South Sudan

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

Stephen O’Brien, Emergency Relief Coordinator, briefing the Security Council on Syria today, voiced his concern about the situation in eastern Ghouta where the United Nations has been unable to get access to some 400,000 people since last October.  He called for a pause in fighting to allow for the delivery of aid.

While the political process in South Sudan was not dead, it would require “significant resuscitation”, the senior United Nations official in that country told the Security Council today, as it considered the recent security, humanitarian and political developments in the world’s youngest nation.

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.

More than 25 million children between 6 and 15 years old, or 22 per cent of children in that age group, are missing out on school in conflict zones across 22 countries, according to a UNICEF report issued today.  South Sudan has the highest rate at almost 72 per cent, followed by Chad and Afghanistan.

United Nations investigators in the Democratic Republic of the Congo confirmed the existence of at least 17 further mass graves in Kasai-Central Province, where soldiers have clashed with the local Kamuina Nsapu militia, which brings to 40 the number of graves documented by the United Nations since August 2016.

Twelve of the 17 staff members previously barred from returning have arrived in Laayoune, and an additional one is expected today, the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) reports.  Administrative procedures for the return, reassignment or retirement of the remaining four are under way.

The number of children used in “suicide” attacks in the Lake Chad Basin conflict has surged to 27 in the first quarter of 2017, compared to nine over the same period last year, according to UNICEF, which states, in a report released today, that the increase reflects an alarming tactic by the insurgents.

The Secretary-General said that he has been following the situation in Syria closely and with grave concern.  Mindful of the risk of escalation — following reports of the United States air strikes against the Shayrat Airbase in Syria — he appealed for restraint to avoid any acts that could deepen the suffering of the Syrian people.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Lieutenant General Frank Mushyo Kamanzi of Rwanda as Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).