Syria

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan briefed the Security Council today.  He said that Afghanistan had successfully hosted the second conference of the Kabul Process for peace and security, where participants endorsed direct talks between the Government and the Taliban without preconditions.

Our humanitarian colleagues are concerned about the 6.7 magnitude aftershock that struck Papua New Guinea’s highlands area on the evening of 6 March, local time.  Preliminary assessments indicate that immediate needs for the population include shelter, food, water and access to medical services.

Humanitarian operations in Iraq are contracting in 2018 versus last year, when 6.2 million people were targeted with assistance.  The 2018 humanitarian response plan, launched on 6 March, seeks $569 million to assist 3.4 million highly vulnerable people struggling in the aftermath of the conflict with Da’esh.

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

In Syria, a United Nations‑Syrian Arab Red Crescent‑International Committee of the Red Cross inter‑agency convoy entered Douma, in besieged eastern Ghouta, for the first time since 15 November 2017.  Teams delivered food for 27,500 people, along with health and nutrition supplies, while fighting and air strikes continued.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the arrival of migrants in Italy — the most active route for those leaving North Africa for Europe — hit a five-year low:  5,247 for the first two months of 2018, versus some 13,000 for the same period last year.  IOM attributed the drop, in part, to voluntary humanitarian returns from detention centres in Libya.

The Food and Agriculture Organization Food Price Index for February found that rising world prices for staple grains and dairy products more than offset lower prices for vegetable oils, leading global food commodity prices up 1.1 per cent.  FAO also lowered projections for global wheat harvests this year.

The United Nations Children’s Fund expressed deep sadness over the killing of its colleague, along with five other education workers, on 25 February in the north-western region of the Central African Republic, near Markounda, a remote area close to the Chadian border.

Despite the Security Council’s united call just days ago for a ceasefire in Syria, deadly fighting continued, throwing the body’s credibility into question, members heard today as United Nations political and humanitarian chiefs provided updates on the dismal situation on the ground.

United Nations humanitarian organizations and partners in Libya say they are deeply concerned about the situation faced by Tawergha men, women and children who are unable to return home and are currently living in makeshift-tented settlements in precarious conditions in Qararat al-Qataf and Hwara.