Sri Lanka

In Geneva, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is having its annual conference to strengthen global wildlife trade rules.  The Conference received 56 proposals to change the levels of protection for wildlife species.

More than 1.4 million refugees in over 60 host countries will need resettlement in 2020, the High Commissioner for Refugees finds in its report, “Projected Global Resettlement Needs 2020”.  Those most at risk include refugees from Syria (40 per cent), South Sudan (14 per cent) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (11 per cent).

As of yesterday, some 1,705 probable and confirmed cases of Ebola have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the outbreak was declared on 1 August 2018, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports.  About 1,122 people, or two thirds of reported cases, have died since then.

UNICEF reports that 894 children — including 106 girls — were released today from the ranks of the Civilian Joint Task Force, a local militia that helps the Nigerian security forces in the fight against insurgency in the country’s north‑east.  UNICEF says more than 3,500 children were recruited between 2013 and 2017.

In Libya, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Ghassan Salamé, continues his outreach to interlocutors, meeting with Government officials, a group of elders and tribal leaders to offer the United Nations full support to help thousands of civilians affected by heavy fighting in southern Tripoli.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says most Ebola response activities have been relaunched in Butembo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s North Kivu Province following a slowdown caused by the attack that left Cameroonian doctor Richard Valéry Mouzoko dead and two other people injured.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet today strongly condemned the beheading of 37 men in Saudi Arabia, most of them Shi’a Muslims, despite the repeated appeals by the United Nations about the lack of due process and fair trial guarantees.  She appealed to the authorities to halt pending executions.

The World Health Organization today welcomed the launch of the world’s first malaria vaccine.  It will be made available in Malawi, followed by Ghana and Kenya, through a pilot programme aimed at reaching 360,000 children under the age of 2 every year.

The top-ranking United Nations officials for refugees, migration and humanitarian affairs will jointly visit Bangladesh from Wednesday to Friday this week to highlight the ongoing importance of supporting the humanitarian needs of nearly a million Rohingya refugees, as well as people living in host communities.

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Christoph Heusgen (Germany):