While Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan all have legitimate claims to, and concerns about, use of the Nile River Basin’s waters, the three neighbours should negotiate in good faith towards a mutually beneficial agreement on the historic waterway’s sustainable management, the senior United Nations official for the Horn of Africa told the Security Council today.
The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) recorded 617 human rights abuses, including 165 killings by armed groups in the country, which is 37 per cent higher than the previous six months. The deteriorating human rights situation is also marked by a steep rise in abductions.
Implementation of the peace process in Sudan remains limited with intercommunal violence in Darfur on the rise, the Security Council heard today as the head of that country’s sanctions committee reiterated the need for targeted sanctions.
Sudan must now fully seize its critical role in delivering long-awaited justice to victims by ending impunity for perpetrators of atrocity crimes committed in Darfur almost 20 years ago, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court told the Security Council today.
The Security Council decided today to extend the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) until 3 June 2022 and requested the Government of Sudan to swiftly sign a status of mission agreement with the Organization to enable the full, effective and unhindered functioning of the Mission.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
Despite a decline in the numbers of migrants arriving in Europe via the central Mediterranean route in recent years, hundreds — including at least 632 so far in 2021 — continue to die, finds a new report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Office, which cites risks created by policy decisions.
Despite progress Sudan has made towards peaceful transition, delays in establishing key representative bodies, continued intercommunal conflict and unanswered violence against women and girls threaten the country’s stability and civilian population during its transition process, the Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in the Sudan (UNITAMS) told the Security Council during a videoconference meeting today.
Aid workers in Ethiopia report rising incidents of denial of relief cargo, and the confiscation of humanitarian vehicles and supplies, by parties to the conflict in the Tigray region. While over 5 million people are targeted for food assistance, only about 1.8 million have been reached since late March amid limited access.
The Secretary-General welcomed the beginning of consultations between Papua New Guinea and the Autonomous Bougainville government, following a referendum on Bougainville’s political future held in 2019. The consultations mark an “important step” in the implementation of the 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement.
