Syria

The Secretary-General condemns the series of suicide bombing attacks on 25 and 26 June in Maiduguri, Borno State, in Nigeria.  He extends his condolences to the people of Nigeria for the loss of life, and wishes a quick recovery to those injured and hopes that those responsible for this act will be swiftly brought to justice.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned today that the announcement of an end to famine conditions in South Sudan this week should not distract from the fact that severe food insecurity continues to put the lives of millions of children at risk in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and north-east Nigeria.

The Secretariat has concluded a review of the deployment of uniformed personnel from the Republic of Congo in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, MINUSCA.  It found that the nature and extent of existing allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse point to systemic problems in command and control.

A record 141 million people across 37 countries need humanitarian assistance, according to the Global Humanitarian Overview 2017 Status Report, released today.  Despite $6.2 billion in donations since the 2017 humanitarian appeal launch, requirements have risen to $23.5 billion, leaving the appeal 26 per cent funded.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ statement regarding the situation in Syria:

Over the weekend, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process condemned the shooting and stabbing attack by Palestinian assailants in the vicinity of the Old City of Jerusalem.  He said that such terrorist acts must be condemned by all.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warns that at least 750,000 children could be cut off from safe drinking water after a surge in fighting in eastern Ukraine.  Almost 3 million people in the country rely on water infrastructure which is now in the line of fire.

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.