Peacekeeping

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed today its deep concern over the recent arbitrary arrests and detentions of women and girls by the country’s de facto authorities because of their alleged non-compliance with the hijab decree.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Major General Cheryl Pearce of Australia as Deputy Military Adviser for Peacekeeping Operations.

In December, the World Food Programme reached more than 975,000 vulnerable people with food aid across Gaza and the West Bank. For its part, the United Nations Children’s Fund has been delivering vital supplies to Gaza, including vaccines, medical supplies, hygiene kits, and ready-to-use infant formula.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Nicolas de Rivière (France):

In Syria, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs today expressed concern about the impact on civilians of escalating hostilities in the north-west of the country — as well as the potential for the violence to jeopardize cross-border missions by United Nations staff.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Major General Erdenebat Batsuuri of Mongolia as Force Commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).

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

The Security Council today renewed the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan for six months until 30 June 2024 and requested that the Force have the required capacity and resources to safely fulfil its mandate.

The Security Council today extended for one year the mandate of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) and set out a comprehensive disengagement plan that includes three distinct and successive phases and the gradual handover of responsibility to the Government.

In Ukraine, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is concerned about the plight of civilians during the winter as, yet again today, there was another wave of attacks in the Kherson and Odesa regions. These attacks damaged critical civilian infrastructure, including homes, a hospital and a school.