Despite pleas for an immediate, united call to action to stop the bloodshed and killing that was plunging parts of Syria into “hell on Earth”, the Security Council remained divided in how to effectively halt hostilities in eastern Ghouta, where thousands remained trapped amid ongoing bombardment.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is calling for calm and restraint after reports of a refugee protest turning violent in Rwanda’s Kiziba refugee camp. The camp hosts over 17,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, around 77 per cent of which are women and children.
The Security Council must swiftly and effectively discharge all its power and responsibilities to overcome emerging threats and prevent massacres, genocide and the killing of civilians around the world and immediately in Syria, members heard today while they considered the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
The Secretary-General said that he was deeply saddened by the terrible suffering of the civilian population in eastern Ghouta in Syria, noting 400,000 people lived in hell on earth. He appealed to all those involved for an immediate suspension of all war activities in the region.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees warned today that a extraordinary humanitarian disaster is about to hit south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, as the Province of Tanganyika plunges further into violence, triggering spiralling displacement and human rights abuses.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and humanitarian colleagues express concern about persistent forced displacement of indigenous people and farming communities in rural Colombia. Since 19 January, violence in Caceres has displaced at least 822 people; in Bajo Cauco murders have increased.
With Syrian civilians being killed on a horrific scale and displaced in large numbers, the United Nations top representative for Syria warned the Security Council today of the grave risks posed by the recent string of dangerous and worrying escalations of violence in the country.
Aid agencies launched the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan for Mali, seeking $263 million to provide humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people. Some 4.1 million people in the country require aid in 2018, versus 3.8 million in 2017. More than 1 in 5 Malians are facing food insecurity this year.
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) has received four allegations of misconduct, including three allegations of sexual exploitation. These allegations involve military peacekeepers.
