Peacekeeping

Two peacekeepers died and four others were injured in Mali this morning, when their convoy hit an improvised explosive device north of Mopti while on its way to Timbuktu.  They were all from Egypt.  The attack is another reminder of the urgent need to continue and strengthen efforts to stabilize the centre of Mali.

Conditions are not yet in place to enable the holding of free, fair and peaceful elections in 2023 in South Sudan, speakers told the Security Council today as members explored ways to address outstanding issues during the remaining 12 months of the three-year transitional period established under the Revitalized Agreement.

Happy birthday, Radio Okapi, the United Nations radio in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Now 20 years old, the peacekeeping mission’s radio station has, over the years, become a trusted, reliable source of information, with programming for adults and children across the country, in multiple languages.

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, more than 400 civilian casualties in Ukraine have been reported since the conflict began, including more than 100 deaths.  The real figure could be considerably higher, as many reported casualties have yet to be confirmed.

In Afghanistan, senior emergency experts from United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations called for urgent support to life-saving humanitarian action after a five-day mission to the country.  Over 24 million people – 59 per cent of the Afghan population - requires lifesaving aid, up 30 per cent from 2021.

The text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ opening remarks to the tenth High-Level Meeting of the Regional Mechanism Follow-Up to the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement, delivered in Kinshasa today by Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, is not available in English.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Valentine Rugwabiza of Rwanda as his new Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

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

Some 14.6 million Syrians need humanitarian assistance in 2022, the Syria Humanitarian Needs Overview for 2022 says, 9 per cent more than in 2021.  More households are turning to negative ways of coping, including child labour, child marriage and the sale of productive assets.

While slow progress is being made to advance the peace process in the Central African Republic, the new Government, appointed earlier this year, faces a host of formidable challenges, including the resumption of republican dialogue, restoration of State authority and holding of elections for the first time in three decades, the Head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission there told the Security Council today as members sparred over the continued imposition of the arms embargo first put in place in 2013.