Venezuela

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.

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.

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 United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, Mamadou Diallo, and Prime Minister Jean-Henry Céant have launched the 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti.  It seeks $126 million to provide critical humanitarian assistance and protection services for 1.3 million Haitians.

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.

To assist 2.3 million people in Mali, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners today launched the 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan requesting $296 million.  The situation there has deteriorated in recent years due to increased conflict and intercommunal clashes, as well as a high level of food insecurity.

The Security Council returned today to the political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela for the second time in as many months, with speakers debating whether to press for free and fair elections under international supervision or to encourage the Government of President Nicolás Maduro to open dialogue with the opposition, free of external interference.