Peacekeeping

The UN Human Rights Office today released a report which says that Bangladesh’s former Government, security and intelligence services, as well as violent elements associated with the Awami League party, systematically engaged in a range of serious human rights violations during last year’s student-led protests.

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

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today published a report which says air pollution in East Asia and the Pacific is linked to nearly one in four deaths of children under the age of five and can impact every stage of a child’s life.

In Sudan, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Clementine Nkweta-Salami, today condemned the relentless and intensifying shelling and air and drone strikes against civilians in Darfur, Kordofan and other conflict-affected areas as “a ruthless assault on human life”.

In Colombia, the Emergency Relief Coordinator released $3.8 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to help more than 42,000 people in the north-east of the country. The new funding will support displaced people and host communities in the region of Catatumbo.

The Security Council today decided to renew the long-standing United Nations peacekeeping presence in Cyprus for another year, underscoring the need to avoid any unilateral actions that could undermine the prospects for a peaceful settlement.

In Ukraine, local authorities and humanitarians on the ground report that an attack in the residential area of Sumy City overnight resulted in a number of fatalities. Humanitarian partners mobilized an emergency response, complementing the efforts of first responders and the authorities.

Nearly half the population in Myanmar lives below the poverty line and less than 48 per cent had access to electricity last year — the lowest access rate in Asia, according to a UN Development Programme report released today highlighting the severe challenges dramatically reshaping the country.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Lieutenant General Ulisses de Mesquita Gomes of Brazil as Force Commander of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Emergency Relief Coordinator allocated $17 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund for an urgent response to new displacement in North and South Kivu Provinces in the eastern part of the country.