UN News Centre - Africa

Expressing concern over renewed violence in the Somali city of Gaalkacyo, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for the country, Michael Keating, has called on all parties to honor the ceasefire agreement.

Adopting a resolution today, the United Nations Security Council decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), for the final time, until 30 March 2018 and adjusted its mandate to comprise protection of civilians, reform of justice and security institutions, protection and promotion of human rights, public information activities, and protection of UN personnel and installations.

Amid reports that dozens of people have been killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in recent days, the top United Nations human rights official has warned that repression of dissenting voices and a heavy-handed and irresponsible response to the protests risk provoking more violence and could cause further conflict in the country.

A United Nations human rights expert today called on the Nigerian Government to increase funding for water and sanitation in next year’s budget to address the needs of 21 million residents of Lagos, the country’s largest city, which continues to grow while access to basic services dwindles.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the killing of a peacekeeper from South Africa deployed with the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in North Kivu earlier today.

Amid growing tensions and increasing despair among South Sudan’s population, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today warned that the international community’s failure to act now could put the country on a trajectory towards mass atrocities.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today commended decisions by a bloc of West African countries to take all necessary actions to enforce the outcome of the presidential election in Gambia, guarantee the protection of President-elect Adama Barrow, and attend the new leader’s inauguration ceremony on 19 January 2017.

Raising alarm over “double standards” applied by the authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – allowing pro-government youths to conduct public political activities while repressing dissenting voices – a group of United Nations rights experts today called on the Government to end the “targeted repression” and to guarantee conditions that allow fundamental rights and freedoms to be exercised peacefully.

Following a major measles outbreak in Somalia, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners supported a swift delivery of 55,000 doses of measles vaccine to Kismayo along with Vitamin A supplementation to boost the immunity of the some 54,000 children under the age of 10 that are expected to be vaccinated.

Marking the one-year anniversary of the signing of the Libyan Political Agreement, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today commended all Libyans who engaged in the &#8220milestone&#8221 process, but cautioned that while much progress has been made, &#8220the road to peace is long&#8221 and the Libyan people have not yet achieved the stability and security they deserve.

The United Nations human rights chief today said he is &#8220deeply alarmed&#8221 at a planned Government shutdown of social media in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from Sunday evening, ahead of the end of President Joseph Kabila&#39s mandate, coupled with a continuing ban on demonstrations by civil society and the opposition.

Approving a one-year extension of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, the Security Council today demanded an end to the fighting in the war-riven country, and decided that the mission, known as UNMISS, shall “use all necessary means” to “deter and prevent” sexual violence within its capacity, and “monitor, investigate and report incidents of hate speech.”

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned today's attack against a military post in Nassoumbou, province of Soum in the north of Burkina Faso, in which Burkinabè soldiers were killed and injured.

Given the scale of the disaster in South Sudan, the United Nations Security Council, regional organizations and the international community must step up to their responsibility to the help the country’s people, who have suffered through three years of bloody conflict, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today in an opinion piece published by Newsweek.

Condemning, in the strongest possible terms, a terrorist attack outside the seaport in Somalia&#39s capital, Mogadishu, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for the country said that the bloody act will not stop the momentum of the electoral process.

Condemning the terrorist attack at the St. Peter&#39s Church, attached to St. Mark&#39s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council underlined that those responsible for the attack should be held accountable.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has congratulated the Nana Akufo-Addo on his election as President of Ghana and thanked outgoing President John Dramani Mahama for his role in defusing tensions and preserving peace during the election period.

Welcoming the announcement of a temporary cessation of hostilities by the Libyan National Army in the Ganfouda area, in the Libyan city of Benghazi, to allow evacuation of civilians, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Libya called on the parties to the conflict to ensure that civilians are protected.

Expressing deep concern that civilians remain in Ganfouda area of the Libyan city, Benghazi, despite a unilateral ceasefire announced by the Libyan National Army, the United Nations envoy for the country called on the parties to provide another safe passage to allow for the evacuation of all civilians who wish to leave in a secure and dignified manner.

Strongly condemning the outgoing Gambian President&#39s rejection of the outcome of the Presidential election in the country, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council called on him to carry out a peaceful and orderly transition process.