Syria

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

The International Organization of Migration today launched a $10 million appeal to support recovery efforts in the Bahamian islands of Abaco and Grand Bahamas, which were hit by Hurricane Dorian in September.  The funds will be used to assist shelters, provide non-food items and track missing persons.

Today is World Mental Health Day.  This year’s theme focuses on preventing suicide, which claims the lives of nearly 800,000 people annually – or one every 40 seconds, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which is asking people to join in “40 seconds of action” to raise awareness about the problem and help prevent it.

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

UNICEF chartered a plane carrying 1.6 million doses of oral cholera vaccines to Sudan, delivering the medicine at a critical time as cholera cases continue to be reported.  The agency and its partners are also strengthening water treatment systems, distributing water purification products and providing technical support.

The launch of a credible Constitutional Committee for Syria should be the beginning of a political process to end the conflict in that country in accordance with the legitimate aspirations of all its people, the Security Council said in a presidential statement today.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Imran Riza of Pakistan as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Syria, with the host Government’s approval.  Mr. Riza will also serve as United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator.

Sketching out the contours of a newly agreed Constitutional Committee for Syria today, the senior United Nations official in that country urged all parties there, as well as Security Council members, to seize that new development as a “sign of hope for the long-suffering Syrian people”.

Following days of protests in Haiti, the United Nations peacekeeping mission — concerned by reports of violence and arson — says it is in discussions with local stakeholders and international partners to find a peaceful way out of the crisis.  It praised the Haitian National Police, which has done its utmost to provide security.

The Security Council failed to adopt two draft resolutions on the situation in Syria today — one tabled by Belgium, Germany and Kuwait; the other by China and the Russian Federation — amid heated debate on their content and concern over the fate of civilians in Idlib Governorate.