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Briefing by Spokesperson for Secretary-General
Early this morning, the temporary base of the UN Mission in Tagbara, which is 60 km north-east of Bambari, was attacked by anti-balaka fighters. Peacekeepers fired back and after several hours of exchange of fire, one peacekeeper was killed and 11 others were injured. The UN Mission has deployed reinforcements in Tagbara. The Secretary-General extends his condolences to the family of the fallen peacekeeper and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured. We expect a full statement on this later.
Separately, the UN Mission later discovered the bodies of 21 civilians, including 4 women and 4 children in Tagbara. Yesterday evening, UN peacekeepers had been informed that the UPC group (Unité pour la Centrafrique) had detained 23 people, including 13 women and 3 children. These people were released peacefully to the UN Mission and spent the night at the UN temporary base to guarantee their safety.
The UN Mission strongly condemns these events.
The Mission also reports that on Saturday UN peacekeepers launched a joint operation with the Central African armed forces in which they rescued 15 people who had been taken hostage by the Lord's Resistance Army. 15 Central Africans had been taken hostage in the village of Koumbou, near the town of Obo in the morning.
In Geneva, the Secretary-General announced that more than $2 billion were pledged to support the humanitarian response in Yemen.
He stressed that humanitarian resources are very important. But they are not enough: it is essential that they reach the people in need, he said.
And for that, we need unrestricted access into Yemen; unrestricted access everywhere inside Yemen; and we need all the parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law, and to protect civilians; and above all, the Secretary-General said, we need a serious political process to lead to a political solution.
In his remarks at the beginning of the Conference, he recalled that Yemen is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with more than 22 million people – three-quarters of the population – in need of humanitarian aid and protection.
He stressed that a negotiated political settlement through inclusive intra-Yemeni dialogue is the only solution, and urged all parties to engage with his new Special Envoy, Martin Griffiths, without delay.
The Secretary-General is on his way back to New York.
Humanitarian partners are already reaching millions of people across Yemen this year.
As of 1 March, the World Food Programme had reached over six million people with emergency food assistance.
UNICEF and partners ensured access to safe drinking water for nearly two million people by rehabilitating urban water systems and rural water schemes, in addition to trucking safe drinking water directly to nearly 375,000 of the most vulnerable internally displaced people.
UNICEF, the World health Organization and Yemeni institutions worked together to vaccinate 2.7 million children against diphtheria, which has re-emerged in Yemen for the first time since 1982.
UNICEF and partners have likewise treated nearly 40,000 acutely malnourished children, including more than 11,000 severe cases.
Lastly, the UN Refugee Agency and partners have also provided emergency shelter or essential household items to 60,000 people newly displaced by recent fighting in Hudaydah and Taizz.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that a United Nations inter-agency team conducted an assessment mission to Raqqa city on 1 April.
Despite a high level of unexploded ordnance contamination, an estimated 100,000 people have reportedly returned to Raqqa.
The team observed an extremely high level of destruction, with nearly 70 per cent of buildings destroyed or damaged, according to the local council.
Many services, such as water, electricity, and health are absent or severely limited. Some schools have resumed, though they are lacking school materials and other supplies.
Local NGO partners, supported by UN agencies, are providing assistance to those in need in Raqqa city.
The UN and partners are currently working on responding to gaps and priority needs to strengthen the provision of aid and services.
The Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, briefed the Security Council this morning.
He highlighted an overall stable environment in the country, stressing that as a peacekeeping operation, the UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH) can only be effective if it has a sound relationship with the Haitian government and people based on solidarity and mutual trust.
While acknowledging that this relationship could have been smoother, he said that he was also encouraged by recent indications of a closer, substantive convergence of national and UN priorities.
Mr. Lacroix also said that alongside opportunities, we need to keep in mind that challenges and risks remain, especially as we prepare for a transition from peacekeeping to development.
He added that he looked forward to a close collaboration with the Haitian Government and other partners to ensure the success of this transition, with benchmarks for an exit strategy weaving together an ambitious but flexible framework.
We are determined to ensure, within the overall timeframe already indicated by the Council, that MINUJUSTH be the last peacekeeping operation deployed to Haiti, Mr Lacroix said.
