Peacekeeping

Responding to the violent clashes in Beirut today, Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, condemned the use of armed violence outside of State authority and underscored the need for restraint, maintaining calm and stability and ensuring the protection of civilians.

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary‑General Amina J. Mohammed’s video message to the Directors and Chiefs of Mission Support Conference — Peacekeeping Operations, Special Political Missions and Small Offices, held in Brindisi, Italy, 4-8 October:

The World Health Organization (WHO) released the latest edition of its Mental Health Atlas, which cites a worldwide failure to provide people with the services they need.  It comes as the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts continue to spotlight a growing need for mental health support in countries across the globe.

In northern Syria, a reported 5 million people lack reliable access to and suffer from insufficient levels of safe water due to low water levels and disruptions to water systems.  The United Nations and aid partners have released a plan to target 3.4 million of those most affected by the water crisis in the next six months.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary‑General António Guterres:

Today at a United Nations energy summit, the United Nations as well as a group of international organizations and Governments announced a compact to help United Nations peacekeeping missions’ transition to renewable energy.  The initiative responds to the United Nations Secretariat’s commitment to source 80 per cent of its power from renewable energy by 2030, which hinges overwhelmingly on peacekeeping operations.

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) announced today a decision by the Secretariat to repatriate all Gabonese military units, effective immediately, following credible reports of sexual abuse by Gabon’s contingent deployed to the Mission.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council ministerial open debate on “Peacekeeping and United Nations Transitions”, held today:

For countries hosting United Nations peacekeeping missions, the shift to post-conflict peacebuilding is both a sign of progress and a time of profound risks, officials told the Security Council today, as they called for more attention to that crucial, sensitive transition from the moment “the first boots hit the ground”.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said that, in September, it started delivering emergency relief food assistance to communities in regions bordering war-torn Tigray.  According to WFP, across Ethiopia, more than 13.6 million people are estimated to be food insecure due to a number of factors.