Venezuela

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

Today is the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, and the 2019 theme is “Let’s Grow the Future Together”.  In his message, the Secretary-General stressed that protecting and restoring land can reduce forced migration, improve food security, spur economic growth and help address the global climate emergency.

An estimated 115 million boys around the world were married off as children, with one in five wed before they turned 15, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) first in-depth analysis of child grooms.  The Central African Republic had the highest prevalence, followed by Nicaragua and Madagascar.

UNICEF reports that 894 children — including 106 girls — were released today from the ranks of the Civilian Joint Task Force, a local militia that helps the Nigerian security forces in the fight against insurgency in the country’s north‑east.  UNICEF says more than 3,500 children were recruited between 2013 and 2017.

Unfolding developments in Benin are under close watch following the 28 April legislative elections, from which opposition parties were barred.  Noting with concern the ongoing tensions and unrest, the United Nations calls upon all Beninese to exercise maximum restraint and resolve differences through dialogue.

Responding to record flood levels in Iran, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the country, Ugochi Daniels, today asked the donor community for $25 million to cover the emergency and early recovery needs of 115,000 highly vulnerable people in the most hard-hit Provinces of Golestan, Khuzestan, Ilam and Lorestan.

The United Nations refugee agency said today it is deeply concerned about the fate of at least 21 Venezuelans missing after their boat sank yesterday morning on the way to Trinidad and Tobago.  It was carrying at least 25 people, and the Trinidad and Tobago authorities said four were rescued.

Two jailed Reuters journalists from Myanmar will share the 2019 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s press freedom prize.  Kyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone were reporting on alleged human rights violations in Myanmar’s Rakhine State when they were arrested in December 2017.

The situation in Venezuela is worsening, with an estimated 7 million of its people — or a quarter of its total population – needing assistance, humanitarian officials said today as the Security Council took up the crisis for the fourth time in as many months, debating whether it constitutes a threat to international peace and security.

The Security Council failed today to adopt two competing draft resolutions — one from the Russian Federation, the other from the United States — responding to the political and humanitarian situation in Venezuela.