The top United Nations official in Syria briefed the Security Council today on the implementation of its recent resolution demanding a ceasefire in that country, noting that, while progress had been made in Duma, more remained to be done to ease the humanitarian crisis and find a political solution to the conflict.
The following statement by UN Secretary‑General António Guterres was issued today:
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is increasingly alarmed at the plight of thousands of Central African refugees who have fled to southern Chad since late 2017. The influx is the biggest since 2014, and is overwhelming the ability of humanitarian agencies to respond.
A United Nations human rights office report issued today states there are strong grounds to believe that some of the people detained in Mexico in the early stages of the investigation into the 2014 disappearance of 43 students were arbitrarily detained and tortured and those serious violations were covered up.
Ending a two-day mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock and Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag called on the international community to urgently tackle the crisis in the country, where over 13 million people need humanitarian aid.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees issued protection guidance encouraging States to ensure that Venezuelans seeking asylum had access to territory and refugee procedures. Given the situation in Venezuela, the High Commissioner said it was crucial that people were not deported or forcibly returned.
Despite the demands of the Security Council’s resolution for a ceasefire in Syria, humanitarian convoys had not been able to enter eastern Ghouta without impediment, members heard today as the Secretary‑General provided an update on the situation.
The Secretary-General told the Security Council today that, despite passing resolution 2401 (2018), there had been no cessation of hostilities in Syria. Violence continued in eastern Ghouta and beyond, and humanitarian aid continued to face blockages, with the humanitarian and human rights situation becoming more desperate by the day.
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Security Council on the implementation of Security Council resolution 2401 (2018), today:
The Secretary-General is encouraged by the announcement of an agreement between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to hold a summit meeting by May. He reiterates his support for all efforts towards peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
