South Sudan

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan dispatched a patrol to Abier, Cuei-Cok and Abiriu, in the northwest of Lakes region, on 9 December following an attack by armed youth last week in which more than 60 people were killed and 70 injured.  During the patrol, the Mission interviewed witnesses, visited the wounded and cautioned against retaliatory attacks.

The number of people affected by dementia is set to triple in the next 30 years, from 50 million to 152 million by 2050, the World Health Organization reported. The $818 billion annual cost of dementia, equivalent to more than 1 per cent of global gross domestic product, is expected to reach $2 trillion by 2030.

The precarious security situation in South Sudan was a matter of grave concern, the Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations told the Security Council today, urging it to use all means necessary to demand a change of course from leaders and parties to the conflict.

United Nations humanitarian flights to Yemen resumed on 25 November, with two commercial vessels having arrived in Hodaidah carrying 35,020 metric tons of wheat and flour.  Three vessels carrying nearly 65,000 metric tons of food have been cleared by the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism and are awaiting permission from the Saudi Arabia-led coalition to enter the port.

Newly released data from the International Organization for Migration show that almost half of all identified child trafficking cases begin with the involvement of a family member.  According to the data, the extent of such involvement is up to four times higher than in cases of adult trafficking.

Despite assurances from the Government of South Sudan, violence and governmental restrictions continued to prevent peacekeepers and humanitarian workers from fulfilling their respective mandates to protect civilians and deliver aid to those badly in need of it, the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations told the Security Council today.

On 15 November 2017, members of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2206 (2015) concerning South Sudan were briefed by the Coordinator of the Panel of Experts on South Sudan in connection with the Panel’s interim report, which was submitted in pursuance of paragraph 2 of resolution 2353 (2017).

On 10 November 2017, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1591 (2005) concerning the Sudan‑held first‑ever joint informal consultations with the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011) concerning Libya and the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2206 (2015) concerning South Sudan.

The Security Council decided this morning to extend until 15 April 2018 the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force for Abyei (UNISFA), and to limit support for the disputed territory’s border monitoring mechanism to a further five months, while awaiting implementation of measures agreed by Sudan and South Sudan.

Today is World Diabetes Day, and the World Health Organization (WHO) is highlighting women’s right to a healthy future.  The agency says there are some 422 million people living with diabetes, 205 million of whom are women.  More than half are in the Western Pacific and South-east Asia regions.