The past three years have seen some remarkable achievements in Somalia – including the peaceful transition of presidential power, improved finances, and the formation of a Government with a compelling reform agenda — the top United Nations official in the Horn of Africa country told the Security Council today, while cautioning that no one should be deluded about the challenges ahead.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Nicholas Haysom of South Africa as his Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
A new United Nations report has urged Somalia to build on the significant gains made in its peace process over the last five years and to ensure that future elections are not marred by the human rights violations and abuses seen during the 2016-2017 electoral process. It notes that, to date, only 2 of the 44 documented killings during that time have been investigated and prosecuted.
The United Nations refugee agency said today that more than 2,000 Somalis have returned home from Yemen since 2017, as part of an assistance programme carried out jointly with the International Organization for Migration and authorities in Yemen and Somalia. Yemen currently hosts more than 270,000 refugees, the vast majority of them Somalis.
The Security Council renewed today its authorization of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) for another 10 months, deciding to reduce uniformed personnel to 20,626 by 28 February 2019, and cautioning against any further delay in lowering that number beyond that date.
On the heels of the landmark rapprochement between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which ended two decades of hostility, the international community must honour its responsibilities to support historic efforts to build peace in the Horn of Africa, the Security Council heard today following a briefing on the recent visit to the region by the Sanctions Committee on Eritrea and Somalia.
From 4 to 10 May 2018, the Chair of the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 751 (1992) and 1907 (2009) concerning Somalia and Eritrea, His Excellency, Kairat Umarov, joined by the delegation comprising of Ethiopia, Khazakhstan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Sweden and members of the Secretariat, visited Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.
Humanitarian organizations in South Sudan are responding to urgent needs of the estimated 50,000 people displaced in Leer, Mayendit and Koch Counties in Unity state amid a sharp escalation in fighting between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), SPLA-in-Opposition and armed groups.
The World Food Programme has begun distributing food rations to people affected by the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Equateur Province. The World Health Organization is helping the nine surrounding countries scale up national emergency preparedness and response capacities.
