Peacekeeping

In South Sudan, the head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) continues to be engaged in intensive high-level political efforts to de-escalate the current tensions and convince the parties to preserve the peace deal they all agreed to.

In Somalia, nearly 4.6 million people are likely to experience high levels of hunger from now until June, according to United Nations estimates. Humanitarian needs in the country are rising at a time when funding for aid operations is plummeting.

In response to the earthquake in Myanmar, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees rushed emergency supplies from Yangon to some 25,000 earthquake survivors in the Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw areas. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners have also begun delivering emergency supplies.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Christina Markus Lassen (Denmark):

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

In the Central African Republic, nearly 20,000 Central African refugees returned to their homeland voluntarily in 2024. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says this was the highest annual number of people returning to the country since the voluntary repatriation programme began in 2017.

In Haiti, the humanitarian situation in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area continues to deteriorate as armed groups enact violence. This year’s Humanitarian Response Plan requires more than $900 million to support 3.9 million people, but is funded only at 5 per cent or just $46 million.

In Ecuador, a UN team arrived on 24 March to support authorities to respond to the environmental emergency caused by a major oil spill. The spill in the Esmeraldas Province, in the country’s north-west, has contaminated key water sources, leaving half a million people without access to safe water and sanitation.

Due to the liquidity crisis affecting the United Nations, the Meetings Coverage Section was unable to cover this meeting.

The Security Council today debated ways to adapt United Nations peacekeeping to evolving threats with Member States emphasizing the need to partner with regional organizations and actively involve local communities, particularly women. They also stressed the importance of aligning mandates with available resources, leveraging intelligence-led strategies and digital tools for data-driven decision-making, and avoiding overly broad “Christmas-tree mandates” that prolong operations and escalate costs.