Somalia

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Lana Zaki Nusseibeh (United Arab Emirates):

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

Humanitarian affairs officials in Somalia say an estimated 4.5 million people — including 671,000 who are internally displaced — are affected by the intensifying drought emergency.  Health authorities have reported a measles outbreak, and at least nine related deaths in Jubaland state.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is substantially scaling up its assistance in Myanmar, where ongoing security challenges, humanitarian access restrictions and COVID-19 cases are impacting the population.  It is targeting at least 4 million people across the country, where 1 in 4 is facing food insecurity.

On 11 February 2022, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) concerning Somalia held its first informal consultations of the year to meet with the Panel of Experts on Somalia renewed by resolution 2607 (2021).

The spokesperson of the al-Shabaab armed group has been listed by the Security Council’s Sanctions Committee on Somalia, and the related Panel of Experts has elaborated the areas on which it will focus under its mandate, renewed on 15 November 2021, the Chair of that body told members today.

On 18 February 2022, the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) concerning Somalia approved the addition of the entry specified below to its Sanctions List of individuals and entities subject to the measures imposed by the Security Council and adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

The international community must galvanize support for Somalia at this critical juncture amid a potential humanitarian catastrophe, a spike in terrorism-related violence, the COVID-19 pandemic, growing food insecurity, climate shocks and long-overdue elections, briefers told the Security Council today.

Today is the one-month anniversary of the volcano and tsunami in Tonga.  Sanaka Samarasinha, United Nations Resident Coordinator, reiterated the Organization’s solidarity with the people of Tonga, where approximately 85 per cent of the population was impacted and more than 2,500 people have been internally displaced.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned today that the deteriorating drought conditions in Somalia could displace more than 1 million people by April if urgent action is not taken now.  IOM noted that water scarcity in some parts of the country is the worst in 40 years.