Somalia

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is sending equipment to more than 40 countries to help them use nuclear-derived technology to rapidly detect COVID‑19.  Dozens of labs will receive diagnostic machines to speed up national testing, biosafety supplies and personal protection equipment.

The Security Council decided unanimously on 30 March 2020 to extend the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) until 30 June 2020.

United Nations agencies and their partners launched an appeal today for $877 million to help some 855,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar who are in Bangladesh, as well as more than 444,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis in communities generously hosting those refugees.  More than half will fund vital services.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Marc Pecsteen de Buytswerve (Belgium):

The Somalia sanctions committee and its Panel of Experts are partners of the Federal Government of Somalia in a mutual effort to counter the threat of terrorism and tackle the flow of arms to non-State actors, the head of the Committee told the Security Council today.

Almost 300,000 people in Burkina Faso have been forced to flee their homes since last December and nearly 766,000 in total are displaced as of today.  More than half the internally displaced have inadequate shelter or none at all, and $10 million has been allocated from the Central Emergency Fund to help them.

One-person-one-vote elections in Somalia later in 2020 will be a historic milestone along that country’s long road back to security, stability and prosperity, briefers told the Security Council today, while emphasizing that success will depend on its Federal Government, federal member states and other stakeholders embracing dialogue to tackle its myriad challenges, including the persistent threat posed by Al-Shabaab.

The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, has released $10 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to help bolster the response to East Africa’s worst desert locust outbreak in decades, which is destroying crops in communities already facing food shortages.

On 17 January 2020, 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 2498 (2019).

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Kelly Craft (United States):