Although some progress had been made in the ongoing investigations of chemical weapon use in Syria, Security Council members must avoid politicizing the issue, the United Nations disarmament chief urged the 15-nation body as she briefed them on the matter today.
The World Food Programme (WFP) is scaling up emergency operations to help people urgently in need of help in Yemen, which is on the brink of famine. In Syria, WFP delivered food this week to seven hard-to-reach areas in Raqqa and Deir, where regular aid service had been suspended for over three years due to conflict.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi urged Governments today to deliver a massive increase in places available for refugees in third countries, in line with last September’s New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, as the agency opened its annual resettlement consultations.
The United Nations Mission in Mali reports that an attack by unidentified assailants on the Mission’s observation post south-east of the base has left three peacekeepers dead and three others injured. The Mission condemns the attacks and is determined to continue supporting the peace process and protecting civilians.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warns that without additional funds, some 60,000 Syrian refugee families will be cut from basic and life-saving cash assistance programmes in Lebanon and Jordan as early as July. UNHCR urgently needs $116 million in Lebanon and $71 million in Jordan.
Notwithstanding the ceasefire declared in 2016, fighting in several areas of Syria continued to devastate civilians, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council today, citing casualties caused by terrorist attacks and by air strikes designed to counter them.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said today that it is concerned by the recent prosecution, arbitrary arrest, detention and ill-treatment of men perceived to be gay in Indonesia. In the past two months, more than 150 men were reportedly arrested in Aceh, Surabaya and Jakarta and subjected to public humiliation.
Initial findings from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) fact-finding mission in Syria had found evidence of sulfur mustard in samples taken from an alleged attack on 16 September 2016, while analysis of samples collected in relation to an alleged April incident in Khan Shaykhoun had revealed exposure to sarin or a sarin-like substance, the United Nations disarmament chief reported today.
The Secretary-General strongly condemns the horrific terrorist attack in Manchester last night, and expresses his profound sympathy and solidarity with the people and Government of the United Kingdom. He hopes that those responsible for this despicable attack will be swiftly found and brought to justice.
The Secretary-General is deeply concerned following the military escalation at the Brak al-Shati air base in southern Libya. He calls on all parties to exercise restraint and restore calm, and said that the continued insecurity in the country is a reminder that there is no military solution.
