Peacekeeping

United Nations humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock has allocated $1.5 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to the Food and Agriculture Organization for desert locust control operations in Kenya.  Swarms could threaten livelihoods and food security of 3.6 million people across the region if they are not controlled.

Despite slightly improved humanitarian access into some areas of Tigray, the region remains critically challenged by the prevailing insecurity and bureaucratic constraints, United Nations humanitarian officials in Ethiopia report.  Health facilities in major cities are working with limited supplies and without staff.

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, refer to the decisions respectively made by the African Union Peace and Security Council in communiqué PSC/PR/COMM. (CMLXVIII) of 30 November and the United Nations Security Council in resolution 2559 (2020) of 22 December, to terminate the mandate of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Jerry Matthews Matjila (South Africa):

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

The World Food Programme today raised extreme concern that escalating violence and displacement in north Mozambique has led to more than 900,000 people facing crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity.  Plans are in place to reach 750,000 in the area, but $117 million is needed over the next year to meet needs.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warns that 250,000 children have been displaced by the crisis in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique.  UNICEF is concerned that safe water, sanitation and hygiene services are insufficient to meet the growing needs in overcrowded temporary accommodation centres and host communities.

The Security Council decided during a 22 December videoconference meeting to terminate the mandate of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) on 31 December 2020, withdrawing all uniformed and civilian personnel other than those needed for liquidation by 30 June 2021.

A new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warns that if greenhouse gas emissions are not drastically reduced, all of the world’s coral reefs will bleach by the end of the century, and calls for even more urgent action to limit ocean temperature rise.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Ramiz Alakbarov of Azerbaijan as his new Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), serving also as the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator.