Somalia

Almost 3,000 migrants were rescued yesterday, after trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to Europe, according to the International Organization for Migration, which said several ships were involved in more than a dozen rescue operations.  The total number of casualties is not yet known.

Somalia’s peaceful election of a new President had opened a unique opportunity to surmount entrenched insecurity, political and humanitarian challenges and create a functional State in the coming four years, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today.

The Secretary-General welcomed the return of calm in Côte d’Ivoire following the unacceptable acts of violence committed by soldiers of the Forces Armées de Côte d’Ivoire over the past few days.  He commends the Government of Côte d’Ivoire for its efforts to address the unrest and restore security.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at event on response to the humanitarian crisis in Somalia, in London today:

The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners are responding to an upsurge in cholera transmission in several parts of Yemen that has now claimed 51 lives. WHO has rapidly distributed medicines and medical supplies and 10 new treatment centres are being established in the most affected areas.

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ opening remarks at the London Somalia Conference today:

The World Food Programme (WFP) reports that the Central African Republic counts among the world’s most forgotten crises, receiving ever-shrinking humanitarian funding.  With half its people needing humanitarian aid and more than 2 million hungry, WFP’s humanitarian response plan for 2017 is only 7 per cent financed.

In Geneva, the Secretary-General called the pledging conference for Yemen a considerable success, with more than half of the $2.1 billion appeal for the year reached.  Those pledges now needed to be translated into effective support for the people of Yemen.  Three things would ensure that:  access, access and access.

The World Food Programme airlifted life-saving food supplies to drought-stricken Somalia today, for the most vulnerable people, particularly children.  A Boeing 747 arrived in Mogadishu carrying 47 metric tons of high-energy biscuits, as well as critical medical supplies on behalf of the World Health Organization.

The International Organization on Migration reports that nearly 9,000 migrants were rescued over the past long weekend by individual NGOs and by the international flotilla in the Mediterranean Sea.  The rescued migrants were mostly Africans, but there was also a large number of people from Bangladesh.