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Syria + 3 more

Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General (1 February 2018)

(excerpt)

Syria

Starting off with Syria, just an update from our humanitarian colleagues: yesterday, the UN resumed its cross-border deliveries from Bab al-Hawa border crossing point in Turkey into Idleb Governorate in Syria. A total of 25 trucks with food and medical supplies were involved. This was the first delivery following the UN decision on 20 January to temporarily halt deliveries due to security concerns. An additional 15 trucks delivered assistance on 1 February. Security remains a concern for us at the border. Due to the security situation, the UN is maintaining its temporary suspension of deliveries through Bab al-Salam, the second border crossing point in Turkey authorized under UN Security Council resolution 2165 (2014). Mitigation measures have been put in place to ensure the safety of UN staff at Bab al-Hawa, including the use of armoured vehicles and restrictions on staff authorized into the area.

Mali

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said today that despite the signature of the Peace Agreement in Mali, the human rights situation remains of concern. A joint report published today, based on monitoring and analysis conducted during the interim period of the Peace Agreement, finds that more than 600 cases of human rights violations and abuses were committed between January 2016 and June 2017. More than 800 other incidents involving unidentified armed individuals and placing the lives of civilians at risk also occurred during the same time. In total, these acts of violence impacted more than 2,700 victims, including 441 people who were killed. That report should be online.

South Sudan

As we told you yesterday, the High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, and the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, today jointly launched funding appeals to provide support for people from South Sudan who have fled to neighbouring countries and to address the growing humanitarian needs inside the country. The requirements for the appeals are $1.5 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively. Conflict and insecurity have forcibly displaced one in three South Sudanese either within the country or across its borders.