Yemen

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.

The Security Council today unanimously decided to renew a travel ban, assets freeze and arms embargo against those threatening peace and security in Yemen, rejecting an alternate draft, vetoed by the Russian Federation, that would have spotlighted specific non‑compliance by Iran identified by the expert panel mandated to monitor those measures.

The United Nations takes note of the recent decision by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, to resign, to “allow further political reforms to take place in the country aimed at widening democratic space”.

United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Martin Griffiths of the United Kingdom as his Special Envoy for Yemen.  Mr. Griffiths succeeds Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed of Mauritania, to whom the Secretary‑General is grateful for his commitment and dedicated service.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have agreed with the United Nations on the modalities to transfer, by the end of March, $930 million in support of the 2018 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan, according to Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock.

The World Food Programme is warning today that the twin scourges of another prolonged dry spell and an invasive crop-eating worm are set to sharply curtail harvests across southern Africa, driving millions of people into severe hunger.

Civilian returns to Iraq’s newly accessible areas continue to increase since the conclusion of major counter‑Daesh military operations late last year; 3.2 million previously displaced people have now returned home, surpassing the total number of displaced in the country for the first time since the crisis began four years ago.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and its partners have launched a funding appeal for $157 million to help 250,000 people impacted by the Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin region.  Since it began in 2013, the Boko Haram conflict has internally displaced 2.4 million people.

United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock and United Nations Development Programme Head Achim Steiner are in Somalia to bring attention to the recently launched $1.5 billion aid appeal to avert famine and build resilience in the country.  Some 5.4 million people need life-saving humanitarian assistance.

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