Refugees

United Nations officials in Mali welcomed the Government’s pledge to reintegrate 13,000 former combatants by the end of 2021 and additional 13,000 within the next three years.  They also praised willingness of the Malian parties to proceed with the socioeconomic reintegration of ex-combatants that are already registered.

In Afghanistan, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that its first aircraft carrying life‑saving medical supplies arrived yesterday in Kabul through the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations Airbridge.  It will cover the needs of 100,000 children and women for the next three months.

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

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.

Ahead of the historic Food Systems Summit on 23 September, the Secretary-General emphasized the moral imperative of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, stressing that a well-functioning food system can help prevent conflict, protect the environment and provide health and livelihoods for all.  “In food, there is hope,” he said.

About 540,000 children in the area impacted by last month’s earthquake in Haiti now face the possibility that water-borne diseases will re-emerge, UNICEF warns.  The agency is working with Haitian authorities and civil society partners to improve access to water and sanitation, with the aim of reaching 500,000 people.

At least 527 civilians were killed, injured, abducted or just disappeared, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) says in its quarterly report on trends in human rights violations and abuses, an overall increase of more than 25 per cent from the first quarter.

The following statement by Secretary-General António Guterres was issued today:

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said today it urgently needs $27 million to continue providing emergency shelter for internally displaced people in Tigray.  With more than 2.1 million people internally displaced, some have fled Ethiopia and sought refuge in neighbouring Sudan, the agency reported.

Heavy rains and flooding have claimed dozens of lives in Chad and Niger, impacting over 100,000 people in recent weeks.  The United Nations is supporting Governments in providing health care, food, shelter, water, hygiene and sanitation, and warns that the Sahel region’s weather variability has been worsened by climate change.