South Sudan

The text of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was finalized on 13 July, marking the first time that Member States have come together to negotiate an agreement covering all dimensions of global migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner.

The Security Council today decided to extend its sanctions regime in South Sudan and impose a travel ban and assets freeze on two high-ranking individuals — an act South Sudan’s representative described as a “slap in the face” to those engaged in his country’s ongoing peace negotiation process.

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) has temporarily deployed 40 peacekeepers to Bijombo, South Kivu, where violent clashes between local armed groups have reportedly destroyed entire villages, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee to such areas as Uvira.

The United Nations migration agency said today that it assisted more than 72,000 migrants to return home voluntarily in 2017.  This represents a 27 per cent decrease compared to 2016, when some 98,000 migrants were provided with return and reintegration support.

Thousands of Rohingya people continue fleeing Myanmar’s Rakhine State and describe continued violence and human rights abuses, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, told the Human Rights Council yesterday, warning that the international community will not forget the outrages committed.

Peace in South Sudan would only be sustainable through a fair and inclusive revitalized peace agreement that would take the root causes of the conflict into account, the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations told the Security Council today, as members of the 15-nation organ cautiously welcomed the rapprochement between the country’s President and former First Vice-President.

As hostilities escalate in southern Syria, civilian deaths continue to be reported and up to 66,000 people have now been displaced.  Many who fled towards the Jordanian border remain stranded in the desert with little access to humanitarian help.  Planned aid convoys will proceed as soon as the security situation allows.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Vassily A. Nebenzia (Russian Federation):

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

A Bangladeshi peacekeeper from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan was killed today during an attack on a convoy delivering humanitarian aid to vulnerable civilians in Central Equatoria Province.  The Nepalese peacekeepers immediately returned fire and the assailants retreated into the forest.