that further interruptions could have serious consequences.